|
|
|
|
| Resources for Maintenance & Reliability Professionals |
|
Navigation |
||||
|
|
||||
Our privacy promise: We respect your
privacy and never sell or rent our subscriber
lists, a fact that is certified and audited by BBBOnline.com.
Subscribing will not result in more spam! I guarantee it!
 |
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
|
The Failure Effect The failures of equipment and processes have many different effects that can plague a company. Far too often in reliability analysis some of the effects go unnoticed or unidentified due to their inconsistent and less obvious nature in comparison with downtime. Breaks in rhythm and production cycle are the first of these effects. The second group of failure effects is the quality issues that can develop from changes or stoppage in the system induced by failures. The final effect that will be discussed is the morale of the workforce that has to deal with the failures. Many times during reliability and production analysis the simple question is: “What is the cost of downtime and part replacement?” Companies generally have a cost of downtime based on the total fixed and variable cost per part, number of parts produced in set amount of time, and potential profit from selling the parts. Most of the time this is a very sound practice for determining failure costs. However, in some applications this practice can be an over simplification of the true cost of the failures. Understanding of the process and how it works will greatly increase the chances of realizing the true effects of failures. There are many cases where the standard production line worker or maintenance technician and in some cases even the management do not see or understand these effects and therefore miss the costs involved. Breaks in Rhythm and Production Cycle Lean organizations rely on tight schedules and efficiency that can be thrown into chaos with downtime or breaks in production time. These breaks in rhythm can affect a process just like a marathon runner tripping or a drag racer miss-shifting. Takt time is the time it takes to complete a product. The Takt time is based on the demand for the product and normally does not change unless demand increases or decreases. Once an interruption is introduced into the production process there has to be a reaction to this interruption that gets the system back up to speed. Depending on the amount of downtime that reaction could be over-run, alternate production (standby systems), and outsourcing. Breaks in rhythm can be dealt with in a couple of different ways. First, with the proper planning and scheduling helps minimize the over-run or other effects. The planning can help shorten the length of time it takes to recover from breaks in rhythm and enable the process to get back on track quicker. Reducing the stoppage of the process means a quicker return to pace. Also, the proper training and management in regards to the process breaks can help reduce the stoppage and improve the reaction to the downtime. Proactive management helps reduce the fire-fighting mentality and helps move the process along in an orderly manner. The key is to reduce the time the system is down. This is something that any good company is already attempting.
Quality Issues Quality issues can be introduced in to products during failure downtimes. Some processes have specific time requirements or single pass requirements. Any failures in these types of processes can create scrap or possible rework. These processes can be very industry specific and not readily apparent to the average person. In some cases the organization has to sample products after restart to ensure the quality is within limits. The costs involved with increasing the sampling rate alone can easily go unnoticed. The other problem is that defective products might get shipped out incurring extra cost for return and replacement to the customer.
Morale Morale is the final item but can be one of the most devastating effects to the operation and maintenance of assets. Failures can be cost effective based on the business case analysis of the cost of run to failure and the cost of an effective preventive maintenance task. The one problem is that too many failures can reduce the morale and create unrest and disappointment with the workforce. Far too often maintainers and operators can be heard complaining about certain assets failing too often and causing interruptions in the process. These interruptions can be small in duration and might not have much of an effect on the bottom line but can be a thorn in the side when it comes to attitude and pride. The best way to combat the low morale effect in the process is to maintain a proactive atmosphere. A proactive atmosphere is a combination of attitude, training, and tools. Attitude is the most important part due to the effect is has on the other two items. Training and tools will not be effective if the attitude of the personnel is not proactive. Training will enable proactive personnel to better employ the tools and to react more efficiently when a failure does happen. Finally, the tools will help maintain a proactive atmosphere by demonstrating the commitment by a company to provide the necessary means to combat failures. All of these items work together effectively but reducing any one of these reduces the capabilities of the other items.
Conclusion Failure effects can be assessed in many ways but the important thing is that all of the effects are addressed to properly analyze the cost of downtime and failures. Breaks in rhythm, quality issues, and morale all have a toll on the cost of downtime and the bottom line. The combination of various process improvement programs can also help with the development of the proactive nature of the workforce and provide some of the tools to use. Management has to foster the attitude in which the workforce needs to be proactive. The proper analysis of the failure effects will produce effective procedures and maintenance to reduce the costs of the failures. Robert Apelgren is a Reliability Engineer with Anteon Corporation. He received his BS in Industrial Technology from Roger Williams University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. He is a Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional and a member of the SMRP Best Practices Committee. He has 14 years of maintenance experience as a technician, supervisor, coordinator, consultant, and trainer. Contact Information
Robert Apelgren, CMRP Website: www.anteon.com |
| Discuss this article at MaintenanceForums.com |
|
|
|
|
| List Your Web Site | Editorial Policy | Privacy Policy | Contact us |
| Feedback | © Copyright 2000-2008 NetexpressUSA Inc. All rights reserved | Terms of Service | Trademark Notice |