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reliability centered design

Bridging the Gap Between Reliability & Six Sigma

In today's fast paced business world, companies are constantly looking for ways to improve. Two improvement initiatives that have come to the forefront are Reliability and Six-Sigma. It has been thought by some that the two initiatives are in competition with each other. That because both initiatives require an investment in funds and resources, that they cannot coexist. While competition may exist, both are vital to achieving continuous improvement. This paper will discuss the two improvement methodologies, show the similarities & differences, and illustrate how both initiatives are vital to continuous improvement.

Reliability Engineering for Maintenance

Demonstrate a simple example of reliability and you’ll gain a lot of support

Look around you. There are so many opportunities to apply common sense reliability principles and gain many untapped benefits. Watch this 8 minute video showing a simple Maintenance Task Analysis (MTA) example then think about the possibilities in your plant. Interestingly, this example was ‘stumbled' across during an RCM2 / MTA facilitator training session. You will see the value of getting Maintenance and Operations together to apply common sense strategies, in this case saving the company $11,000 annually. It's a great learning tool, too. Just imagine what you could achieve coupling RCM on high risk assets along with MTA, starting with the ‘lowest hanging fruit' in your plant.

Why Managers Don’t Endorse Reliability Initiatives

Don Kuenzli, as a plant manager, successfully transformed two oil refineries to highly reliable and sustainable performance by creating a culture of Continuous Improvement through defect elimination. He had a vision to create "a world class facility with pacesetter performance" for these refineries. When Don shared his vision with his boss at one of these sites, he was told that they could not afford to create this level of performance. Managers often make the assumption that the best performance is gained by paying a high price. There are many benchmark studies that demonstrate quite the opposite.

Reliability Engineering for Maintenance

PM Optimisation Maintenance Analysis of the Future - Part 1

The author, Mr Steve Turner, is a professional engineer who has been extensively trained in RCM1 methods and has deployed them over a 20 year period in various roles as an airworthiness engineer, a maintenance manager, as part of a design team and as a consultant. Over the past five years, Mr Turner has developed a process of PM Optimisation known as PMO2000. This method is currently in use at 12 major industrial sites in Australia and the Asia Pacific Region.

RCM in Uncharted Waters

by Abayomi Carmichael CEng MBA BEng, Bermuda Electric Light Co. Ltd.

There is an abundance of data supporting the effectiveness of RCM in a broad range of industries. Yet when staff at the Bermuda Electric Light Co. Ltd researched RCM, precious little data was found regarding its application to a primarily large diesel driven power utilities. The company subsequently decided upon a PMO (Planned Maintenance Optimization) based approach with aggressive targets and timelines. 20% increase in productivity. Chop downtime in half. Deliver this within 1 year. All in unproven territory.

How the RCM Scorecard Morphed into The RCM Project Manager’s Guide

This paper describes the background, content, and use of a newly created document derived from the "Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) Scorecard." The RCM Scorecard document is organized around a set of metrics developed by Anthony M (Mac) Smith (author of the Reliability Centered Maintenance^[1] text and co-author (with Glenn Hinchcliffe) of RCM: Gateway to World Class Maintenance^[2]). The latter text addresses analysis during RCM projects and provides examples of metrics from many real (fully identified) clients.

RCM & Purac America

RCM analysis is a powerful tool to change attitudes and practices for both maintenance and operations personnel. This case study examines how Purac America successfully used RCM to improve high cost, underperforming equipment. Maintenance spend fell from 7% of RAV to 4% of RAV and production increased from 50% to 133% of rated nameplate capacity.

RCM – A Biomedical Engineering Experience

The Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) is a 670 bed tertiary adult hospital providing specialist and trauma services to the people of South Australia and surrounding regions. The hospital in located over three campuses. The main campus, the North Terrace campus, is located on the fringe of the CBD.

Heavy Duty RCM - Lockheed Martin’s Classical RCM on a 30-Ton Overhead Crane

When you have a satellite worth 300 million dollars hanging from your crane hook, there is a very real incentive for safe, reliable, problem free material handling. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (LMSSC) has more than one hundred cranes lifting extremely high value, critical flight hardware loads.

Condition Based Maintenance Gap Analysis

Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) has become an Army Aviation Priority. The objective of CBM is not just the insertion of prognostics on an airframe, it is also to maximize the time on wing for all components and optimize maintenance practices, as well as Operational Readiness. The current maintenance strategy involves managing components by fleet based on statistical methods and safety factors. This strategy dictates intensive scheduled maintenance, unpredictable maintenance (failures), and scheduled removals. Successful CBM implementation requires a change to this maintenance strategy.

Focusing RCM To Maximize Return on Investment

Developing a Classic Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) strategy is time consuming and diverts personnel from their primary function; often resulting in a "hard sell" with both production and management personnel. Judicious application of Classic RCM analysis based on objective evidence of need eases the initial approval process while building the foundation for continued RCM efforts through demonstrated Return On Investment (ROI).

The Maintenance Effectiveness Review

Abstract: One of the more common tools utilized as part of a Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM) program is Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM). The RCM process is a front-end program designed to develop a maintenance program to provide the right maintenance, on the right equipment, at the right time and for the right reasons. Unfortunately, most RCM programs do not contain a continuous improvement aspect as many assume that the rigorous process will provide accurate and sustainable results. However, with this process, errors do occur and changes to technology, or the identification of improved tests and inspections not identified during the process, may change the best practice maintenance identified through the process. With the implementation of a program developed within the military, the Maintenance Effectiveness Review, a continuous improvement process can be implemented.

Successful RCM Application – Lessons Learned

The authors, having been involved with RCM from its first introduction to the U.S. commercial and industrial world in the early 1980s, have experienced virtually every characteristic that contributes to successful and likewise not-so-successful RCM programs. In this chapter, we will attempt to give you the benefits of our 35-plus combined years of RCM experience and the lessons we and others have had to learn along the way. It is our hope that, by knowing where the more significant potholes lurk, you may avoid them. Our discussion here will focus on four of the key Lessons Learned, but we encourage you to see our entire discourse on this subject in Reference 1, pages 203-221.

reliability centered design

Bridging the Gap Between Reliability & Six Sigma

Equipment Protection Meets Problem Detection

Run To Failure As A Maintenance Strategy

Wyle Analysis Results in Safer Armored Vehicle for the Warfighter

Facility’s Weakest Link