Your Reliability Engineering Professional Development Site
In my book, Uptime, I talk about doing a review or assessment to determine your current state as compared with your vision of some desired future state. This suggests to many that a formal assessment is needed. However, you might also notice that I removed the Appendix containing sample assessment questions. Here’s why… [Read more…]
I was shocked to find out about our drug and medical supplies reliance on China, a dangerous risk to the U.S. I believe most Americans were also shocked. I believe this revelation is a game changer and the American people will insist on change. [Read more…]
Reliability Centered Maintenance is an analytical process used in decision making about how best to manage equipment and system failures, and their consequences. Much of its output comprises maintenance tasks with assigned task frequencies. Those tasks will ultimately be managed in your Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) or Enterprise Asset Management Systems (EAM). You don’t need software to perform RCM analysis, but it is helpful. Given the link between RCM output tasks and the proactive maintenance program you will manage using your CMMS / EAM, it seems to make sense to link or integrate the two software tools. Integration should enable automatic updates of the PM program stored in your CMMS/EAM whenever the RCM analysis is updated and possibly feed failure event historical data back to your RCM analysis with a notification that perhaps the analysis should be reviewed. Alas, that’s not going to happen. [Read more…]
It’s our pleasure to welcome Steve Richmond, the founder, and CEO of Projetech, a company providing IBM Maximo as a service. He has a degree in mechanical engineering and is also on the Forbes Technology Council. Projetech started by building automation systems, energy management, among others. It’s currently involved in providing Enterprise Asset Management as a service, with Steve’s experience in CMMS and EAM systems spanning about 30 years.
In this episode, we will be discussing:
…and so much more!
by Alan Ross
I went to Washington recently to represent the SMRP Government Relations Smart Grid Committee, of which I am now the chair. I was there with other folks from SMRP to talk about the smart grid, and we ended up talking a lot about safety. The Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals—the fastest growing reliability organization in the world—is about to become an OSHA Alliance organization. That’s a big deal, because there are only a few organizations in the alliance and you have to jump through a lot of hoops to get in. SMRP has done that. [Read more…]
We’re excited to have James Reyes-Picknell, the author of Uptime, Strategies for Excellence in Maintenance Management, back with us. He’s also written Reliability Centered Maintenance – Re-engineered and Paying Your Way which is his latest book. James also trains and consults in maintenance, reliability and asset management areas across different sectors.
In this episode, we will be discussing:
…and so much more!
In a recent BMJ article entitled ‘Our current approach to root cause analysis: is it contributing to our failure to improve patient safety?‘, the authors’ state “Although RCA’s have been proposed as a mechanism for change, safety scientists believe the lack of improvement of adverse event rates in healthcare is largely because our methods of approaching change are ineffective”. [Read more…]
“A failure analysis is a waste of resources. We know why it failed. We need to move on.”
If you have participated in a failure analysis, you have likely heard the preceding comments, and been told to fix the problem ASAP. You make a change, but the same failure re-surfaces and you are in the hot seat again. What can you do to improve the failure analysis process in the future? Let us begin by reviewing some realities of failures. [Read more…]
We’re excited to have Rick Clonan back with us to talk about planning. He currently serves as an Implementation and Training Manager at Eruditio and as the Best Practices Chair for the SMRP. He’s been in the industry for close to 30 years as a technician, planner/scheduler, maintenance supervisor, CMS administrator.
In this episode, we will be discussing:
…and so much more!
The term Black Swan has been used frequently. This is particularly so, with respect to the Coronavirus. In an earlier piece, I discussed the term Black Swan. Given the increased use of the term in the current circumstances, it is worth revisiting the concept. [Read more…]
After the initial response to the emergence of COVID-19, businesses will have to organize themselves to survive the impact of COVID-19.
For countries that have successfully ‘flatten-the-curve’ and relaxing their social isolation, businesses will have to resume and ‘normalize’ their operations. [Read more…]
We’re excited to welcome Bobby Lee on this episode. He started in the maintenance field in his early twenties. He got a two-year degree in Industrial Systems Technologies, after which he worked at Baxter Healthcare. He then proceeded to work for American Zinc Products as a reliability engineer for nearly one and a half years. From there, he joined Eruditio where he’s currently a reliability engineer. During those years, Bobby got involved with implementing reliability engineering programs, FMEAs, RCAs, among others. He’s also managed to get his CMRP, which is what we’d like to know more about.
In this episode, we covered:
In the late 90’s, the show “60 Minutes” did showed that an average economy car worth $15,000 new would cost about $95,000 if it was to be built from aftermarket parts, and adding in an allowance for your own labor, excluding the uni-body (which wasn’t for sale). It is more or less a given that manufacturer’s make more money on parts for their products than on the initial sale of the product. The parts market is so lucrative that there is an entire industry of aftermarket, non-OEM parts manufacturers with their own reverse engineering capabilities to sell parts at costs lower than the OEMs. If you’ve ever needed an OEM part in a hurry, the premiums are even higher and lead times can be longer than the aftermarket parts “pirates,” as they are sometimes called. [Read more…]
The Central Artery/Tunnel Project, known as the Big Dig in Boston, selected probably the riskiest delivery method which helped cause the massive schedule and cost growth it experienced. The delivery method is called DBB (design bid build). This article is not about the Big Dig but it is about the risks involved in selecting a delivery method for your construction project. [Read more…]
Doug Lehr is the Founder and Principal of Integris Technology Services LLC. He has over 40 years of experience in the development of downhole tools for oil and gas wells and has built a track record of success in technical management, innovation, and industry leadership.
Doug has developed numerous products for oil and gas well applications, including composite frac plugs and High-Pressure High-Temperature (HPHT) tools. He has authored over 40 technical papers, articles, and editorials and holds 29 U.S. patents in the areas of HPHT tools, composite tools, downhole communication methods, and many others. Doug has lectured extensively on the topics of shale wells and HPHT applications and is recognized as an industry expert on both topics. In 2012, Doug was selected by the Society of Petroleum Engineers to be an SPE Distinguished Lecturer on the topic of multizone isolation. Doug also chaired SPE workshops on HPHT applications in 2014 and 2015.
Additionally, Doug and his teams have received industry recognition for engineering achievement as winners of the Hart’s E & P Meritorious Engineering Award and World Oil Award. He is the Completions Editor for the Journal of Petroleum Technology, and a member of API Product Standards Committees 11D1, 19TT, and 19AC.
Doug holds a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas, and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Houston.
Doug authors the Equipment Risk and Reliability in Downhole Applications article series. The article series abstract is:
The equipment used in oil and gas wells is designed to operate for long periods of time at very high absolute pressures and temperatures, frequently in highly corrosive environments, and with little opportunity for visual surveillance of equipment condition. The reliability of these products directly affects the economics of operating these wells, the environment, and the safety of the communities in which the wells are located. This series of five articles explores the risk and reliability associated with the downhole tools used in oil and gas well applications and provides recommendations for engineers on how to include reliability thought and practice in design.
Tim interviews Doug about new product development, risk mitigation or avoidance vs. the cost of an uncertain future event, and successful FMEAs.
In this Dare to Know podcast episode, Tim and Doug discuss:
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Doug’s author archive lists contributions of articles and episodes.
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