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All articles listed in reverse chronological order.

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Critical Risks and Enterprise Risk Management

Critical Risks and Enterprise Risk Management

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

In other pieces the Lloyd’s of London City Risk and the Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves studies were discussed.  It was noted that both studies provide an assessment of the costs associated with the adverse impact of risk events.  The Natural Hazard study focused on natural Hazards, while the Lloyd’s study incorporates both man-made and natural hazard risk events. 

This piece will examine the policy recommendations made by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for managing Critical Risks and its relationship to ISO 31000:2018. [Read more…]

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Simplified Project Management (Part 2)

Simplified Project Management (Part 2)

In Part 1 of this article series, we explored a simplified project management process using a phase/gate structure that enables a robust project planning and execution thought process.  Now let’s identify some deliverables within each of the phases.

These deliverables would be required and reviewed at each of the gates.  Below is a brief description of each:

[Read more…]

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Introduction to Use Case 7

Introduction to Use Case 7

“Use Case 7” is a concept I am rolling out.  Use Case 7 is the way a customer may use your product in a manner that is way beyond anything you expect.

Examples:

  1. Me using a power drill as a hammer. “I’m not walking all the way back in the house to get a hammer just to put a nail in!”
  2. My Dad when he used to load 300lbs of firewood into the back of his Nissan Sentra. Then make us kids lay on top of it since the seats had to be folded down.  But I think that last part is more of a child services situation.
  3. That wire shirt coat hanger with the leather motorcycle jacket on it, and three pairs of wet ski glove clipped to it…and you hold onto it when you bend down to pick up your shoes.
  4. You when you were sixteen and had your parents car in a full drift in the mall parking lot on Saturday night (I’m projecting here), or when you owned that same car and didn’t change the oil…ever (sorry Dad)

[Read more…]

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10 Sure Signs That Safety Isn’t First

10 Sure Signs That Safety Isn’t First

In nearly 40 years I’ve seen it all, from those who are proud to be the best to plant sites that are in such a deplorable state, you hope you get through the tour without some type of injury, fire or explosion.

The first thing I learned when I began providing Asset Management and Reliability Centered Maintenance services as a consultant was how lucky I was to have worked my first 19 years for a company who took Employee Health, Safety and Environment seriously. In that time, I don’t remember ever wondering if the people I worked with or the Managers I worked for considered Health, Safety and Environment as the top priority. It was stated almost every day and reinforced with every job we performed through lock-out, tag-out procedures.

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Why Do DOE Upstream?

Often times DOE is considered a manufacturing tool. However, it can be used upstream during R&D and Operational Qualification (OQ) activities. There is much more leverage in this situation. A case study is provided from a client organization to bring the principles to life. This video is the slides and audio recording of the presentation at MDM Minneapolis, October 28, 2013. [Read more…]

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Fired Packaged Boiler Basics

Fired Packaged Boiler Basics

Steam boilers not used for power generation and of smaller size and energy output are termed packaged boilers. The heat source is usually either electric coils or a burning fuel. When a flame is used to heat the water it is known as a fired packaged boiler. Fired boilers are considered efficient steam generators with about 85% of the available energy converted to steam. They can be of water-tube or fire-tube design. Boilers incorporate many key aspects of heat transfer to create steam from water. This article describes how fired boilers work and their key components. [Read more…]

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Validating Business Continuity Plans Using Failure Point Exercise Methodology

Validating Business Continuity Plans Using Failure Point Exercise Methodology

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

Imagine that your plan has been implemented as it was designed.  You and your organization carried out the plan following every detail that was contained in the planning documents.  Your plan has failed.  That is all you know.  Your plan failed.  Now your challenge and that of your planning team is to explain why they think that the plan failed.  You must determine how much contrary evidence (information) was explained away based on the theory that the plan you developed will succeed if you implement the steps required to respond to a disruption of your business operations. [Read more…]

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Simplified Project Management (Part 1)

Simplified Project Management (Part 1)

Organizations often accumulate a list of desirable projects, however, may not have project management bandwidth to filter or manage them effectively.

While project management is a respected discipline, the Project Management Institute Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) has swollen to several hundred pages.  This level of detail and complexity makes it difficult to absorb and apply for ‘informal’ project managers. [Read more…]

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SPC Average and Range Charts

SPC Average and Range Charts

Introduction

In my prior article, the assumptions behind SPC were discussed in detail except for the analysis. There are two types data that may be analyzed, Counts and Measurement variables. This article focuses on normally distributed measurement variables, and the construction and usage of $-\bar{X}-$ and R charts.
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Communication Failure: What to do?

Communication Failure: What to do?

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

“Communication failure” is an often cited reason for project failure or cancellation.  All too often it is only recognised after the fact even though ‘poor communication’ will almost inevitably have been included on the risk register.

Communication is the transfer (and receipt) of the right data, information and knowledge to the right party(s), at the right time, in the right place, and in the right medium.  Information provides the power to make the decisions that are needed to make a project successful and resolve and overcome difficulties.

Effective and efficient communication allows the right decisions to be made and the correct action to be taken.  However, the conscious or unconscious spreading of misinformation is miscommunication and has the opposite effect. [Read more…]

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Why DMAIC Endures as a Robust Thought Process

Why DMAIC Endures as a Robust Thought Process

From time-to-time, there are new ways of thinking or shortcuts to solving problems.  However, the tried-and-true Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (DMAIC) thought process endures as a fundamentally robust problem-solving thought process.

DMAIC must be properly applied to be effective, however.  In this article we’ll consider some important objectives within each DMAIC sub-process.

First, let’s consider each sub-process as an opportunity to perform collaborative problem solving.  In the “Define” phase (for example) the stakeholders and team members mutually agree on the problem statement, goals & objectives, process under study, process start/stop points, team members, business impact, etc.

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