Building a Reliability Plan

By Fred Schenkelberg

March 14, 2023 / 9am Pacific Time

This is an overview of the six steps to achieve high reliability from Carl and Fred’s book. Creating and executing a reliability plan that assists the team in designing, manufacturing, and supporting meeting reliability objectives take effort. Let’s discuss the details of that effort such that you focus on the critical steps.

Grabbing the plan from the last project with minor tweaks may seem efficient, yet it is rarely useful. Or, doing the standard set of tasks we always do makes creating a reliability plan easy. Yet, a plan to significantly improve the chance of meeting reliability targets does require creating a unique plan for the current situation. From understanding the reliability vision to execution, each step helps to improve the chances of success and improves the organization’s reliability maturity.

Where Does the Bell Curve come From?

By Chris Jackson

March 28, 2023 / 8am Pacific Time

Everyone has heard of the ‘bell curve.’ Sports show hosts, teachers, scientists and a bunch of other people routinely use the term ‘bell curve’ to describe uncertainty. But do you know where it comes from? It is not just a ‘pretty shape’ that seems to work, It comes from a really cool physical phenomena that we find everywhere. So the ‘bell curve’ naturally aligns with how our primitive human brain often tries to characterize or visualize uncertainty. The other really cool thing about the bell curve (and lots of other curves that look like bells) is that if we find it in our reliability data, it automatically tells us where to look in order to improve reliability.

If you want a basic introduction to one of the most common statistical concepts with NO EQUATIONS … this is the webinar for you!

Reliability Centered Maintenance: How to Reduce Operational Risks and Produce Consistent/Dependable Equipment

By Gary Stevens

March 1, 2023 / 8am Pacific Time

Gary Stevens brings over 26+ years’ experience in maintenance, reliability, construction and life sciences to our best practice webinar series. His passion lies in identifying and implementing M&R strategies like reliability centered maintenance and predictive programs. This talk will dive into reliability centered maintenance (RCM), what it is and how it can be put into practice. Gary will break down actions into four easy steps which touch on; evaluation, design and determination, quality and value, and implementation /validation. By concentrating on the reliability journey, RCM reduces operational risks and enables teams to work with consistent and dependable equipment.

Studying Fractures – Recognizing and Understanding Failure Modes

By Scott Turcott

March 1, 2023 / 10am Pacific Time

Equipment can fail for a variety of reasons. Instead of guessing how a part failed, its fracture features can be studied and the failure mode diagnosed. This talk will introduce how mechanical fracture features can be recognized, then how diagnosis can direct an investigation towards the root cause. Brittle fracture will be used to illustrate the logic sequence applied in diagnosing, understanding why something failed and applying this information towards developing effective solutions.

Talk intended for inspectors, reliability and mechanical engineers. Great for CPD.

Talk based upon content from the book – Decoding Mechanical Fractures.

Do Reliability and Machine Learning Models With Time Delays and Model Selection Matter?

By Dr. Hoang Pham

March 2, 2023 / 10am Pacific Time

With the development of various machine learning models, both model-driven and data-driven approaches in recent years, the task of determining an appropriate model which satisfies certain criteria from a set of candidate models given a set of data has become more challenging for engineers and analysts. In this talk, I will discuss various model selection criteria and some recent modeling studies of systems such as system degradation and body’s immune system with time delays.

How to Solve Complacency

By Aaron Cross

March 3, 2023 / 8am Pacific Time

“Complacency.” It’s a term we hear over and over as the explanation for problems in the workplace. In fact, a 2021 survey of more than 300 safety professionals ranked “Complacency” tied at #1 for the most pressing issue in workplace safety. However, what exactly is complacency and how do you address it? In this webinar, we will challenge your mental model of this vague term and show that while complacency cannot be eliminated entirely, it is something that can be managed. Three questions that we will address are: What is complacency? How does complacency contribute to an incident? What can be done about it?

The Dirty Dozen – Twelve Common Mistakes Made When Cleaning Circuit Assemblies

By Mike Konrad

March 7, 2023 / 8am Pacific Time

Post-reflow contamination removal of circuit assemblies is a proven method of eliminating electrical chemical migration (ECM) failures. The suggestion that some cleaning is better than no cleaning is grossly inaccurate. The fact is, to eliminate any chance of ECM related failures, cleaning must be performed thoroughly and correctly.

