Articles

The Hidden Front Line of Cyberattacks: Industrial Control Systems

It’s a quiet December afternoon in 2015. In the Ivano-Frankivsk region of Western Ukraine, workers are preparing to finish their day and make their way home into a cold night. Inside the Prykarpattyaoblenergo control center, which distributes power to the region’s residents, operators are nearing the end of their shift. Suddenly, an unprecedented series of cyberattacks takes place as they watch in amazement. The attacks eventually knock out parts of Ukraine’s electric grid, thus cutting the power to nearly a quarter of a million residences.

Reliability Engineering for Maintenance

85% of RCM Recommended Improvements Are Never Implemented: Is There a Better Solution?

It is disappointing when reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) studies are performed on a critical system, yet weeks roll on and then years go by without implementing the needed changes into the computerized maintenance management system (CMMS).

Work Execution Management

Demanding Excellence from Your Asset Management System

Organizations that aggressively pursue operational excellence have the best opportunity for enhanced profitability. They also realize value provided from a purpose-built computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), precisely configured to extract knowledge and manage by exception. However, the CMMS is only as good as the surrounding process and roles. Hence, a comprehensive plan is needed that encompasses the entire asset management system to enhance reliability, workforce productivity and job safety.

Asset Management

Augmented Decision-Making: When Data Replaces Experience

The evolution of OT is meteoric. Today, a proliferation of connected devices can monitor asset condition and performance, along with operational conditions. The information captured from these devices enables operational optimization. It can also prevent unplanned downtime through early detection of impending failures, allowing corrective actions to be planned.

Internet of Things Digitalization (IoT)

Failure to Launch: Why IoT Projects Fail to Get Started

The May 2019 The RELIABILITY Conference™ saw a significant increase in the number of sessions and vendors that included the Internet of Things (IoT), Industry 4.0, or digitization topics/themes. The IoT related content has been on a steady rise for the past couple of years, with no sign of slowing down as evidenced by the agendas for the MaximoWorld 2019 and IMC-2019 conferences in August and December 2019, respectively. Of course, if you are in the business of maintenance reliability, this subject prevalence is nothing new to you.

Reliability Engineering for Maintenance

How the Quest for Better Pumps Came to (Almost) Nothing: Part 2

Part 1 in the June/July 2019 Uptime issue closed with the experience-based statement that failure risk can escalate by certain specification practices, including some contained in API 610. Without going into the many possible reasons for bearing life reductions, the quest for better bearings in upgraded process pumps elicits several observations that should be considered when preparing a modern pump specification.

Leadership for Reliability

Moving Down a Reliability Continuum in Pursuit of Excellence

Southern Gardens has embarked on a journey in pursuit of achieving excellence in reliability. The key is perseverance because the road is often bumpy. Continuous improvement moves you down the continuum, so when you think you are at the end, you realize there is always room for improvement.

Work Execution Management

Battle of the Work Types

Terminology used by maintenance departments produce a wealth of information when performing an Internet search. World-class maintenance status, cost benefits of preventive maintenance vs. corrective maintenance, 6:1 maintenance golden rule and maintenance effectiveness are just a few examples. As you scan through search results for terms such as these, you’ll come across professional articles, opinions, exercises and infinite calls to action inviting searchers to contact an organization for additional information. You will likely find guarantees to improve your maintenance operations and overall bottom line by following recommendations. However, what you likely won’t find is a clear-cut understanding of the differences between these maintenance terms due to a lack of consistency among sources.

Articles

The Hidden Front Line of Cyberattacks: Industrial Control Systems

85% of RCM Recommended Improvements Are Never Implemented: Is There a Better Solution?

Demanding Excellence from Your Asset Management System

Augmented Decision-Making: When Data Replaces Experience

Failure to Launch: Why IoT Projects Fail to Get Started

How the Quest for Better Pumps Came to (Almost) Nothing: Part 2

Moving Down a Reliability Continuum in Pursuit of Excellence

Battle of the Work Types

Why Your Digital Twin Approach Is Not Built to Last and What to Do About It Now

Why Machine Learning and AI Are the Future of Oil Analysis

Featured Reliability Leader: Ramesh Gulati

Are You a Maintenance Hero or a Reliability Leader?