Your Reliability Engineering Professional Development Site
All articles listed in reverse chronological order.
We often think of Statistical Process Control as a tool to help drive product quality by informing us when process changes occur. By systematically detecting (and rectifying) sources of special cause variation upstream in the process, the important process outcomes become predictable. Furthermore, a focus on reducing common cause variation drives higher levels of process capability and more consistent product performance. [Read more…]
“Assumption 1: Safety is increased by increasing system or component reliability. If components or systems do not fail, then accidents will not occur. (p. 7)
This assumption is one of the most pervasive in engineering and other fields. The problem is that it is not true.
Safety is a system property, not a component property, and must be controlled at the system level, not the component level.
New Assumption 1: High reliability is neither necessary nor sufficient for safety. (p.13)”
These statements were excerpted from Nancy Leveson’s “Engineering a Safer World“.
This contradicts the common belief there is a direct correlation between Safety and Reliability. I personally, being in the Reliability field for 30+ years, believe there is a correlation between Reliability and Safety. But I would assert that it is not a direct correlation.
[Read more…]
The information collected in the Storm Packer (SP) failure (Information) will establish:
When was the last time you were involved with a regulatory body? I can remember a time when a millwright was involved in an incident in our maintenance shop. He was using a 20″-disc grinder when the piece of steel he was grinding got caught and pulled his hand into the grinding wheel. He was off for a quite a few weeks, but he did not sustain any long-term injuries.
[Read more…]
When people think of problem-solving, their mind may instinctively jump to thoughts of things that are broken or things that need fixing.
Problem to most people is a matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome. [Read more…]
Online training is actually a pretty good way to go! For me, that’s a revelation. The isolation and distancing measures being imposed due to the Corona Virus pandemic have been a game-changer in our business and personally. In the process of shifting training content to online formats, I’ve learned a lot.
My conclusion is that online training isn’t just an alternative to the “real thing”, it can actually be a better experience.
[Read more…]
In order to maximize profitability while complying with government regulations regarding net package contents, food manufacturers and packagers must achieve an optimal balance. Consistent overfilling to minimize risk is inefficient and sacrifices profitability, while aggressive filling practices result in significant risks of non-compliance with net contents regulations leading to potential penalties, loss of reputation, and impaired customer relations. Statistical process control and process capability methods may be utilized to determine optimal targets for product fill weights or volumes for a given process. Subsequent focused efforts to minimize variation will allow the target to be further optimized, resulting in less waste without compromising risk. [Read more…]
Keynote address given for the 2021 UpKeep “The Maintenance Community” career development
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In past articles, we have explored the basics of Erosion, Corrosion, Fatigue and Overload. Our emphasis has been on creating an awareness and appreciation for the value of failed components, to any investigation.
In this article we are going to delve into Fatigue a little bit more (because it is the most common fracture pattern) and see how we can use an evidence-based, deductive logic process to determine what elements of Fatigue may have been at play. We are trying to create an intellectual curiosity within the front lines about ‘making the call’…is it Fatigue, or some other fracture pattern?
[Read more…]
The 15 things your new “Smart Machine” won’t tell you.
1. It won’t tell you that someone failed to lubricate it
2. It won’t tell you that they put the wrong type in
3. It won’t tell you if they under filled it or overfilled it
[Read more…]
Why is it that some individuals perform a PM Routine and always find something and others don’t? And why is that when some individuals perform a rebuild or overhaul, the equipment struggles to start and return to steady state? The answer comes down to how detailed the individuals are during the maintenance activity. But how can this be overcome with such a wide range of individuals in the maintenance team? The answer is precision maintenance [Read more…]
The “new normal” can be much better if we choose. Why go back to the same-old, same-old?
As we emerge from the 2020 pandemic and all the measures to contain it, your workforce will be returning to a “new normal”. What’s that? None of us really knows the details, but aside from being a cool phrase, it means being smarter and doing things differently with a great deal of awareness about disease transmission. Keeping our distance, wearing masks when ill, avoiding crowded venues, and patiently waiting for vaccines, will be a part of it, but what else will characterize the “new normal”?
[Read more…]
FMEA facilitators can generate deep discussion and stimulate creative ideas by asking probing questions.
“A good question is never answered. It is not a bolt to be tightened into place but a seed to be planted and to bear more seed toward the hope of greening the landscape of idea.” – John Ciardi
The Oxford English dictionary defines “probe” as “seek to uncover information about something.” [Read more…]
The purpose of control charting is to regularly monitor a process so that significant process changes may be detected. These process changes may be a shift in the process average (Xbar) or a change in the amount of variation in the process. The variation observed when the process is operating normally is called common cause variation. When a process change occurs, then special cause variation occurs. [Read more…]
