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First Impressions

First Impressions

Note: This first article in the NoMTBF campaign was published on April 1st, 2009. Thus, we’ve been at this and making progress for a long time and come a long was since starting the NoMTBF campaign. I am looking forward to your comments, contributions, and suggestions.

Fred

At first, MTBF seems like a commonly used and valuable measure of reliability. Trained as a statistician and understanding the use of the expected value that MTBF represented, I thought, ‘Cool, this is useful.’

Then, the discussions with engineers, technical sales folks, and other professionals about reliability using MTBF started. And the awareness that not everyone, and at times it seems very few, truly understood MTBF and how to properly use the measure.

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Does Your FMEA Study Go Far Enough?

Does Your FMEA Study Go Far Enough?

Extend Your FMEA Process with Mechanisms

One of the issues I’ve had with failure modes and effects analysis is the focus on failure modes.

The symptoms that the customer or end user will experience are important. If a customer detects that the product has failed, that is a failure. The FMEA process does help us to identify and focus on the important elements of a design that improve the product reliability. That is all good.

The issue is that the FMEA process doesn’t go far enough to really aid the team in focusing on what action to take when addressing a failure mode. The process does include the discussion of the causes of the failure mode. The causes are often the team members’ educated opinions on what is likely to cause the failure mode. Often the description of a cause is a failed part, faulty code, or faulty assembly.

Generally, the discussion of causes is vague.

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Core Failure: The Case of the Melting Generator

Core Failure: The Case of the Melting Generator

On November 24, 2000, PacifiCorp experienced a massive generator failure at its Hunter Power Plant in Castle Dale, Utah. Post-event inspection of the generator revealed a serious failure of the stator core—a cylindrical structure nearly 19 feet long and more than 16 feet across—which had partially melted. At the time, the generator was operating at its maximum capacity of 415 megawatts. Sparks and heavy arcing were observed before the unit tripped automatically, shutting the system down within 55 minutes.

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Planned and Unplanned Downtime: Choice Versus Condition

Planned and Unplanned Downtime: Choice Versus Condition

This article is adapted from Chapter 8 of my book, Measuring Manufacturing Effectiveness.

The book explores how manufacturing organizations define and use performance metrics, and how those definitions influence operational decisions, improvement efforts, and management behavior. While the chapters form a connected framework, each is written to address a specific aspect of manufacturing effectiveness and can be read independently.

Performance loss is often described in overly simple terms—the equipment is running slower than it should. While speed is certainly part of the story, this narrow view hides a much broader set of losses that affect output, flow, and stability.

Chapter 8 expands the discussion of performance loss beyond basic speed shortfalls. It examines how interruptions, minor stops, micro-downtime, variability, and operating practices contribute to lost performance—even when equipment appears to be running continuously.

By broadening how performance loss is defined and observed, this chapter aims to improve how organizations diagnose problems and select effective improvement actions.

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Cultural Mass, Indispensability, and Performance

Cultural Mass, Indispensability, and Performance

Guest Post by Malcolm Peart (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

Cultures rise and cultures fall.  That’s a fact.  We’ve had the Aztecs and Mayans of Central America, the Hittites of Asia Minor, ancient Egypt and its pharaohs as well as classical Greece and the times of Alexander the Great.  Genghis Kahn and his Mongol hoards created an empire and cultures that once dominated much of the known world. 

In more recent times we’ve experienced a few short-lived cultures.  Some, albeit too politically and morally sensitive to mention, only lasted for a matter of years despite proclaiming that they would last a millennium.

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It’s Time To Clear-Up A Serious Misunderstanding About Service Provider Certification To ISO 55001 Asset Management Standard

It’s Time To Clear-Up A Serious Misunderstanding About Service Provider Certification To ISO 55001 Asset Management Standard

ISO 55001 Certification Bodies are accrediting Service Providers to the ISO 55001 asset management standard in the misconstrued belief that a Service Provider’s ‘asset’ is the Contract with a Client. This misunderstanding is dire for service business success.

Having lots of paying clients is the cause of a Service Provider’s success. For a Service Provider, THE ASSET IS THE CLIENT. The Contract with a Client is not the asset!

There is a wonderful ISO 55001 certification benefit you get when YOUR CLIENT IS THE ASSET: The Contract between you and your Client can become your ISO 55001 Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP). After all, the Contract explains how you will provide your services to help the Client achieve their organizational goals. That’s exactly what a Strategic Asset Management Plan is meant to do.

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Unit 2: Starting Points of RCM Analysis – Defining Equipment Functions and Operating Context

Unit 2: Starting Points of RCM Analysis – Defining Equipment Functions and Operating Context

RCM in a Nutshell | Free RCM Overview Course – Understand the RCM Process, what RCM (really ) is, How to Apply it Properly, and What Can Be Achieved

In this unit, we delve into the foundational steps of Reliability Centered Maintenance: defining the Operating Context and Functions. Starting with an Operating Context provides a narrative about what the equipment is, its technical details, its operational environment, and its usage expectations. This story sets the stage for a unified understanding among all stakeholders involved in maintaining the equipment. We then move to Functions, the first of seven steps in the RCM process, where reliability is not just an abstract concept but a tangible attribute defined through specific performance standards of the equipment. Through real-world comparisons of air compressor analyses, I illustrate the stark difference between routine function descriptions and those meticulously crafted to meet precise organizational needs. This segment reveals how detailed function writing not only enhances reliability but also uncovers critical insights about equipment operation, which can correct misconceptions and prevent chronic failures. Join me as we explore how properly written functions are integral to effective maintenance strategies and responsible equipment stewardship.

