Up Time Magazine- June/July 2008

8 7 7 Delayed Corrective Actions 6 5 5 the Work Order can be created in one day), it is better to say “Change the bearing for pump ABC with brand XYZ ” (in this case, the target date should include the time used for procuring and installing the bearing, which can be weeks, months, etc.). It is imperative that all corrective actions be properly implemented in a timely fashion. To assure compliance, the RCA team should employ robust tools that facilitate the documentation, tracking, auditing and communication of all information related to the corrective actions taken as a result of the RCA. These tools will be used to integrate data from multiple sources and must have the capability to output information to text, database or spreadsheet formats with graphic detail (Figure 5). 4 3 3 2 2 2 1 0 Engineering Maintenance Production Purchasing Vendors Areas Figure 5 - Proper tracking of all corrective actions is critical. arrange a meeting in which personnel from similar plants could review the findings. Or, at least send these individuals an e-mail with the results of the RCA, including a summary of the findings. (perhaps never to “see the light of day”) in an MS Word document, an MS Excel spreadsheet or some other software used for executing the RCA. It is critically important to verify that all corrective actions have been completely executed within the scope initially defined. Recommendations – The description and target date for every corrective action generated by an RCA should be defined in a way that, at the end of their total implementation, the RCA team can be certain that the failure will not occur again. For instance, instead of saying “Create a Work Order for installing a new brand of bearing ” (in fact, ERROR 9 – The RCA Effectiveness Is Not Measured Problem Description – Upon assuring the execution of corrective actions, the RCA effectiveness is not measured. Therefore, the actual benefits derived from the RCA process are unknown. After implementing RCA corrective actions related to sporadic failures (i.e., non-reoccurring events), since there is no known frequency to compare them against, it is difficult to demonstrate that the failure will never occur again. However, for chronic failures that normally occur with some frequency, the RCA effectiveness can be verified by reviewing how the failure impact has changed (or even disappeared) after implementing the corrective actions and taking into account the failure frequency (Figure 6). Recommendation – At least for chronic failures, include for each RCA a corrective action such as “Measure RCA effectiveness ” with a target date greater than the ending date of the last corrective action to be implemented. ERROR 8 – The Compliance Of All Actions Is Not Assured Problem Description – The most important step during the RCA procedure is to implement corrective actions, since the actions would ensure that the failure does not occur again. However, upon completion of an RCA, normally both analysis and corrective action items are documented or “enclosed” 3,500 3,000 2,890 2,740 2,510 2,585 2,350 2,430 Average before RCA Failure Impact Costs (USD) 2,500 2,000 1,520 1,500 Average after RCA 1,490 1,510 1,430 1,450 1,505 1,000 500 ERROR 10 – When The RCA Is Successful The RCA Team Is Not Rewarded Problem Description – In most cases, operating personnel tend to focus heavily on their daily routines and may miss the opportunity to identify the root causes of potentially expensive failures, accidents or - O ct n b ar r n g ay p l N ov Au M Month Figure 6 - Failure impact costs versus time. 56 Se D ec Ja Fe Ap M Ju Ju june/july 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Up Time Magazine- June/July 2008

Up Time Magazine- June/July 2008 Contents Upfront Upclose: The True Cause of Most Machine Failures Information Technology: Finding Future Perfect Lubrication: Building an Oil Analysis Winner Maintenance Management: Hidden Ways to Increase Safety Infrared: Air Barriers Lower Energy Costs, Increase Profits Motor Testing: Efficient Motor Repair, Part Deux Precision Maintenance: Good Maintenance, Smart Maintenance Reliability: Common Errors in Root Cause Analysis Ultrasound: Avoid the Baghouse Blues Vibration: Don't Let Your Sensors Get Eaten Alive Upgrade: Lining It All Up

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