Your Reliability Engineering Professional Development Site
I can remember attending my first Maintenance and Reliability Conference, while it was over twenty years ago I was excited to go and find out what other companies were doing to improve. I can remember looking at the agenda and feeling a bit overwhelmed, there were so many different presentations to choose from sometimes I had a difficult time selecting which one to attend at a given time slot. [Read more…]
In this question, a reader asks how to define system-level functions, and how they are different from subsystem and component functions.
“A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.”
Francis Bacon
This is the final post in the series on roles & responsibilities and is the final step in ensuring the team is working together. So far in the series we cover the importance of defining role & responsibilities. How to determine roles & responsibilities, and the major roles in the maintenance department. In the last post, we will cover how to tie it all together in a simple, easy to use document. A RACI. [Read more…]
One of the most difficult challenges of incorporating reliability activities with program planning is estimating the time it will take to demonstrate reliability. Demonstrated product reliability is typically measured as a confidence in a product’s capability to achieve a reliability goal. At product release, the business unit may feel comfortable with their target market and warranty goals with a demonstration of a 90% confidence in the products reliability goal of 99.1%. [Read more…]
The watch keeper of old guarded their people and possessions. They were found walking about looking, listening, and watching for changes that signaled danger. Their job was to look for hazards and quickly raise the alarm before all of them were invaded and killed or captured into slavery. With sufficient warning the home group could rally to the defence and counter-attack the enemy.
Times haven’t changed that much. Instead of being invaded by the enemy we now get consumed by plant and equipment problems. If only there was an effective way to spot problems coming our way and mount a counter-attack before being overrun. [Read more…]
Many CRO’s come from compliance, legal, or finance areas. They do not know operations or quality. This person is critical to quality‘s success with ISO 9001:2015 in terms of providing risk approvals, direction, and resources. The quality department should be flexible and work with the CRO, specifically: [Read more…]
There are two instances when you should implement preventative action. First, once a failure occurs and you would like to avoid similar future failures. Second, before a failure occurs, yet an undesired failure mechanism is likely to occur.
Like corrective action there is a wide range of possible preventative actions. The selection of the right actions requires considering customer expectations, business and legal factors, along with the technical and economic feasibility. [Read more…]
I have told my own children for years now that I didn’t find the job that I loved until I was around 35. Truth is I was around 35 when I figured out what I enjoyed but I didn’t really enjoy doing it until around 4 years later when I had the courage to leave the large company I had worked at for 19 years and start a business of my own. Working on my own I developed a product, had to market and sell that product to build a brand name. I had to make sure that every customer engagement was a shining example of success and efficiency because I not only wanted more business, I wanted my customers to tell everyone they knew that when it came to RCM (Reliability Centered Maintenance) I was not only the best bargain, I was one of the best in the world. [Read more…]
Not every request we make is fulfilled. Not every assignment is accomplished. Not every task we assign is completed.
Why is that? Possibly, the lack of a complete request.
It may be the person we made the request to was incapable or decided to ignore us. Or, more likely, it may be our request was not clear.
An unclear request increases the chance the desired outcome will not occur. An unclear request permits misunderstanding and confusion to guide the path toward an unsatisfactory result.
Understanding the essential elements of making a complete request improves the chance the desired outcome will occur.
Let’s examine the 7 elements one at a time. [Read more…]
Our white paper regarding t-test calculations has been very popular. Those that use the t-test tool regularly have commented “I finally understand what it is all about.”
The natural question they ask me next is “have you done anything with the F-test?” It is another common tool and one that is equally misunderstood.
Due to popular request, here is our attempt at explaining the F-test tool, in the two possible methods of use. [Read more…]
Do you consider yourself an FMEA beginner or are you more experienced? Challenge yourself with these problems about FMEA functions, and see how you do. One of the best ways to learn is by pondering application problems and seeing of you can solve them.
If you haven’t yet read last week’s article Understanding FMEA Functions – Part 1, it would be a good idea to read it now, as the questions are based on that article.
The storeroom manager has the responsibility of ensuring the right parts, in the right quantity, at the right time are available. But what if they are pre-occupied with other tasks to properly manage the storeroom? It increases costs, delays work and increases Mean Time to Repair. This series continues with the storeroom manager. With the storeroom manager clear on their roles and responsibilities, the storeroom can operate efficiently and accurately. [Read more…]
Here is a common situation that is considered when reliability testing is being planned. Let’s use letters to designate depth in a product component structure. The top level product is level “A” and a component in top sub assembly is “B”. A sub assembly, of a sub assembly, of a sub assembly, is at level “D”. So is it more efficient to test the component at level “E” or at level “B”?
Question: Is it more efficient to test the component at level “E” or at level “B” to demonstrate it’s individual goal? [Read more…]
We get this question weekly and sometimes daily it seems.
Why? ISO has not defined Risk Based Thinking? And, this is a hugely important question because ISO has elevated RBT to the same level as PDCA and Process in the Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) of ISO 9001:2015.
One of the things we know is the marketplace hates a vacuum. Someone will develop a product or service to fill in the vacuum. This is exactly what we did with RBT. [Read more…]
Spherical roller bearings (SRB) are popular because they can take very heavy loads and are self aligning. Their design allows them to take combined loads in both the radial and axial direction acting together. Each roller is loosely retained in place within a cage that goes full circle between the raceways. Figure 1 shows a simplified drawing of a spherical roller bearing on a shaft under deflection. [Read more…]
