Solve. Achieve. Sustain.
Living With The 6 Failure Patterns
How To Manage Each Failure Pattern With An Effective Maintenance Strategy
Most maintenance and reliability professionals have seen the six failure patterns (or failure hazard plots), described by Nowlan and Heap. In case you are unfamiliar with them, you can learn more about them in a previous article on them. Here is a quick summary to jog the memory, just in case.
- A. Bathtub Curve – accounts for approximately 4% of failures
- B. Wear Out – accounts for approximately 2% of failures
- C. Fatigue – accounts for approximately 5% of failures
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The P-F Curve Revisited
Understanding The Importance of Proper Equipment Installation
There has been much discussion (and often debate) around the P-F curve. The P-F curve illustrates the relationship between the warning signs that are detectable by various technology or methods and the progression of the failure. What is often not discussed and overlooked, is what happens before the equipment starts to deteriorate.
If the ultimate goal of an organization is to be proactive and ensure equipment uptime, wouldn’t the organization want to prevent the equipment from failing in the first place and not catch it after it […]
It’s Our 100th Post! Thank You!
A look back at the past 100 posts and a look into the future
Over 2 years ago I decided to start writing about topics in Maintenance, Reliability and Asset Management utilizing a weekly blog post. This came about as I wanted to share my knowledge and information with the wider community, as my “mentors” did. I use the term “mentors” as I consider many of the industry leaders as my informal “mentors”. I learned from them through their articles and books and they became my “mentor” as I was starting out […]
The Importance of a Learning Culture
Ensuring Performance and Long Term Sustainability of Your Maintenance & Reliability Program
Imagine working in an organization that does not provide training or has zero tolerance to taking a risk, trying something new and failing. Or it is expected that you have all of the answers and do not need any assistance ever. Sound familiar? If it does, how is the performance of your plant? Chances are it is not as good as it could be. This example is great at illustrating what a learning culture does not look like.
“A learning culture […]
Top 10 Reasons Your Planning & Scheduling Program Is Failing
How to see if your Planning & Scheduling program is failing to return value to the organization
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?
I feel that it is not implemented successfully for a few reasons. The first is the assumption that everyone can plan and you can rely exclusively on the skill of the trade […]
The Top 5 Signs That Your Storeroom is Broken
A simple way to see how effective your storeroom is at providing the right part, at the right time, in the right quantity.
Storerooms are a critical part of any maintenance and reliability program, but they are often overlooked. When a storeroom is operating at best in class levels, the right parts are available at the right time. The storeroom is only able to achieve this when it its into the maintenance department.
As a result, I am often asked how to evaluate and improve the storeroom and its service level. […]
Get Stuff Done: Utilizing a Workshop Approach to Educate, Decide and Plan
How a properly plan and utilized workshop can move your reliability program forward.
Business Strategic Planning Framework Diagram
Many organizations often struggle to move plans forward. This may be due to the decision-making process and the people involved in the process. Often times the various decision makers are scattered across the company and may be distracted by issues in the plant. In other circumstances, the organization may know what the end goal is, but may not be aware of how to get there.
By properly developing and delivering a workshop with an experienced facilitator, […]
Here’s to a New Year in Maintenance & Reliability
A look at how I plan to improve reliability in the coming year
As the new year has arrived, many of the professionals in maintenance & reliability are finishing up shutdowns. Shutdown planning and execution is a rigorous endeavor but is necessary to ensure the assets continue to deliver value. The same goes in preparing for a new year.
Previously, strategy and planning have been discussed, and it is my hope that everyone has a plan to improve reliability and availability in the new year. This planning is not something to take lightly as […]
Using Governance & Accountability To Improve
How to Drive Performance Improvements in your Organization
Oftentimes, plans and strategies are developed and implemented. Many times the implementation is handed off and the team left on their own to implement. And many of the times, the implementation fails or the results are not delivered.
Why is this? It is because there is a lack of governance and accountability. These are more than just words. They are a system, process and a sense of ownership throughout the organization to ensure that the plan is implemented and any roadblocks are dealt with.
What is Governance?
Governance can be […]
Be Prepared: Have a Plan
Without a Plan, You’ll Never Get Where You Are Trying To Go
Image going for a vacation, but you don’t have a destination in mind, directions to the destination, or any funds allocated for the trip. What kind of vacation will you have? Chances are it won’t be a good one.
The importance of a plan cannot be understated. Without a plan in any aspect of life, business or reliability, achieving goals are difficult, if not impossible. Oftentimes organizations implement tactical activities, without a strategic plan. This ad-hoc approach often results in certain […]