Your Reliability Engineering Professional Development Site
All articles listed in reverse chronological order.
Some organizations are poor or marginal performers, some high, and some truly great. Jim Collins, in “Good to Great” (2001) describes the differences among the latter two. Much of the difference boils down to people and the culture that is fostered within the organization. They foster learning in all forms, including learning from mistakes. They are typically “humble” and accept helpful input from outside, admitting when and where they need to improve. [Read more…]
There are three important things we can learn about Inherent Reliability…from a cotton field! Watch as I explain what Inherent Reliability is. And, I discuss two important points any responsible custodian needs to know to achieve the Reliability that’s required from an asset. [Read more…]
In the situation where you have a sample and would like to know if the population represented by the sample has a mean different than some specification, then this is the test for you. Oh, you also know, which is actually rather rare in practice, the actual variance of the population you drew the sample. [Read more…]
Very few reliability decisions are made by reliability engineers. Yet, reliability engineers are asked many questions concerning reliability. How reliable will this design be for customers? How will the system likely fail? How many failures should we expect next month?
How you answer these and the many other questions received does impact the reliability of your product or system. The information provided those that ask reliability related questions, with useful and practical information, can make better decisions which improves reliability performance.
Equipment risk is a reality of every oil or gas well completion, but is this risk the exclusive responsibility of the equipment manufacturer (OEM)? To answer this question, let’s examine the major aspects of equipment risk in more detail. [Read more…]
The Reliability Approach… “Something understood and practiced by engineers and highly specialized technicians,” is apt to be the first reaction of the line supervisor, “certainly not an area where I can be expected to become involved.” Although this reaction is understandable; nothing is farther from reality. Let’s explore why in this paper. Please read until the surprising end (I know it is lengthy) and you will find that these Reliability Principles apply to any industry, any where at any time! [Read more…]
Maintenance Planning & Scheduling is one of the most important processes in the maintenance function. Without it, work will not be completed on time, nor will it be efficient. So why, is the maintenance planning & scheduling process often ignored, or not implemented successfully? [Read more…]
COVID 19 throws a curve ball in the path of life and job security. If you compare life as a walk through a forest, then COVID-19 is a high stone wall (curve ball) along the path of life. Do you stop and retreat or go over or around it and continue your journey? I think you get through the pandemic and continue along the path back to job security and low unemployment. [Read more…]
If you want to achieve your Maintenance and Reliability goals, here’s where to begin. But…don’t fall into the same trap I did…! [Read more…]
In system modeling and fault tree analysis (FTA) we use a set of similar calculations based on Boolean logic, the AND and OR gate probability calculations. Within FTA, the AND and OR gates are just two of many possible ways to model a system. Within system modeling, often reliability block diagrams (RBD) we model parallel and series elements of a system.
In order to do these basic calculations, we need to consider a few assumptions then proceed to the math.
“The danger which is least expected soonest comes to us.” Voltaire
This article discusses the application of Hazard Analysis, why it is used, and the similarities and differences with FMEA.
The Greatest Benefit of RCA is Generally an Unknown…Intellectual Capital
Because business is measured based on credits and debits, this is how we must express effectiveness of initiatives in reality. However, the physical costs are NOT the greatest benefit derived from RCA when done properly. [Read more…]
In May 2018, we sponsored a summit that brought electric power reliability leaders from all over the country to Houston to discuss the gap in reliability. I’ve had a few weeks now to reflect on the event, and I want to share those thoughts with you.
If SDMyers was the mother of the Electric Power Reliability Summit (EPRS), then I feel like I was the midwife. [Read more…]
In this age of infinite information at our fingertips, it seems that fewer people are finding reference books and investing in their own libraries. After all, googling whatever’s on your mind is free and easy. But books, especially reference books and textbooks, still have a necessary place in our information age. [Read more…]