Accendo Reliability

Your Reliability Engineering Professional Development Site

  • Home
  • About
    • Contributors
  • Reliability.fm
    • Speaking Of Reliability
    • Rooted in Reliability: The Plant Performance Podcast
    • Quality during Design
    • Critical Talks
    • Dare to Know
    • Maintenance Disrupted
    • Metal Conversations
    • The Leadership Connection
    • Practical Reliability Podcast
    • Reliability Matters
    • Reliability it Matters
    • Maintenance Mavericks Podcast
    • Women in Maintenance
    • Accendo Reliability Webinar Series
    • Asset Reliability @ Work
  • Articles
    • CRE Preparation Notes
    • on Leadership & Career
      • Advanced Engineering Culture
      • Engineering Leadership
      • Managing in the 2000s
      • Product Development and Process Improvement
    • on Maintenance Reliability
      • Aasan Asset Management
      • CMMS and Reliability
      • Conscious Asset
      • EAM & CMMS
      • Everyday RCM
      • History of Maintenance Management
      • Life Cycle Asset Management
      • Maintenance and Reliability
      • Maintenance Management
      • Plant Maintenance
      • Process Plant Reliability Engineering
      • ReliabilityXperience
      • RCM Blitz®
      • Rob’s Reliability Project
      • The Intelligent Transformer Blog
    • on Product Reliability
      • Accelerated Reliability
      • Achieving the Benefits of Reliability
      • Apex Ridge
      • Metals Engineering and Product Reliability
      • Musings on Reliability and Maintenance Topics
      • Product Validation
      • Reliability Engineering Insights
      • Reliability in Emerging Technology
    • on Risk & Safety
      • CERM® Risk Insights
      • Equipment Risk and Reliability in Downhole Applications
      • Operational Risk Process Safety
    • on Systems Thinking
      • Communicating with FINESSE
      • The RCA
    • on Tools & Techniques
      • Big Data & Analytics
      • Experimental Design for NPD
      • Innovative Thinking in Reliability and Durability
      • Inside and Beyond HALT
      • Inside FMEA
      • Integral Concepts
      • Learning from Failures
      • Progress in Field Reliability?
      • Reliability Engineering Using Python
      • Reliability Reflections
      • Testing 1 2 3
      • The Manufacturing Academy
  • eBooks
  • Resources
    • Accendo Authors
    • FMEA Resources
    • Feed Forward Publications
    • Openings
    • Books
    • Webinars
    • Journals
    • Higher Education
    • Podcasts
  • Courses
    • 14 Ways to Acquire Reliability Engineering Knowledge
    • Reliability Analysis Methods online course
    • Measurement System Assessment
    • SPC-Process Capability Course
    • Design of Experiments
    • Foundations of RCM online course
    • Quality during Design Journey
    • Reliability Engineering Statistics
    • Quality Engineering Statistics
    • An Introduction to Reliability Engineering
    • An Introduction to Quality Engineering
    • Process Capability Analysis course
    • Root Cause Analysis and the 8D Corrective Action Process course
    • Return on Investment online course
    • CRE Preparation Online Course
    • Quondam Courses
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Live Events
  • Calendar
    • Call for Papers Listing
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Calendar
  • Login
    • Member Home

by Robert (Bob) J. Latino Leave a Comment

Does Improved Reliability Translate to a Safer Plant?

Does Improved Reliability Translate to a Safer Plant?

Guest post by Ken Latino.

I am often asked if there is a relationship between improved reliability and safety? There is certainly anecdotal evidence that suggests that there is a link. I’m sure anyone reading this can attest to similar beliefs from their work environment. But I was particularly interested to see if there was more definitive research that can back up these beliefs with hard data. I was able to find numerous articles that provided additional support data. However, I saw one from Ron Moore that really stood out to me. Ron has been a respected Reliability practitioner and consultant for many years. This article, which is posted all over the internet, shows more than just anecdotal conclusions on this relationship. Ron presents are a clear mathematical relationship that shows us that being more proactive and reliable also makes us safer. 

A Reliable Plant is a Safe Plant is a Cost Effective Plant

production capability vs injury rate

Let’s explore this relationship in more detail and see why this might be the case. 

First of all, when work is identified and planned ahead of time, we can build safety into the job. We have the time to think through any potential hazards and to get everyone involved in the process. Many facilities employ hazard recognition tools to identify potential safety traps before starting work. However, when things fail unexpectedly, we are not afforded this luxury. Typically, there is a rush to get the equipment up and running which adds pressure and time sensitivity to the equation. Perhaps we might have to do the job in adverse weather conditions rather that picking the time proactively when conditions are more conducive for safe work. I think we can all agree that planned work is safer work. 

However, I do not think that is the largest contributor to this improved relationship between reliability and safety. While planned work is indeed safer work, you still have to do the work. If you have to do work there is still a chance for injury. The real benefits come from not having to do the work at all by eliminating the need to do the repair in the first place. My good friend and mentor, Winston Ledet calls this Defect Elimination. Think about it, if the equipment runs more reliably and there are less repairs to be made, one could argue that there are simply less opportunities to put people in harm’s way. Winston has decades of research and data that demonstrates that lower failure rates translate into less opportunities for injury.

And by the way, improved safety is not the only byproduct of a reliable plant. When equipment runs reliably (less defects), we are more likely to make a better quality product. Longer runs equal more production, higher quality, and increased yields. Reliability is truly the foundation for any world class manufacturer. If you are struggling with safety performance, quality issues and low yields, perhaps you should be looking at your plant’s reliability performance for the answers.

I would really like to hear your comments and successes related to reliability and its contribution to safety.  

Ken Latino

Managing Director

Prelical Solutions

kenneth.latino@prelical.com

Filed Under: Articles, on Systems Thinking, The RCA

« Launch of “Asset Operations”
Steel Hydrogen Embrittlement »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

logo for The RCA article series image of BobArticle by Robert (Bob) J. Latino
CEO of Reliability Center, Inc.

in the The RCA article series

Join Accendo

Receive information and updates about articles and many other resources offered by Accendo Reliability by becoming a member.

It’s free and only takes a minute.

Join Today

Recent Posts

  • So, What’s Still Wrong with Maintenance
  • Foundation of Great Project Outcomes – Structures
  • What is the Difference Between Quality Assurance and Quality Control?
  • Covariance of the Kaplan-Meier Estimators?
  • Use Of RFID In Process Safety: Track Hazardous Chemicals And Track Personnel

© 2023 FMS Reliability · Privacy Policy · Terms of Service · Cookies Policy

This site uses cookies to give you a better experience, analyze site traffic, and gain insight to products or offers that may interest you. By continuing, you consent to the use of cookies. Learn how we use cookies, how they work, and how to set your browser preferences by reading our Cookies Policy.