Your Reliability Engineering Professional Development Site
Thanks to a reader that noticed my question on why MTBF came into existence, we have a new (new to me at least) rationale for using MTBF. Basically, MTBF provides clarity on the magnitude of a number, because a number in scientific notation is potentially confusing.
What is doubly concerning is the use of MTTF failure rate values in ISO standards dealing with system safety.
Let’s explore the brief email exchange and my thoughts. [Read more…]
Safety showers and eyewash stations are installed when dangerous goods are present. The shower installation has to meet recognised standards like American National Standard Z385.1. This article notes the key requirements for safety shower installations and discusses some practical issues. [Read more…]
Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) are still futuristic – but there are plenty of people are thinking about them and what they would mean – particularly as they relate to safety. And when they do, they invariably think about how vehicles are currently regulated as a starting point.
We envisage perhaps more autonomous vehicle regulation, standards and rules – because AVs are more complex and complicated. But for every regulation, standard and rule, we take responsibility away from the manufacturer.
Why? Because all the manufacturer needs to do is ensure that their AV meets each regulation, standard and rule for them to not be liable for subsequent accidents (this is a simplistic interpretation to be sure … but satisfactory for the sake of this article).
Is this desirable? Is this possible?
What readers will learn in this article.
Guest Post by Paul Kostek (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)
Frequently in my work as a systems engineer I’m faced with producing several artifacts for a project, typically a system architecture, model(s), requirements, safety analysis and risk analysis (management plan).
The challenge is many of these are treated as serial activities, items to be completed but not necessarily tied together. To produce an architecture and requirements that reflect all of the known/identified issues we should be working on all of these activities concurrently or at the least have a first cut at the safety and risk analysis before starting the requirements. From a project planning stand-point how these are shown on a schedule are driven by the size of the team and the project schedule. “What do we need to complete a phase/gate review” is how the schedule ends up being built versus what do we need to proceed with the systems design and architecture. [Read more…]
A confined space is anywhere not normally meant for human habitation in which access maybe restricted and the conditions in the confinement may be inadequate to support life or could cause engulfment. Obvious places are tanks, vessels, silos and below ground pits. The less obvious ones are cold rooms, areas of plant sandwiched between machinery and equipment, tip truck trays and open pit mines.
Keywords: risk assessment, hazard identification, job safety analysis, safe atmosphere. [Read more…]
Many of the chemicals we deal with each day are dangerous and need to be handled correctly and safely. Safe use of dangerous goods includes recognising when situations can arise where the consequence of a failure or error will result in danger to life, property or the environment. One of the methods used to minimise risk when dealing with dangerous goods is by separation and segregation.
Keywords: Hazard, storage facility, control, emergency plan, MSDS, material safety data [Read more…]
Something to think about in a day and age when most companies post their mission, vision, and goals on the company web page.
Do we really stand behind these statements and demonstrate the behaviors that clearly show we are willing to do what it takes to create a safe workplace?
If you have ever questioned this, consider two questions I ask RCM Teams as we analyze failure modes that impact health, safety, and environment: [Read more…]
Do you have one in your organization? Is it used regularly?
If not, your organization’s products are likely not as reliable as they should be. You are shipping products that are not as robust nor reliable as your customers deserve.
Derating and Safety Factors, defined earlier, provide a means to select components or create design features that have sufficient margin to accommodate variation in use and strength over time.
So why are these tools routinely ignored or given only fleeting attention? [Read more…]
Estimating the set of stress and stress curves is an interesting exercise that may have a greater purpose: safety.
The connection is clear when considering the potential consequences of failure.
For example, the loss of braking power when landing an aircraft may result in the aircraft rolling off the end of the runway. This could be into a river or road and may have a rather poor outcome not only for the aircraft. [Read more…]
Creating a product or maintaining equipment is actually about our ability to manage risk. The various risks are outlined below, and there are more to consider. This summary covers the basics related to reliability. [Read more…]
As 12%* of the CRE exam, this is a major section, yet not a very difficult one. There are three basic areas:
If you’ve ever needed to secure funding or samples for a reliability test or had to respond to customer field returns, then you probably already understand the value of reliability.
In some businesses, product reliability is critical to the product’s success. Some businesses strive to be the leading ‘reliable’ producer in the market. [Read more…]