Join us for this informative webinar where we will review the dirty dozen, twelve common mistakes made when cleaning circuit assemblies. Modern cleaning is a go-big or go-home proposition. Circuit assemblies gain added reliability when a cleaning process is performed properly. When a cleaning process is performed improperly, reliability may be substantially worsened.

Retrofilling Transformers with Natural Esters

By Bob Rasor, Wesley Suplit, Roberto Ignacio de Silva, and AJ Smyth

March 7, 2023 / 11am Pacific Time

Join experts from Cargill and SDMyers as we discuss the immediate and long-term benefits to retrofilling your transformers with natural ester fluid. From meeting fire safety and environmental guidelines to extending asset life and increasing load capacity – there are numerous reasons to choose natural ester fluid for retrofilling your transformers.

Learning Takeaways:

• Considerations of retrofilling transformers
• Process of retrofilling transformers
• Advantages of choosing natural ester fluids

AIAG VDA 7-Steps to Complete your FMEA 3X Faster and Without Missing Any Critical Failure Modes

By Howard Cooper

March 8, 2023 / 8:30-11:30am Pacific Time

$300

In the world of 2023 (new normal), where we are resigned to limited access, limited resources, limited experienced guidance and fewer live FMEA team meetings, see how these issues can be exacerbated. When FMEA activities are interrupted or delayed, the results leave us vulnerable to producing products and systems of poor quality, poor reliability, poor maintainability and more prone to safety hazards! Thus, products of limited value in the marketplace.

Attendees will also see how this AIAG VDA 7-Steps FMEA preparation method can be applied when doing; PFMEA, DFMEA, SWFMEA, MFMEA, or FMECA, with an Excel template and workbook (provided at no additional cost with your paid registration) or you can use your own FMEA software package.

This course is for experienced FMEA facilitators and for engineers or specialists wanting to get started right, to populate their own FMEA. After, the webinar attendees will be given opportunity for free follow-up coaching, to help populate their FMEA 3X faster, while not missing any critical failure modes.

Corrosion in Electronics – Mechanisms and Methods of Analysis

By Freddy Gilbert

March 9, 2023/ 6am Pacific Time

Free for members / $25 non-members

As in a majority of industrial sectors, corrosion is a particularly dreaded phenomenon in electronics. Corrosion often leads to permanent failures in electronics, requiring product replacement. The signs of corrosion are diverse, and it is often necessary to use advanced analytical methods to understand the root causes of the failure mechanism(s).

During this webinar, Freddy Gilbert will give you an overview of the corrosion mechanisms in electronics and discuss the different analysis methods to use when corrosion is suspected:

• Overview of common corrosion mechanisms in electronics with and without the influence of potential
• Differences between low voltage (ECM, CAF) and high voltage migration phenomena (AMP)
• Test methods and practical examples

Lubrication’s Role in Energy Consumption

By John Sander

March 9, 2023 / 7am Pacific Time

John Sander covers the importance of reducing energy consumption both in terms of the environment as well as cost savings at a company level. He discusses the impact of friction and how to measure the energy use of equipment to track results. He explains the role that lubrication can play in reducing energy use and shows how the right lubricant, properly taken care of, can make a significant difference in how much energy is needed to run equipment. He includes a few case studies to illustrate the results that are achievable.

A Metrics based Software Tool to Guide Software Reliability and Security Test Activity Allocation

By Lance Fiondella

March 9, 2023 / 9am Pacific Time

ASQ RRD Webinar: A Metrics based Software Tool to Guide Software Reliability and Security Test Activity Allocation Presenter: Lance Fiondella Thursday, Mar 9 2023

Forget Human Error. Focus on this Instead…

By Aaron Cross

March 10, 2023 / 8am Pacific Time

We are all human and therefore must acknowledge that as humans, we are prone to making mistakes. Labeling a problem simply as a case of “Human Error” is self-evident and shortsighted. Most concerning is that it misleads you from the ultimate purpose of your investigation. Instead, we are stuck with generic action items such as “Don’t mess up,” “Be more careful,” or “Follow the procedure” that do little to reduce risk. If you have seen any of these as an output from an investigation then you are all too familiar with this shortcoming. During this webinar, we will challenge some of the conventional methods used to investigate human error that tend to focus on the human condition and leave you little to work with. Instead, we will demonstrate what to focus on during your investigation so that you can improve reliability in spite of the fact that we as humans err.

