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Scoring Your RCM Effort

Scoring Your RCM Effort

Like it or not we live in a society where we like to keep score. The score provides feedback; it gives those who are not involved information on the progress or success of those who are involved. The score can be delivered in an endless number of formats, the price of your company stock, net profits, unit cost of product, overall equipment effectiveness, or percent emergency/demand maintenance. In the world of Reliability Centered Maintenance RCM Guru Jack Nicholas gathered a team of experts several years ago to develop the RCM Scorecard. The result of this effort was a comprehensive tool that evaluated Key Performance Indicators at various periods before and during an RCM Project. [Read more…]

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The Vasa: An Engineering Disaster

The Vasa: An Engineering Disaster

The Vasa is a Swedish ship that was constructed between 1626 and 1628.  It is a great story of an engineering disaster,  well that’s how it is labeled. It doesn’t take too much investigation to see it is really a leadership disaster.

I saw the Vasa in beautifully restored condition at it’s museum in Stockholm Sweden.  It was retrieved from the ocean floor in 1961.   Amazingly after almost 300 years it was intact and well preserved in the freezing waters off Sweden.  This is it’s story… and warning! [Read more…]

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Reaching the Full Potential of Your CMMS

Reaching the Full Potential of Your CMMS

Getting Your Technicians to Use the CMMS as Part of the Daily Routine

The CMMS is often looked at as a tool for planners, engineers and managers, but that is only partially true.  The CMMS is a powerful tool for the technicians as well.  But getting the technicians to use the CMMS can be a difficult journey, and can blow up in your face if is it not rolled out and communicated properly.  As with other best practices, having the technicians use the CMMS is not easy, but by doing so you can dramatically improve the performance of the operation. [Read more…]

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Components of an Effective Maintenance System

Components of an Effective Maintenance System

If you are ever in the fortunate position of developing a maintenance system from the beginning, the list below will help you focus your efforts. Maintenance systems in small business, develop by default and without much forethought. This list puts together, in one place, the important components of a workable maintenance system. [Read more…]

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Value Added Auditing ™ = Analytical Auditing

Value Added Auditing ™ = Analytical Auditing

Quality, system, and internal auditing are focusing on risk management, process control, process capability, and organizational effectiveness. These value added audits require more information to be collected and analyzed to evaluate value, risk, waste, effectiveness, and efficiency. As an organization moves toward value added auditing, the auditor or audit team will collect more information, conduct in-depth analysis, and obtain sufficient evidence in order to reach conclusions. [Read more…]

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The Difference Between Risk Management and Enterprise Risk Management

The Difference Between Risk Management and Enterprise Risk Management

The uncertainty concerning the future performance of a product or system is a risk to the customer and supplying organization. A product that fails too often or in an unsafe manner may require repair, replacement, or a recall.

A product’s performance including its reliability performance reflects on the organization that designs, builds, and sells the product. A poor reliability performance is no longer a risk to that individual product, rather it is a risk to the product line and organization as well.

Reliability professionals have long been involved with identifying and mitigating risks. The increased emphasis on enterprise risk management through standards such as ISO 31000 require reliability professionals to consider the larger risk management framework and how reliability related risks fit within the larger context. [Read more…]

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Facilitation Skills for Reliability Engineers

Facilitation Skills for Reliability Engineers

We facilitate. As reliability professionals, we often lead teams to identify risk. We help cross-functional teams find and implement solutions. We bring people together and ease their ability to communicate clearly with each other.

Whether a leader or participant we have a role to achieve the desired goals. Our ability to facilitate enables us to work with others to get things done. Understanding how to facilitate well permits us to add value when leading or participating on a team. [Read more…]

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Is Technology Failing Me?

Is Technology Failing Me?

I no sooner accepted the meeting notice for a public training event in Europe that my mind began to race. The dates were setting off bells in my head for some reason so I pulled out my cell phone and checked my calendar.

The only thing now scheduled for those dates were the training events in Europe yet for some reason I still could not let go of the thought that I had something else scheduled for those dates. [Read more…]

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The Importance of Reliability Education

The Importance of Reliability Education

The importance of reliability education in a product development program cannot be understated.  A design initiative with mechanical content can be created solely by the mechanical team, same for electrical, and software.  These other disciplines will create a better product if they collaborate from the start, but this is not necessary. A successful product can still be created if they intersect later.  Reliability doesn’t have this flexibility.  Reliability tools don’t have a deliverable like a function or a feature.  They are an assist for the function or feature during the process of creation.  As an assist discipline, it only works if implemented while the other processes are in motion.  Attempting to add it after the design has been completed requires a deconstruction of the previous work if improvements are needed. [Read more…]

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Understanding FMEA Effects: Part 1

Understanding FMEA Effects: Part 1

If a Tree Falls in a Forest . . .

Why do you think FMEA procedure requires effects to be taken to the system or end user? Why not describe the consequence only at the local level. If a bolt in a complex system fails, the parts that the bolt was clamping together may come apart. Isn’t that enough?

“Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.”
Norman Cousins

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Leverage the Data within Your CMMS

Leverage the Data within Your CMMS

Unlock the Potential of Your CMMS by Accessing the Data Within

If you have properly selected and implemented your CMMS, you have the ability to truly make significant improvements in your operation.  This is made a reality by using the data within the CMMS to make data driven decisions instead of intuition or feelings.  This ensures the business resources are spent on the most important and strategic issues for the business.

In order to leverage the data within your CMMS, you have to ensure the data can be captured and reported easily.  This is usually done during the implementation phase. [Read more…]

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Changing Out Dust Bags in Reverse Pulse Dust Collectors

Changing Out Dust Bags in Reverse Pulse Dust Collectors

Changing out dust bags in reverse pulse dust collectors. The dust bags in pulse jet dust collectors require replacement if damaged and leaking or if blinded by the product. This work procedure indicates the process and methods to use to change-out and replace dust bags and cages in a dust collector. Keywords: tube plate, bag collar, air manifold, air plenum.

  • Clean out product in the plenum.
  • Mark-up a tube plate map showing the location of all blocked-off bags or leaking bags and hand-in with the work order on completion.
  • Lift cages out square to tube plate without damaging the cage collar. Use tee-handle hook tool that fits down the bag and hooks onto the cage wire ring two down from the top.
  • Remove the bags if they don’t come out with the cage.
  • Clean top AND underside of tube plate back to clean metal.

[Read more…]

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4 Considerations When Designing A Risk Management Program

4 Considerations When Designing A Risk Management Program

The risk management framework in ISO 31000 provides a flexible approach to create the right program for your organization. The document doesn’t provide advice or wisdom, so you have to supply that yourself.

The details of the risk management program or specific framework in your organization includes policies, procedures, analysis, and reporting, yet it also has to work within the context of your organization.

Based on the work of Greg Hutchins in ISO 31000: Enterprise Risk Management here are four considerations to supplement your wisdom as you design and implement your program. [Read more…]