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Estimating the Normal Distribution Parameters and Tolerance Limits

Estimating the Normal Distribution Parameters and Tolerance Limits

Frequently, data collection is the most time consuming and expensive part of a project. Consequently, people work with small sample data. There is too little data to plot a histogram, so the analysis assumes the underlying population is normally distributed.

A frequent error is to assume the sample average and standard deviation are the population normal mean and standard deviation. When small sample sizes are being analyzed, these assumptions lead to estimation errors.

Methods to make better estimates are discussed in this article. [Read more…]

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Asset Healthcare Management

Asset Healthcare Management

Guest Post By: Luis Daniel Khalil

Condition monitoring can help to predict failures and anticipate to them, however it doesn’t always work like this — in the best case scenario we might be able to identify early phase failures or incipient stage of damage mechanisms or failure mechanisms, but if we use it in the wrong manner it will just be a reactive tool.

More than 80% of the failure modes could be randomly patterned. Although performance, vibration, temperature or lube oil condition are being monitored, many of the failures are still not directly predicted by only these conditions. [Read more…]

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Considerations and Pitfalls when Designing ALT

Considerations and Pitfalls when Designing ALT

I just returned from the IEEE ASQ Accelerated Stress Test and Reliability Conference, held this year in Austin, Texas.  It’s always been a great conference. There is such a good comradery and sharing of knowledge when a large group comes together on such a specific topic. I meet a lot of great people from many different industries, all with great experience to share. [Read more…]

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Plant the Seeds for Tomorrow: Implementing a CMMS

Plant the Seeds for Tomorrow: Implementing a CMMS

Most CMMS’ Fail at the Implementation Phase, Don’t Let This Be You

Most organizations only use 50% of their CMMS’s capabilities.  This is for a variety of reasons, but one of the largest reasons, is that the CMMS was not setup, configured or implemented correctly.  If the implementation of the CMMS was not done properly, the usability and information in the CMMS limits its potential.

How can you prevent the implementation from failing or delivering sub-par results?  There are a few ways to ensure a successful CMMS implementation.  This post will cover the 2 main ways to ensure a successful implementation. [Read more…]

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Bronze — Use the Right One in the Right Place

Bronze — Use the Right One in the Right Place

By Richard Lang of Abonnel Precision Engineering

This quarter we would talk a little about bronzes, their properties and applications. One of our readers said they occasionally hear people refer to a brass bush when in fact they want a bronze bush and could we write something on this. Lets also look at the range of materials one may come across:

  • Leaded Gun Metal (LG2)
  • Aluminium Bronze
  • High tensile brass
  • Phosphor Bronze (PB1)
  • Manganese bronze
  • Brass

[Read more…]

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Case Study: Creating a Spare Parts Purchase List with Confidence

Case Study: Creating a Spare Parts Purchase List with Confidence

Guest Author: Jason Ballentine, VP of Engineering for ARMS Reliability

Starting from Scratch with Spares

As anyone with a hand in running a household knows, it’s important to keep a stockpile of key items. You certainly don’t want to find out the hard way that you’re on your last square of toilet paper. But in the case of a facility like a power plant, a missing spare part could be more than just a nuisance—it could be downright expensive. [Read more…]

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5 Tips to Kick-Start Continuous Improvement Implementation

5 Tips to Kick-Start Continuous Improvement Implementation

I’m currently working with a large company on a continuous improvement project that started a few months ago with a detailed analysis on some of their critical assets. Within one weeks’ time we had a list of over 250 recommendations that needed to be implemented and performed in order to recognize an improved and sustained level of productivity that would provide a quick return on investment and lower the unit cost of their product.

Two months ago I was highly confident they would jump right on completing the recommended tasks. [Read more…]

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Confidence and “Confidence”

Confidence and “Confidence”

Confidence is used in reliability to give a probabilistic value to the likelihood that a taken measurement will represent a full population.  It is determined by measuring a sample size and then using a selected statistical distribution table to translate to a likelihood. Emotional confidence is how one feels about making a decision based on known information at a specific point in time.   Similar but different. But it is important to connect them.  This is why. [Read more…]

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The Right Way to Select the Right CMMS

The Right Way to Select the Right CMMS

Selecting the Right CMMS can mean the Difference between Success and Failure

Imagine spending $100,000s or $1,000,000s on a software package that is supposed to improve your maintenance operation.   A few years later you still have not seen any improvement and you did not generate any return on investment with the software.  This happens every day when businesses select the wrong the CMMS.

Selecting a CMMS can be an overwhelming task, especially when so much rides upon the success of CMMS.  You can read reviews and select a CMMS based on those, but the CMMS may not be the right one for you.  The CMMS has to be fit for your business / operation or you will not see the right results.  Thankfully there are two ways to select the right CMMS. [Read more…]

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#2 Best Job — Risk Manager

#2 Best Job — Risk Manager

“One Thing is Certain: 2017 Will Be the Year of Uncertainty for CEO’s’”

Shouted a recent Wall Street Journal article.[1]

Why?

Let’s look at the reasons at why we live in VUCA time (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity).

  • President Trump is disrupting business rules and business models.
  • Technological change is increasing.
  • Mass immigration is resulting in political divisions.
  • Climate change is real and increasing.
  • Globalization benefits are unclear due to job and work transference.

[Read more…]

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What is the Best Reliability Training for Me?

What is the Best Reliability Training for Me?

Reliability engineering, analysis, management, testing… − Where do I get the skills and training to be really effective? University or College? In-house? Conferences? Webinars? Software or Equipment Suppliers? Journals? A colleague? − Do I need a Certification? − Do I need an integrated program, or only specific stand-alone techniques?

Everyone has to start somewhere. And if we are going to be smart about it, we should examine our needs and make a plan… [Read more…]