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All articles listed in reverse chronological order.

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US Government ERM Requirement Finalized

US Government ERM Requirement Finalized

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

We’ve been discussing how ISO 9001:2015 has adopted Risk Based Thinking that will impact 1.2 million companies.  ISO 14001:2015 will impact 400,000 companies.  Now, government agencies are adopting and putting into statute risk management.

We’ve been talking up the fact the US government is requiring Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), specifically Office of Management and Budget Circular OMB A 123, of all US departments.  This is a game changer for federal agencies.  In this article, we’ll look at some of the significant changes in ERM for Federal agencies. [Read more…]

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When is DOE Useful?

When is DOE Useful?

On page 6 of Statistics for Experimenters, Box, and Hunter suggest a scientist could conduct an investigation without statistics.

Whereas, a statistician could not do so without scientific knowledge.

The text’s discussion quickly expands on the benefits to a scientist when they do employ statistical thinking and tools.

Design of Experiments, DOE, is a set of statistical tools that allow an investigator to efficiently examine multiple factors and their associated influence on results.

DOE allows us to be better investigators. [Read more…]

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Illuminating MTBF’s Lack of Information

Illuminating MTBF’s Lack of Information

14586612669_cc57c310e0_m_dIlluminating MTBF’s Lack of Information

Here’s a simple illustration of how MTBF oversimplifies data concealing essential information.

By convention, we tend to use MTBF for repairable data. That is fine.

You may also be aware of my dislike for the use of MTBF, for many different reasons. If you find yourself suggesting your organization, customer, industry or whomever to stop using MTBF, you may want to use this simple example to illustrate the ‘value’ of MTBF. [Read more…]

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The Nine Circles of Planning Hell

The Nine Circles of Planning Hell

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

The Nine Circles of Planning Hell (Adapted from Dante’s Inferno)

Introduction

Inferno, the first part of Dante’s Divine Comedy that inspired the latest Dan Brown’s bestseller of the same title describes the poet’s vision of Hell. The story begins with the narrator (who is the poet himself) being lost in a dark wood where he is attacked by three beasts which he cannot escape. He is rescued by the Roman poet Virgil who is sent by Beatrice (Dante’s ideal woman). Together, they begin the journey into the underworld or the Nine Circles of Hell. [Read more…]

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Plotting Repairable System Failure Data

Plotting Repairable System Failure Data

A good plot reveals the data’s story.

Repairable system data is what is called by statisticians a renewal process.

The repair activity may restore the system to as good as new. Sometimes, the repair pretty much leaves the system in a state similar to just before the repair.

What happens most often, though, is the chance of system failure changes after each repair activity.

A simple plot can help us see what is happening. [Read more…]

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MTBF Search Result Sadness

MTBF Search Result Sadness

Equipment that didn't advertise with MTBFA Quick MTBF Search Reveals Distressing Results

I was preparing to write this article and wondered how many search hits would appear for MTBF? So, opened Google and did an MTBF search. It is a common if misunderstood, acronym.

Beyond the 5,200,000 Google search results, it was the first page results that got me thinking. Keep in mind that Google often serves up a combination of what it thinks you are seeking and which sites have been useful for others.

Let’s break down what you find when you do an MTBF search. [Read more…]

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The Excellence Path – The Path to Success with RCM

The Excellence Path – The Path to Success with RCM

We know that there are no “quick fixes” or “silver bullet solutions” when it comes to improvements in maintenance management. In my last article I pointed out that many separate conditions and events must come together properly to achieve “schedule success” – i.e.: the high level of compliance to a schedule of planned work as produced by your planners. That list of includes: [Read more…]

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Supply Chain Risk Management is the Hot New Career

Supply Chain Risk Management is the Hot New Career

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

The idea of supply chain risk management has been around for about 10 years. It is only in the last 5 years, that it has become popular. We are still at the early stage of supply chain risk management adoption and deployment.

In terms of total dollar amount, external suppliers provide a significant portion of a manufacturer’s product. For U.S. firms, 50% to 80% or more of the final price of a product can be the cost of purchased goods.  In Japan, it can be even higher.

For these reasons, any supply disruption can kill a supply chain.  As a result, supply chain risk management is now critical to a company’s competitiveness. [Read more…]

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Warranty Management Overview

Warranty Management Overview

Warranty is a part of doing business. Warranty management is not just the terms listed on the box.

Understanding the entire warranty process, along with your options, permits you to manage your warranty, rather than the other way around.

This is a short overview.

Pieces of a warranty program occur well before the first product ships and may affect the company bottom line for years after you ship your last product.

Brand promise, marketing, finance, customer service are not common areas for a reliability engineer.

Yet, the impact of product failures tends to dominant warranty expenses.

Therefore understanding the many elements around warranty management is essential for any reliability engineer. [Read more…]

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4 Questions to Ask When Confronted with MTBF

4 Questions to Ask When Confronted with MTBF

14805045513_43a0509d1b_z4 Questions to Ask When Confronted with MTBF

MTBF comes up a bit too often. When it does I have found rolling my eyes and arguing against using MTBF is not very effective.

So, what should a knowing reliability professional do instead?

Let’s explore four questions that you can ask that may help others find the value in no longer talking about MTBF. [Read more…]

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Capital Asset Management™ and RCM

Capital Asset Management™ and RCM

Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) is extremely useful for organizations considering certification in Asset Management or looking at improving their asset care practices.

Exploring RCM as a tool, getting training for instance, is something that any organization interested in Capital Asset Management™, Asset Management or compliance to ISO 55001, really should do. Here’s why…   [Read more…]