Your Reliability Engineering Professional Development Site
A listing in reverse chronological order of these article series:
How do you work-out the right life-cycle maintenance strategies? Does one strategy apply throughout an asset’s life? What influences the choices and decisions as to what maintenance to do and when it should be done? How much money and resources do you expend in the maintenance of an asset? To keep the concepts behind these important questions on maintenance strategy selection simple they are applied to a sheet of paper.
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Accuracy Controlled Standard Operating Procedures Use The 3T’s – Target, Tolerance, Test – For Work Quality Assurance
Assure production and maintenance work quality with accuracy controlled standard operating procedures containing 3t precision work instructions where work is done right-first-time, every time
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An Accuracy Controlled Enterprise (ACE) is focused on getting things ‘right first time’. The quality focus in an ACE is about doing a job, every job, masterly, whether done on the shop floor or in the boardroom. That is achieved with accuracy controlled standard operating procedures in which every task is proven to be completed accurately before continuing to the next task. It is about being a master of what you do so you deliver world-class results in your work. You can read about being an ACE in the white paper The Accuracy Controlled Enterprise.
[Read more…]Empowering employees is more than a management buzzword—it’s a transformative approach to leadership that benefits individuals, teams, and organizations alike. When employees feel empowered, they take ownership of their roles, embrace responsibility, and actively contribute to the success of their organization. But what does empowerment truly mean, and how can leaders create an environment where it thrives?
At its core, empowerment is about trust. It involves granting employees the autonomy to make decisions, solve problems, and take actions within their roles. This trust not only boosts morale but also encourages employees to innovate, challenge the status quo, and drive improvements. The result? A more engaged workforce that’s motivated to contribute at its highest potential.
Empowered employees are engaged employees. Research consistently shows that engagement directly correlates with productivity, quality, and even profitability. When employees feel their ideas are valued and their efforts make a difference, they become more invested in their work. This translates to higher performance, improved customer satisfaction, and reduced turnover—a win-win for employees and employers alike.
Moreover, empowerment fosters a sense of ownership. Employees who are trusted to make decisions take greater pride in their work. This sense of accountability not only boosts their confidence but also encourages them to seek out opportunities for personal and professional growth.
Empowering employees requires more than assigning tasks and hoping for the best. It starts with leadership that is committed to fostering a supportive and trusting environment. Here are a few key strategies to cultivate empowerment:
Consider a maintenance team where technicians are encouraged to take ownership of equipment reliability. Instead of simply following work orders, they are empowered to analyze data, propose improvements, and implement solutions. Over time, this proactive approach reduces downtime, increases efficiency, and instills a sense of pride among team members.
The ripple effects of empowerment extend beyond the immediate team. Empowered employees often inspire their peers, creating a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement. This collective mindset drives innovation and strengthens the organization’s competitive advantage.
Empowering employees isn’t just a strategy; it’s a philosophy that transforms workplaces. By trusting your team, providing them with the tools to succeed, and recognizing their contributions, you unlock potential that drives organizational success. The power of empowerment lies in its ability to create not just stronger employees, but a stronger, more resilient organization. Leaders who embrace empowerment inspire growth, innovation, and excellence at every level.
If you want to drastically reduce maintenance costs, stop lost production, eradicate unplanned outages and equipment breakdowns, you need to stop the continual introduction of defects and errors into your operation.
You do that by using quality management practices to drive continuous improvement of your management systems and so continuously improve the business processes, and your peoples’ knowledge.
To reduce maintenance costs and production downtime it is necessary to reduce the causes of the maintenance and downtime. Both maintenance and downtime are an effect and not a cause. The causes can be traced back to defects and errors from a variety of sources. Knowing that defects eventually lead to future equipment failures, production downtime and lost profits, it is necessary put strategies into place to purposely prevent them occurring in the first place and to eliminate them if they are present.
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True or False? Reading a book or taking an introductory course on Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) enables an organization to successfully implement RCM.
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The article was written to cause people to question traditional approaches to FRACAS. In time senior managers in companies will come to realise that FRACAS has little chance of successfully improving their company. They then can instead look for what does work to move their operations to world class production performance.
