Blog - Accendo Reliability

Total Filth Ahead In Act II of Communicating with FINESSE

In a recent article, I shared that every written or verbal communication needs a structure. Aristotle believed that every poem or theatrical performance should follow a three-act structure. The three-act structure stands the test of time in all forms of writing and performing arts. It is also a straightforward and extremely efficient structure. More importantly, it works subtly but effectively with our human thinking processes.

The three-act structure is alive and well in the series “Communicating with FINESSE” on Accendo Reliability. Act One – the Opening – frames what is to come in Act II and lays the foundation of Systems Thinking needed for effective communications. Check out the building story of Act One in these articles: The One Thing Your Approach to Communication & Facilitation is Missing, Effective Communication Is The #1 Thing That Changes Your Life, and Do You Know These Dirty Secrets of Effective Communication?

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by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

Process Instruments For Difficult And Corrosive Environments

There is always a degree of uncertainty in selecting instrumentation for difficult or corrosive environments. Material selection for chemical compatibility involves a strained decision between cost and equipment reliability and longevity. The other major uncertainty is whether the instrument is appropriate for the application – will it repeatedly give truly representative readings all it’s operating life? This article presents a list of instrumentation successfully used in a range of difficult and chemically demanding environments.

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by James Reyes-Picknell Leave a Comment

Surfside – Inspecting to failure!

Like Surfside, are you “inspecting to failure”?

In June 2021, we learned about the partial collapse of a condominium in Surfside Florida, with devastating results – only a few survivors, and many fatalities. The building had actually been inspected in 2018 by a qualified engineer, and parts of it were deemed to be “structurally unsound”. In plain English, that means the building’s structure was no longer in good condition and possibly dangerous. It was unsafe to use. The report was submitted to a local authority who raised no red flags, and the building owners chose to do nothing about it. Roughly 3 years later – disaster. It’s a sad example of “inspecting to failure”.

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by Greg Hutchins Leave a Comment

Goldilocks Management: Getting Things ‘Just Right’

Guest Post by Malcolm Peart (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

I was once taught that good project management and mitigating the risk of failure was a combination of Fayol’s three pillars of planning, organising and controlling glued together by effective communication and enclosed in a bubble of morale. I was later to learn that that if one overindulges or ignores any one pillar, or fails to communicate effectively rather than just efficiently, the oftentimes thin bubble of morale may rupture. The unfortunate result is the loss of management coherence and the real possibility of project failure.

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by Ramesh Gulati Leave a Comment

Certification and Competencies

Competency is defined as the capability to apply or use the set of related knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform a task or work safely and consistently to a required standard. Simply stated, Competency is a critical skill set needed to do a job successfully. On the other hand, Certifications are designated credentials earned by an individual or organization to verify their legitimacy and competence to perform a job or produce something in a stated environment.

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by Nancy Regan Leave a Comment

Move from Reactive Maintenance

Reactive Maintenance can be costly and frustrating. Avoid chronic breakdowns by moving towards Proactive Maintenance. In this video I share how Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) can help you move from Reactive Maintenance to Proactive Maintenance.

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by Sanjeev Saraf Leave a Comment

Zero Incident Plants – Is It Possible?

Chemical industry has evolved dramatically since the first sulfuric acid manufacturing plant was established in the 18^thcentury. Modern day chemical plant is an engineering marvel producing valuable chemicals necessary for the societal progress. Although safe for the most part, chemical industries have witnessed a few significant accidents in the last two decades. The Bhopal disaster marked the turning point in the history of chemical plant’s process safety. The Bhopal disaster resulted in an increased concern and anxiety among everyone safe operation of a plant. There are several landmark events that followed the 1984 Bhopal disaster:

‘Fantasy’ Maintenance: The Illusion of Best Practices

The following article was published in Plant Services earlier this year with the title, “Don’t get stuck in reactive mode – The world of fantasy maintenance is calling you”. The alias of the author is Captain Unreliability, so all credit should go to the Captain:-).

