Efficient Plant October 2021 - 24

department | on the floor
have not been corrected.
4. To apply methods for estimating
the likely reliability of new designs,
and for analyzing reliability data.
The reason for the priority
emphasis is that it is, by far, the
most effective way of working, in
terms of minimizing costs and
generating reliable products. "
The word reliability has been
around since the early 1800s and there
have always been applications, products,
and inventions that required better reliability
to be feasible. Such things as communications
(from telegraph to internet and satellites),
electrical/electronics (from vacuum tubes to
semiconductors and computers), and military
applications and consumer products that
were failing too often. The standard approach
for many years was " fix it when it breaks. "
In the 1950s, groups and some conferences
began to focus on improving reliability.
Some early examples are the Advisory Group
on the Reliability of Electronics Equipment
(AGREE) and the Institute of Electronic and
Electrical Engineers (IEEE). Many professional
societies added a reliability group to
their organization, ISO standards added
reliability components and, much later, the
SMRP was formed by practitioners from
eighteen companies.
The Certified Maintenance and Reliability
Professional (CMRP) exam was developed in
the late 1990s during my two-year tenure as
SMRP chair. Wallodie Weibull's work gained
popularity in the 1960s. After successfully
putting Weibull concepts to practice, Dr.
Robert Abernathy eventually authored The
New Weibull Handbook.
Weibull analysis, now used around the
globe, is a statistical methodology used to
perform life data analysis to predict failure
trends. We use the handbook and associated
SuperSMITH software (authored by Wes
24 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
functionality over time.
Reliability is observed when:
 your car starts when you turn the key
 your flight departs and arrives on time
 your package arrives on time
 spare parts are available when needed
 clean and safe water comes from your
faucet every time you turn it on
 medication at the pharmacy is properly
dispensed
Fulton, weibullnews.com) and offer this as
a course in our professional-development
certification.
As reliability efforts evolved, numerous
insights and statistical contributions
were established. Several handbooks were
published by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, and
SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers).
The bathtub curve was replaced by multiple
failure patterns (showing much higher
non-age-related failure) from the F.S. Nolan
and H.F. Heap United Airlines study (1978).
These contributions, and many more, all were
part of the reliability growth path.
If you look at reliability, the list of what
can be considered is extensive-predictive
technologies, condition-based maintenance,
life-cycle costing/purchasing, PM optimization
(deciding what PM tasks are value added,
what type of maintenance to perform, and
how often), failure modes and effects analysis,
reliability modeling and predictions, planning
and scheduling, reliability statistics, and
overall asset management.
Because of reliability, the bar has been
raised. I'm referring to better reliability associated
with what you do, what you produce,
transportation, products, and related warranties.
Remember that reliability can also
be viewed as sustaining quality and original
 steel consistently contains the right
amount of carbon
 machines perform within specifications
 power plants produce electricity without
disruptive power spikes/surges
 your internet connection is consistent
 your favorite meal at your favorite restaurant
is prepared as ordered every time
 stated hours of battery life are attained or
exceeded
 production quality is accomplished within
required limits every day
 software correctly calculates requirements
 team members perform their standardized
work according to established procedure.
Somewhere in there also is infrastructure
such as bridges and roadways. Basically,
reliability covers about everything.
In a work setting, improving reliability
benefits safety, quality (as operational
stability increases), throughput, and cost.
Reliability tools have helped shorten productdevelopment
times, enabled numerous items
to improve and, overall, made assets and
products more dependable and safer. EP
Based in Knoxville, Dr. 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.
OCTOBER 2021
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Efficient Plant October 2021

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