Asset Management and ISO 55000- CONNECT Conversations

By Ron Moore

March 14, 2023 / 11am Pacific Time

Is it an asset management strategy, or a maintenance management strategy re-labeled?  We’ll answer this question by reviewing ISO 55000 and its ramifications, and we’ll consider the differences between an asset management strategy and a maintenance management strategy, considering the following questions:

• Does your asset management strategy consider the business requirements of the assets over the coming 5-10 years? Are you growing- Rapidly? Slowly? Are you for sale?   Are you in decline?  Each scenario requires a different strategy
• What role does design and capital projects play in your asset management strategy?
• What role does purchasing play?
• What role does operations play?
• What role does maintenance play?

If you don’t have good answers to the first four, you have a maintenance management strategy, not an asset management strategy.

Basic Fluid Pump Types and Failure Detection with Vibration Analysis

By Bob Martin

March 15, 2023 / 8am Pacific Time

Pumps are common in most plant environments and are critical to the operation of many processes. Even with proper installation and sizing, pump problems are a common concern for reliability programs. An understanding of the different pump types and their applications, coupled with an understanding of the types of failures that can be expected over time, can help a reliability program monitor these assets in an efficient and effective way.

Learning Takeaways:

1. A description of the different pump types that a maintenance person may run into in the plant environment.
2. An understanding of pump performance and failure modes.
3. Methods to use vibration monitoring and analysis to detect and diagnose these faults.

Keeping it Simple – Some Principles of Successful Reliability and Maintenance Management

By Christer Idhammar

March 16, 2023  / 10:30-11am Pacific Time

Christer Idhammar has led an exciting 60 years in the worldof reliability and maintenance management consulting.  In this first of three webinars, you’ll hear about an encounter with a sheikh in Bahrain and how to successfully apply basic reliability and maintenance management principles.

Human Error, Human Performance and Human Factors

By Aaron Cross

March 17, 2023 / 8am Pacific Time

How many errors does your organization want? What is the error rate in your organization? What is it in other industries? There are radically different schools of thought on what human error is and how human performance is improved. This webinar clears up some of the confusion and addresses the myths around human error. We’ll review different types of errors and cover the topic of human factors. We’ll also share what some organizations have done to reduce human error and explain some basic steps you can apply in your organization.

Safety Implications of Public-Facing Robots

By Jason R Smith

March 21, 2023 / 4-6pm Pacific Time

Rapid technological advancements are giving rise to a new generation of robots that perform diverse tasks in open spaces and work alongside people. These robots are being utilized to improve efficiency and productivity in settings such as hotels, airports, restaurants, shopping malls, and private homes. However, robots operating in these environments have safety implications; they put people, including vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly, at risk of injury. In this presentation, we’ll discuss how public-facing robots must be designed with electrical safety, battery safety, safe mobility, and functional safety in mind to reduce safety risks. We’ll also introduce safety standards that cover these topics, including UL 3300 – the standard for Service, Communication, Information, Education, and Entertainment Robots.

HALT and HASS Design Margin Testing

By Aldo Fucinari

March 22, 2023 / 8:30-10:30am Pacific Time

$200

This webinar will be a detailed discussion on how to determine stress level comfort zones during HALT (Highly Accelerated Life Tests) and HASS (Highly Accelerated Stress Screening) testing. The webinar will go into depth to discuss different product types and what constitutes “Robust Design” for each. The instructor will cover numerous real-world examples of margins testing on various products.

The most difficult aspect of all environmental testing is how to relate the stress levels that are applied during the test to what they buy in long-term manufacturability and field reliability. This is a central topic that comes up time and time again during the Hobbs HALT & HASS and Reliability seminars. A statistical approach will help the student to understand the terms Frequency of Failure, Annual Failure Rate and Random Failures in Time.

Robust product design is a progressive design methodology that is verified by HALT. Variations in supplier parts and manufacturing processes are screened and verified using HASS techniques. The instructor will go over proven and real-world examples of successful applications of statistical sampling utilizing the HASS method.

Moisture Sensitive Devices- Part II

By Mutaz Y Bora and Steve Martell

March 22, 2023 / 12pm Pacific Time

Free for members / $25 non-members

Since July 2006 SMT components and PCBs have been required to be Pb-Free for most commercial applications.  Over the 10 plus years since then, as an industry, we have learned a lot about Pb-Free device and assembly reliability.

