Your Reliability Engineering Professional Development Site
Welcome to part seven of my 10-part series of blogs called “Uptime Insights”, where we explore a journey of excellence in maintenance. To stay on top, managers must implement strategies that keep operations performing at high levels. In these articles I will show you how to achieve excellence in maintenance – a critical business process in any capital intensive industry. [Read more…]
Get mechanical seals working properly.
Mechanical seals are used to keep the bulk contents of rotating equipment such as pumps and compressors from escaping. They do this by sealing the shaft that protrudes from the casing.
They require quality installation and operating conditions for a long life. [Read more…]
Guest Post by Roxann Dawson (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)
In order to improve business performance, manufacturing companies need to reduce the levels of non-conformance and attendant failure costs stemming from poor product design and development. Failure costs generally make up the largest cost category in a manufacturing business and include those attributable to rework, scrap, warranty claims, product recall and product liability claims. This represents lost profit to a business and as a result, it is the area in which the greatest improvement in competitiveness can be made. [Read more…]
Welcome to part six of my 10-part series of blogs called “Uptime Insights”, where we explore a journey of excellence in maintenance. To stay on top, managers must implement strategies that keep operations performing at high levels. In these articles I will show you how to achieve excellence in maintenance – a critical business process in any capital intensive industry. [Read more…]
Guest Post by Greg Hutchins (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)
More ISO management systems are incorporating RBT and risk, so the standard is becoming a ‘must know’ standard. ISO 31000 risk management principles, risk management framework, and risk management process are the preferred tools to use with ISO management systems because ISO 31000: [Read more…]
Vibration from out-of -balance rotating equipment can be frightening.
The ground shakes, machines jump about, hold down bolts come loose and parts break.
An unbalanced rotating body will produce forces on its bearings and transmit them throughout its structure and into the foundations.
Keywords: rotor, centrifugal forces, balance quality. [Read more…]
Welcome to part five of my 10-part series of blogs called “Uptime Insights”, where we explore a journey of excellence in maintenance. To stay on top, managers must implement strategies that keep operations performing at high levels. In these articles I will show you how to achieve excellence in maintenance – a critical business process in any capital intensive industry. [Read more…]
Guest Post by Keith Ridgeway (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)
Every day we are exposed to all types of hazards, but what really makes these hazards become risks.
For the past 30 years, I’ve been involved in one way or another, investigating the root causes of failure modes be it a system, process, person, plant or product. During this time I’ve applied different problem-solving tools like “FMEA, 8D, 5Whys, FEA’s, DMAIC etc” in order to find the true root cause of this failure mode. Only to get frustrated, thinking I had found the root cause, only 3 months later a new failure mode would come to the surface. [Read more…]
Don’t run centrifugal pumps on the end of the curve. Pumps are designed and selected to operate near their highest efficiency point.
If they operate at the right-hand end of the pump curve the likelihood of cavitation increases.
Keywords: suction pressure, flow velocity, vapor pressure, duty point. [Read more…]
I’ve been managing supplier relationships for almost my entire career, including hardware component suppliers, contract manufacturers, technology alliance partners, and engineering service providers.
Over that time I’ve worked with a number of people at all levels who seem to believe that their one-up position as the customer entitles them to demand more from suppliers while paying less.
The attitude seems to be: “Do as I say or we’ll take our business elsewhere.” [Read more…]
Welcome to part four of my 10-part series of blogs called “Uptime Insights”, where we explore a journey of excellence in maintenance. To stay on top, managers must implement strategies that keep operations performing at high levels. In these articles I will show you how to achieve excellence in maintenance – a critical business process in any capital intensive industry. [Read more…]
In May of 2015, we finished ISO: Risk Based Thinking book. We answer more than 300 questions about risk, quality, RBT, risk based auditing, and certification. We will start answering questions that we get weekly.
So, what gives us credence since ISO 9001:2015 is coming out in 4 months. Well …. We coined and trademarked the expression: Future of Quality: Risk®. We used the expression CERM: Risk Based Problem Solving | Risk Based Decision Making years before ISO developed Risk Based Thinking. Twenty years ago, we wrote best selling ISO books. We worked with the first ISO CB’s in 1987. Anyway, you get the idea, we’ve been in this business a long time. [Read more…]
There is a good chance you can make astounding changes and achieve incredible performance improvements from your plant and equipment.
It can be done with the method used by Thomas Edison to solve his problems and make his discoveries. Improvements in the order of 20% maintenance savings with 100% on-time achievement of production plans are possible.
The method is that of continuous improvement. You start by proving it works for yourself first and then, once you are sure it works you introduce it to your people.
Keywords: continuous education
It’s been almost a year since launching Accendo Reliability. It’s been fun, exciting, and weekly.
Love it and really enjoy helping you answer questions, get stuff done, and master reliability engineering.
Since my wife and I just bought a house (out playing Pokemon Go when we stopped for an open house – and a week later our offer was accepted). Now we’re preparing to move ourselves to our new home.
There is a lot involved. [Read more…]
I’ve managed suppliers at multinational, US-based firms, and I’ve worked for a large electronics manufacturing services company, and those experiences have given me the opportunity to think a lot about the power dynamics on both sides of the table.
I know it seems obvious, but it’s important to remember that at the core it’s a business relationship based on a payment for a product or service, or an expectation of an ongoing revenue stream.
Suppliers are in business just like you are, and their decisions are based on the same concerns about profit and growth and predictability.