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My book, “Uptime – Strategies for Excellence in Maintenance Management”, now in its 3rd edition includes a chapter on “Evidence Based Asset Management”. It emphasizes the use of historical data, enhanced (substantially in most cases) by “evidence” from experts obtained through a structured interview process of “knowledge elicitation.”
The questions asked are not leading, they are designed to get at reliability related information from the experiences of those who generally do not understand the mathematics of reliability. That process is painstakingly accurate and tedious. Projects that I was involved in, involved highly educated reliability and data science experts, and took upwards of 6 months to produce analytical results that could be used.
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True empowerment isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a crucial element in effective leadership. In this video, George Williams, Founder and CEO of Reliability X, breaks down the last building block of the Leadership domain within the Maintenance and Reliability Best Practices (MRBP) framework.
Empowerment requires more than a simple declaration—it takes confidence, knowledge, training, and the right organizational culture to truly make a difference. Learn how leaders can create an environment where empowerment thrives, fostering innovation and driving success.
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In today’s video, we’ll outline the educational background and work experience required for an RCM Facilitator, as well as the essential skills and abilities necessary for effective RCM Facilitation.
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Here is a simple checklist of 31 maintenance management tips that you can use to improve your reliability and maintenance results.
Use it as a guide to start you thinking which maintenance management improvement strategies to use to lower your maintenance and operational costs.
The 31 maintenance management tips list below takes the form of a bullet-point list so it can be quickly reviewed. Should you wish more information in detail on any of the 31 maintenance management tips, then please read the PDF article 31 Sure Ways to Lower Operating Assets Maintenance Costs and Improve Reliability. If you have any questions from the article please contact us on the email address shown in the Contact Us page.
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True or False? The RCM Facilitator is responsible for checking the technical validity of the RCM Working Group’s answers to the RCM questions.
False! In this video, we explore the true role of the RCM Facilitator, highlighting their responsibilities and why they should not be an expert on the equipment being analyzed.
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A RELIABILITY IMPROVEMENT POLICY IS A DOCUMENT CONTAINING A SET OF PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE DECISION MAKING AND ACTIONS. IT TELLS HOW RELIABILITY WILL BE ACHIEVED IN AN OPERATION. IT COVERS THE WHOLE ASSET LIFE CYCLE AND SAYS WHAT WILL BE DONE AT EACH PHASE TO DELIVER RELIABILITY.
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Unfortunately, we have been operating in a crisis manner without a reliability improvement policy. Have you samples of a Reliability Improvement Policy that I can use as a basis of crafting one for my organization — do you have anything to share?
As I have stated in the past, the materials you post have been a big blessing to my work. You have definitely empowered me with great information that I see changing the way people work.
Hello Friend,
Industries using machines require them to run reliably (no failures or unplanned stoppages) with high availability (ready for immediate use) and high utilization (continuously in use) all their working life.
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Getting the right parts for your maintenance isn’t quite as easy as you might think. To begin with they must be included in your spares inventory and stocked on your site. If not, they must be purchased when needed. If you are reacting to a breakdown, you will need them in a hurry, and you may find yourself short. Why does that happen? And, what can you do about it? Missing parts can cost you time – time that the equipment is down and not producing. Your operators are idled and your supply chain folks are scrambling to help you. That increases maintenance and operating costs, reduces production output and reduces available working capital. Those parts are like gold to your operation!
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In this video, I reveal one of the most common mistakes people make when writing Failure Modes in a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA).
Too often, people confuse Failure Modes with Failure Effects, leading to wasted time and ineffective results. But don’t worry! I’ll show you how to avoid this by asking one simple question: “What specifically causes…?” This technique helps ensure you develop proactive strategies that improve equipment reliability, avoid unexpected downtime, and strengthen your overall maintenance plan
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The power of a strong team cannot be overstated. Teams drive innovation, solve complex problems, and deliver results that no individual could achieve alone. Yet, successful teamwork doesn’t happen by chance—it requires intentional effort through team building.
Team building is the art and science of creating connections, fostering collaboration, and aligning individuals toward a common goal. While it’s often associated with trust falls and icebreaker games, effective team building goes far beyond these surface-level activities. It focuses on strengthening relationships, improving communication, and establishing a shared sense of purpose.
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