Defect Elimination 101

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In recent years, “Defect Elimination” has become a hot topic in the reliability world. But what exactly does defect elimination mean? How does it differ from other maintenance practices? Is it more than just a new way to describe planned and predictive maintenance? This article will seek to answer these questions in a very practical manner.

Chronic Failure Calculator

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Chronic Failure CalculatorSEE HOW YOU CAN IDENTIFY ROI OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH OUR CHRONIC FAILURE CALCULATOR.View tutorial Chronic Failures are Not Cost of Doing Business! When we look at the widely used and misunderstood tool of Root Cause Analysis (RCA), we should reflect its interpretation in our own environments. Think about it: when is RCA typically requested and applied in our environment?Based … Read More

What’s Wrong With The Term “Root Causes”​?

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There is great variation when it comes to a common understanding of the term ‘Root Cause Analysis’ or RCA. In a previous, lengthy paper, I wrote an article entitled “The Stigma of RCA: What’s In a Name?“. It focused on common understandings (or misunderstandings) of what RCA means and then described the basic steps of any investigative occupation. I just … Read More

The Stigma of RCA: What’s in a Name?

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The Stigma of ‘RCA’ Let’s start off with some honesty…the term ‘RCA’ (Root Cause Analysis) is quite vague, misleading and easily misinterpreted by those who are not immersed in its use. It is a useless and counter-productive term because there is no universally accepted, standard definition. Therefore, any process/tool someone is using to solve a problem is likely to be labelled as … Read More

RCA in Action: The Space Shuttle Columbia Investigation

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As is typical in our manufacturing organizations, oftentimes it takes high visibility events with catastrophic consequences for a full-blown Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to be conducted. Many of us still have fresh memories of Challenger in our minds from over 17 years ago, and now we are faced with another investigation of equal (if not greater) magnitude.

Become An Equipment Reliability Detective: Preserve Failure Data

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It’s amazing how quickly failure data (evidence) can disappear after a ‘failure’ has occurred. Following such an unexpected incident, there is sometimes a lot of confusion. Most sporadic/acute incidents occur on off-shifts or on weekends which can add to the confusion. Statistically, for a continuous manufacturing operation, there are more night and weekend hours than normal single-shift operating hours. Nobody … Read More

Nylon Plant Case Study

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This case study took place at a nylon plant in Virginia which at the time provided major amounts of nylon to the tire and carpet industries. The plant was incapable of achieving design capacity of 334,000,000 lbs. annually.

Reliability.com: Ammonia Plant Case Study

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This case study takes place in a Louisiana ammonia plant. The plant had above industry average downtime (116 Days of downtime compared to an industry average of 49.5 Days (worst record in the world for this type of facility).

What is the Difference Between Failure Analysis (FA), Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA)?

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Recently, Reliability Center, Inc. received an inquiry from one of our web visitors asking the differences between three confusingly similar Reliability acronyms. We thought others in the Reliability community may also wonder what the differences are between Failure Analysis (FA), Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA) so we decided to share with you our view on … Read More

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) – Death of an Acronym?

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As another well-known acronym has saturated industry today, it has been retired to the pasture of “dilution” farm. The term RCA is used to cover such a spectrum of meanings and significance, that the term itself has become de-valued. Can the value that RCA once stood for be revived to obtain the benefits that it is capable of producing?

Do We Get Our Money’s Worth Out of Training?

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A turbine in a refinery fails catastrophically. The adrenaline is flowing as efforts to recover and get back on-line are taking place. Even though turmoil appears rampant there is an air of organization. The magnitude of the failure prompts a Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA), primarily because the loss is high and the insurance companies and the lawyers are involved. … Read More

How to Gain Management Buy-In for Root Cause Analysis?

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Oftentimes we are sent to attend classes on various topics where the material is applicable to our work situation. However, we know deep inside that even though we know this material is applicable and can make our lives easier, our management will never allow us the latitude to implement it. This article will strive to convey our experience with how … Read More