Maintenance Technology August 2016 - (Page 56)
FINAL THOUGHT
The Yin and Yang of Availability
T
Dr. Klaus M. Blache
Univ. of Tennessee
Reliability &
Maintainability
Center
BI
he principle of Yin and Yang is based on the
belief that all things exist as inseparable and
contradictory opposites. This passage from
The Ancient History Encyclopedia (ancient.eu/
Yin_and_Yang/) sums it up nicely:
"The two opposites attract and complement each
other and, as their symbol illustrates, each side has
at its core an element of the other (represented by
the small dot). Neither pole is superior to the other
and, as an increase in one brings a corresponding
decrease in the other, a correct balance between
the two poles must be reached in order to reach
harmony."
For our purposes, maintenance and reliability are
the Yin and Yang of availability (and follow the same
overall principles). The definition of one requires the
definition of the other to be complete. Reliability isn't
absolute; neither is maintenance. Together,
mean time between failure and mean
time to repair define availability.
REL
Equipment systems are never
IA
100% reliable, meaning
some degree of maintenance is always involved
and vice versa. As one
aspect increases, the
other decreases.
Consider the
accompanying symbol:
The black dot in the white
pole signifies that there's
always some Yin in the Yang
(or, for Maintenance Technology readers, some maintenance
in the reliability process). Consider, too,
the following points:
■ Yin-Yang balance can be affected by outside
influences and is not static. Likewise, levels of
reliability and maintainability will vary according
to operations, resources, and other circumstances.
■ Yin-Yang describes how opposite forces are
complementary and interdependent, i.e., darklight, cold-heat, reliability-maintenance. Their
interaction is thought to maintain the harmony
of the universe and influence all within it. In a
similar way, the reliability of everything (ROE)
influences the world and its multitude of interactions. These are just a few examples.
LIT
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M
AI
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NCE
MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY
My intent isn't to delve into Chinese philosophy,
here, but to raise awareness of how everything we do
(including reliability and maintenance) is interdependent. This includes safety, throughput, quality,
cost, and so on. Reliability is a trade-off between
design costs, risks, and consequences. In daily
practice, it's further complicated by unpredictable
human behavior. For example, when you're driving
home from work and hear about an enormous
lottery jackpot, do you go out of your way to buy a
ticket? The chance of winning (with Powerball) is
typically 1 in 290,000,000. The lifetime chance of
dying in a car accident, however (according to the
National Safety Council), is about 1 in 113. So, how
lucky do you feel?
Speaking with industrial personnel around
the world, I sense that they generally have a good
grasp of maintenance concepts (although not all
are adhering to best practices). The meaning of
reliability and how it should integrate into practice
is less evident to many. As a case in point, for three
weeks this summer, I taught a "Reliability and
Business Excellence" course in Germany for Univ. of
Tennessee engineering students. As our group visited
various discrete-manufacturing and process facilities,
(automotive, aircraft, chemical, and food), we asked
about the sites' perceptions of reliability and maintenance. Regarding maintenance, we typically heard
explanations about activities and methodologies,
including emergency repairs, predictive technologies, preventive approaches, turnarounds, and the
importance of availability. But, as for reliability, many
of our hosts struggled with a clear answer. (Personnel
at Dow in Stade, Germany, on the other hand, plainly
understood the reliability and maintenance journey.
No wonder: The Dow Chemical Co., in the U.S., has
a mature R&M process.)
In German, maintenance is "Instandhaltung;"
reliability is "Zuverläßigkeit;" availability is
"Verfügbarkeit." Yet, no matter the language used
or the location of the operation, one thing remains
constant: Reliability and maintenance will always be
the Yin-Yang of availability. MT
Based in Knoxville, Klaus M. Blache is director of
the Reliability & Maintainability Center at the
Univ. of Tennessee, and a research professor in the
College of Engineering. Contact him at kblache@
utk.edu.
AUGUST 2016
http://www.ancient.eu/Yin_and_Yang
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maintenance Technology August 2016
Editorial
Uptime
On The Floor
Accepting The Challenge
Advanced Software In The Jungle
Put Efficiency in MRO Storerooms
Rethink Overall Vibration Monitoring
Reliable Pumping Supplement
Practical Oil Analysis: Why and What For?
SAP Tips and Tricks
Maximize Ethernet
Compressed Air Care
Nurture STEM Learning
Heed Drive-Belt Temps
Internet of Things
ISO 55000
Products
Showcase
Ad Index
Final Thought
Maintenance Technology August 2016
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