There are three primary industry standards related to classification, handling, shipping, and storage of moisture/reflow sensitive ICs and other electronic devices.  The most known outcome of these standards is a MSL (Moisture Sensitivity Level) rating for ICs.  While MSLs are also used for other electronic devices, they may also include other restrictions via a PSL (Process Sensitive Level).

To establish similar classification requirements for Non-IC SMT components, JEDEC, IPC and ECA formed task groups to write J-STD-075. The PSL incorporates temperature and other limitations for two solder processes, wave and reflow.

Within IPC there are related standards for PCB Moisture handling. This is mainly covered by IPC 1602

The presentation will review recent updates, test requirements, classification levels, etc., within the current versions of J-STDs 020, 033, 075 and IPC 1601, plus the background behind the recent publication of J-STD-020F.

Introduction to Cause Mapping® – Effective Root Cause Analysis

By Mark Galley

March 24, 2023 / 8am Pacific Time

Learn how to become better at solving problems in your job in just 45 minutes. During this webinar, we’ll demonstrate the Cause Mapping® method, which is evidence-based cause-and-effect root cause analysis that can be used on day-to-day issues as well as catastrophic incidents. Anyone wanting to become a more effective manager or team member can benefit from this discussion. Participants will take away practical tips that can be implemented immediately.

Effective Use of Contractors- CONNECT Conversations

By Ron Moore

March 28, 2023 / 11am Pacific Time

Contractors are an essential part of any plant’s operating strategy. In this session we’ll review a “best practice” model for the effective use of contractors, including a set of contractor selection criteria. Contractors are likely most effective:

• For low frequency, high consequence specialized efforts, e.g., large turbine rotor balancing, infrared thermography
• For high frequency, low consequence, low skill efforts, e.g., custodial work.
• For significant short-term projects, or during a peak demand period, when the existing workforce is inadequate.
• For turnarounds and major outages.

Maintenance is often a “core competency”, something often not fully recognized by executives.  You take a substantial risk in replacing your maintenance organization with a set of cheaper “warm bodies” and expecting significantly better performance.  We will review a case study illustrating this.

Oil & Gas Industry Focus: Motion Amplification Through Your Lens

By Paul Barna

March 30, 2023 / 10am Pacific Time

The oil and gas industry has historically inspired innovation and technological advancement. As techniques for extracting, moving, and refining fossil fuels improve, and as technology-driven demands increase, the pressure to keep up with these advances can be daunting. RDI Technologies entered the O&G industry as a solution provider with an edge. RDI subscribes to the simple but true thought process of seeing is believing- all made possible by Motion Amplification™.

MA technology concentrates on securing measurements in movement, deflection, displacement, and vibration undetectable by the human eye. Ability and power are made possible by utilizing every pixel in the camera’s viewfinder as sensors of measurement. Each pixel plays a part in taking measurements; therefore, increasing pixels (sensors) increases the accuracy in determining those measurements.

“Our technology is the very spirit of seeing is believing,” says Paul Barna, Regional Sales Manager with RDI Technologies. “It is 100 percent safe and effective, allowing our customers to identify problems and valuable data quickly.” Join Paul as he shares this ground-breaking technology of Motion Amplification® and demonstrates the benefits his O&G customers have come to rely on daily.

Failure Investigation and Root Cause Analysis

By John E Lincoln

March 31, 2023 / 10-11:30am Pacific Time

$150

The FDA has faulted companies repeatedly for failure to identify, systematically investigate, resolve, and then verify/validate and monitor for reslution of the key underlying problem basically an inability to define, locate and resolve the basic problem(s) or root cause(s) using a repeatable system. Consequently, the most important area audited by the FDA is CAPA it assures the FDA that company is in compliance without the Agency constantly auditing it. However, one of the most cited 483 observation is failure to resolve the key underlying problem and close out CAPA documents in a timely manner basically an inability to define, locate and resolve the basic problem(s) or root cause(s). FI and RCA also play a major part in sucessful V&V and other CGMP activities. Regular, defined, systematic use of a few simple but powerful tools can contribute greatly to reduction of product liability, cost reduction efforts, less chance of recalls, and an improved bottom line.