To the veterans in the field, you will connect with this article in a heartbeat. You will be laughing all along the way. In the end, I will add a commentary about while this may appear comical, it sadly is reality in many places that we all work (or have worked). But I’ll leave that up to you, to be the judge. In the end, please relate your own experiences and let me know if this is B.S. in your world or not!

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by JD Solomon Leave a Comment

Fabulous Facilitation: Control the Tempo, Control the Ebb and Flow

We had met at the same place, at the same time, and in the same format every month for the past six months. The team still had eight months to go to complete the master plan. For the past three months, half of the sessions included breakout groups where participants worked together to develop key aspects of the final document. Everything was being performed just like everyone had agreed in the project charter. However, the burnout could be seen in their eyes and heard in their voices…

A seasoned team had designed a week to do Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA). We would spend a slow-paced Monday afternoon working through the plant overview and a low-intensity Friday morning reviewing what we had done over the week. Everyone was committed to an intense, action-packed middle three days where we would get most of the heavy lifting done. However, by mid-morning Thursday, it was apparent that interest was fading fast…

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by Carl S. Carlson Leave a Comment

Facilitation Skill # 7 – Managing Conflict

“Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress” – Gandhi

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “conflict” as, “an incompatibility between two or more opinions, principles, or interests.”

What is the value of conflict in an FMEA?

Conflicts are bound to arise from time to time. They can be positive and beneficial. An absence of any expressions of disagreement or conflict may indicate a problem in adequacy or quality of facilitation. Facilitators should not be afraid of conflict, but should learn the value of disagreements and how to manage them. Understanding the difference between healthy debates and dysfunctional arguments is critical to good facilitation. [Read more…]

by Michael Pfeifer, Ph.D., P.E. Leave a Comment

Metal Corrosion

In the previous article I discussed sources of stressors that can cause degradation of the materials in components and joints. In this article I’ll discuss the basics of metal corrosion – the electrochemical cell, seven common forms of corrosion, and examples of metals engineering and mechanical design approaches to control corrosion.

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by James Reyes-Picknell Leave a Comment

Conspiracy Theory Debunked – Maintenance Leads to Reliability

If you believe that reliable operations will result if you just follow your maintenance program, then you might also believe a few falsehoods about reliability and maintenance. First is the falsehood that maintenance is all you need to achieve reliability. Maintenance is about sustaining the asset’s operating conditions, not just fixing it when it breaks. Indeed, you do need to follow your maintenance program but it is not all there is to do, and it had better be the right program.

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by Greg Hutchins Leave a Comment

Hindsight from 2020: Strategies for the New Normal

Guest Post by Daniel Burrus (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

These days, you can find a slurry of memes and motivational graphics on social media alluding to the concept that you must always beat out your competition in business. But contrary to popular belief, competing with other businesses is actually quite counterproductive, especially in the post-pandemic “new normal” we face – something we never expected to be facing as we entered this new decade.

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by Mike Sondalini Leave a Comment

Maximizing Maintenance Work Quality and Equipment Reliability in Shutdowns

A presentation by Mike Sondalini at the Shutdowns and Turnarounds 2011 Conference.

The presentation covers:

The connection between maintenance work quality and the time to the next breakdown.
Using the Taguchi Loss Function to explain why work quality is important.
Effectively specifying and measuring maintenance work quality requirements for shutdowns.

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by Ray Harkins Leave a Comment

From Maker to Manager, Part 5: Practicing Sales and Negotiation

One of the most important skill sets you could master to prepare you for business leadership is sales and negotiation. Some of you may be thinking, “Gosh, I’m not going into sales or marketing. I can skip this blog post!”

But I want to assure you, regardless of your field, sales and negotiation are part of it.

If you’re working in operations and want to expand your department, you need to sell that idea to your executive staff. If you’re a designer with a bright idea for a new line, you’re going to have to sell that idea to the people you work with … to the other managers, engineers and stakeholders in your organization.

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