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What If Senior Management Tells You Not to Talk About It?

What If Senior Management Tells You Not to Talk About It?

When senior management tells you not to discuss something with others, the worst move is to confront them. The second worst is silence. The professional approach is alignment. This article describes six proven techniques for understanding senior management’s concerns and providing options for disclosing necessary information to decision makers.

We Are Not Reporting the Client to the Regulators

“I don’t care what you say. We are not going to turn in one of our clients to a regulatory agency,” one of our national technical managers exclaimed.

“Well, I am not licensed in this state,” I calmly stated. “But any of our licensed engineers or industrial hygienists are going to have big problems if the client doesn’t do it first.” [Read more…]

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Using Crow-AMSAA Plots for RCAs

Using Crow-AMSAA Plots for RCAs

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Overview

A Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a structured approach to identifying the underlying factors that result in the unwanted/unexpected outcomes of chronic or sporadic events. It is a methodic and rigorous process. It also highlights what assets, systems or behaviors need to be modified to limit or eliminate recurrence of similar undesirable outcomes. The fundamental driver is to address, correct or mitigate the root causes that lead to the unwanted event(s) rather than addressing the symptom(s). Bob Latino, a renowned RCA expert, summarizes this concept as “the establishing of logically complete, evidence based, tightly coupled chains of factors from the least acceptable consequences to the deepest significant underlying causes.”

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Supplier Reliability – Shared Responsibilities

Supplier Reliability – Shared Responsibilities

Supplier reliability is often treated as something that can be contracted out. When systems fail, the instinct is to point to the supplier, the specification, the warranty, or the contract. In practice, reliability is rarely owned by one party alone.

Suppliers design, build and deliver products, but customers define requirements, operating context, acceptance criteria and support concepts. Reliability outcomes sit in the space between those responsibilities.

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Do You Have Enough Data?

Do You Have Enough Data?

To make informed decisions, you need information.

To form conclusions, you need evidence and a touch of logic.

To discover patterns, you need data.

In each of these cases, and others, we often start with data. The data we have on hand, or can quickly gather.

We organize data into tables, summarize data into reports, display them in dashboards, and analyze the results to inform decisions. [Read more…]

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World Trade Center Collapse

World Trade Center Collapse

On September 11, 2001, terrorists crashed two hijacked commercial jets into the Twin Towers of New York City’s World Trade Center in a coordinated attack on this symbol of American financial power and influence. Remarkably, both towers survived the initial impact of Boeing 767 jets traveling at speeds in excess of 400 mph, and remained standing long enough for most occupants below the impact floors to escape.

The 110-story Twin Towers of the World Trade Center embodied many engineering advances. They were the first major structures to be designed using wind tunnel testing and digital computers, the first to use structural dampers, and, at the time, the tallest ever built.

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What is Enterprise Asset Management?

What is Enterprise Asset Management?

AN ENTERPRISE ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM UNITES OPERATIONS, ENGINEERING, MAINTENANCE, AND THE SUPPLY CHAIN ACROSS THE ASSET LIFE CYCLE TO MEET CORPORATE BUSINESS OBJECTIVES AND PRODUCE HIGH PLANT AVAILABILITY AT THE LOWEST LIFETIME COST AND MOST OPERATING PROFIT

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An enterprise asset management system needs asset reliability improvement processes throughout the life cycle that ensure utmost reliability and eliminate the need for maintenance. You can do that with a Plant Wellness Way EAM System-of-Reliability

What exactly is an Enterprise Asset Management System?

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Accidents Don’t Just Happen, They are Caused

Accidents Don’t Just Happen, They are Caused

Guest Post by Bill Pomfret (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

Everyone comes to their workplace with the expectation, and often a clear plan, for an incident/accident-free day. And many times, the day goes just as planned, however 2.3 million people do not return home after work, they are killed by work related accidents and occupational exposures and diseases every single day, this corresponds to over 6000 deaths every single day.

That is only the tip of the iceberg, in addition there are around 340 million occupational accidents and another 160 million victims of work-related illnesses annually, many of which are life changing, not only to the victim, but often for whole families

These events are often sudden; someone or something is in the wrong place at the wrong time, and at that moment, perhaps only a split second, an incident or accident takes place.

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The Importance of a Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP)

The Importance of a Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP)

Asset management is a critical function for any organization that depends on physical assets to deliver products or services. Whether in manufacturing, utilities, infrastructure, or healthcare, effectively managing assets ensures reliability, efficiency, and cost control. However, managing assets without a clear strategy can lead to inefficiencies, unexpected failures, and wasted resources. This is where a Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP) comes into play. 

A SAMP is a high-level document that outlines how an organization’s asset management activities align with its business objectives. It serves as a roadmap, ensuring that decisions related to asset acquisition, maintenance, and disposal are strategic rather than reactive. Without a SAMP, organizations risk mismanaging their assets, leading to increased costs, operational disruptions, and lost opportunities. 

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