The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reported the following offshore safety statistics on for 2009-10 period.
[Read more…]Offshore Safety Statistics From UK HSE
Differences between Maintenance and Reliability Engineers – a brief literature review
Specialty overview
There is a definite distinction between Reliability Engineers (RE) and Maintenance Engineers (ME). Although they are highly dependant on each other. REs rely a lot on MEs and vice versa. However, those roles are often confused let also not well understood by recruiters, managers or regrettably, even professionals in the roles.
In a Reliabilityweb.com article, Paul Barringer provides a good summary of this distinction. He also underlines the vital partnership between those specialties. Some aspects highlighted by Barringer are:
[Read more…]The Power of Purpose – Exploring Transactions Versus Relationship
co-author Ron Butcher
Abstract: With nearly four (4) decades of experience in Reliability, Maintenance and Safety in my rear-view mirror now, I’ve gotten to pondering about what have I actually learned? What has been my purpose? For those who don’t know me you can learn more about my career pathway by visiting my LinkedIn Profile. In short, I’ve been a practitioner, consultant, educator, author, businessman, mentor and thought-influencer (don’t like the term ‘Leader’, sounds too cocky).
Given all this ‘wisdom’ (polite term for dues paid in years or the state of being ‘old-er’), what have I really learned?
[Read more…]These 5 Writing Tips Make Reliability Reports ‘Easier to Read’
The “Easier to Read’ series on writing tips helps reliability professionals make their reports easier to understand. The series heps technical professionals gain an understanding of how social media has impacted traditional writing. In some cases, the shift is obviously toward shorter, direct styles. In other cases, the shift returns to good practices that we have simply forgotten. Either way, the shift is real and impacts all of our reliability reports and other forms of technical communication.
What Inspired the “Easier to Read’ Series
Most of my inspiration comes from the people and projects we encounter through our consulting practice, JD Solomon Solutions. Such was the case here.
A few months ago, one of the technical professionals on a reliability assessment project commented that I posted a lot of articles on social media. He asked what I got out of it, and I replied that one of the things was improved writing. I suggested he give it a try. The idea for the series came when he asked me to give him some tips on how to get started.
[Read more…]What Can’t Be Replaced by Technology
Article first posted at Conscious Reliability by James Reyes-Picknell, Jesus Sifonte, and team.
The Phonograph came first in 1877, cassette players arrived in 1971, CDs made it to the market in 1982 and the just arrived ultra-modern solid state hard drives are devices all capable of recording sound. Likewise, the 1876 telephone and the 2 decades old cell phone are all good for making possible long-distance conversations. Certainly, sometimes technology changes faster than our ability to adapt to it. When you are still getting used to a specific computer operating system X.1 its creator is already announcing the launch of the newer version X.2 and the extra features it brings making it a better option than its predecessor. A change to the new version’s ‘toy’ always seems more convenient than keeping the current stuff – just think of Apple’s product development trajectory!
[Read more…]Behaviour Based Safety Culture
The Most Successful Workplace Safety Improvement Program
Guest post by Aaron Derby
Behaviour Based Safety (BBS) programs address safety culture barriers with effective solutions for changing safety culture and securing a positive safety behaviour change.
Behaviour Based Safety passively and positively changes existing unsafe workplace behaviours by identifying and reinforcing the use of the right behaviours that protect people in real-world safety problems.
In workplaces that want high safety performance, behaviour based safety programs, when properly implemented, significantly improve personal safe performance and greatly reduce workplace injury and illness.
Behavioral Observation Programs using behavior based safety management reduce safety incidents by bringing beneficial workforce safety behavior change.
[Read more…]Project Communications Risk: Matter of Resistance
Guest Post by Malcolm Peart (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)
In conflicts, or just differences of opinion, people push-back when opinions or ideas are different to theirs. These differences may not necessarily be wrong, but, a mere difference can constitute change to somebody and, as with any change there is inevitably some resistance to a greater or lesser extent.
As Newton discovered, ‘For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction’ and the same is true of people. This reaction, in the absence of open minds, may not only be opposite but, if coupled with ineffective communication produces increased resistance to change and, inevitably, friction.
[Read more…]Cultivating Excellence: The Art of Building a Reliability Culture
In the realm of industrial operations, a culture of reliability isn’t just a preference; it’s a necessity. It’s the bedrock of efficiency, safety, and sustainability, providing the fertile ground for organizations to thrive and adapt in an ever-evolving world. In this blog, we will explore the methods and principles that guide the development of a reliability culture, the essence of operational excellence.
[Read more…]Enhancing the Performance and Durability of Forged Steel with Annealing
with co-author Dr. Jay Desai
Steel forging holds significant importance in developed economies around the world. It is used to shape raw materials into precisely designed components that often have critical performance requirements. Due to their strength, durability, and reliability in harsh environments, forged steel components are utilized in a wide range of industries including aerospace, automotive, defense, and construction.
[Read more…]Fire At A Biodiesel Facility
A month ago, I wrote about fire in a biodiesel facility – the last one for 2010.
Four days into 2011, a fire was reported at a biodiesel plant in Indiana. A boiler used to heat oil which in turn in used to warm biodiesel caught on fire.
Evaluating Equipment Overhauls – are they Really Worth it?
The Equipment Overhaul Paradigm
Overhauling equipment is expected to bring it to an “as good as new” state. But is this really the case in reality? Equipment will deteriorate over time and progressively lose its ability to function. No matter how extensive the overhaul, the equipment will unlikely be up to the level of “newness” as when it rolled out of the assembly line. Sure, if you have this vintage automobile from the 1930s, and spend an absolute fortune on its overhaul, it might come close to being new again. But somewhere in the structure of this automobile, there will an element that is “as good as old” and vulnerable to imminent failure. Also remember that this vintage automobile is not out there generating revenue. There is no accountant running after you with regards to budget constraints or revenue increases. Where there is passion, cost might not matter.
[Read more…]Bathtub Curve and Human Mortality
The bathtub curve is one of the most famous graphical representations in reliability. It shows the typical trend of failure rate over time (Figure 1). This curve can be divided into three parts corresponding to decreasing, constant and increasing failure rate.
High but decreasing failure rate in the first part of the curve (1) indicates products defective or prone to fail due to manufacturing or design issues. The middle section (2) is characterized by low and constant failure rate. Failures in this phase are caused by unpredictable external events like flatting tire or power surge causing electronic failures. The right-hand side of the bathtub curve (3) shows increasing failure rate. In this stage, failures occur due to wear-out damage mechanisms such as fatigue, creep, ageing, wear and corrosion.
[Read more…]Crazy Risk Management with a Risk Matrix
A risk management risk matrix can trick you into leaving high consequences uncontrolled and convince you it is fine to do nothing to reduce the impacts of failure. Whether you think a bad event cannot happen has no standing in Law. The likelihood of an adverse event is unimportant; only the resultant severity is how the Law will gauge your risk abatement efforts. Did you do ‘reasonably practicable’ risk control?
[Read more…]Job Safety Analysis – Part 1
Guest Post by Bill Pomfret (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)
Job safety has come a long way in 50 years since the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) was enacted. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) says “more than 627,000 workers now can say their lives have been saved since the passage of the OSH Act.”
But the journey is ongoing and there’s much farther to go in eliminating death and injuries on the job.
[Read more…]T or F Must have Failure Data
False. Nearly all organizations do not have adequate historical data found in databases to successfully carry out an RCM analysis.
[Read more…]