- Achieve projected production targets Achieve and exceed customer expectations on equipment function and life span Improve system availability and reliability Increase product sales quantity and extend warranties Decrease probability of risk of failure in production equipment and systems.
The study and development of Reliability Engineering integrates a large number of variables, parameters and indicators, to mention a few according to (Mexicanos, 2012):
- Failures Reliability Availability Probability distribution Non-parametric distributions Parametric distributions Uncertainty, intervals Failure probability Risk Time to failure Average time to failure Average time to repair Average time between failures Uptime Random variable or Random Failure rate, etc.
The number of variables that make up the reliability of the systems can consider as many as the complexity of the analysis requires. There is no simple solution to complex cases. It requires deepening, analyzing, measuring, predicting, limiting and managing the systems themselves to achieve the expected results.
Reliability and Maintenance
The reliability-maintenance relationship are practices in the organization that depend on each other. It seems that the need for maintenance to guarantee the availability of equipment gave way to the emergence and development of reliability as a branch of mathematical sciences.
From the maintenance perspective, there is no horizon closer than that of guaranteeing the operational functionality of the systems based on predictions and physical actions that allow continuous flows in operations. It is not only the guarantee of operation, but the study and analysis of future events in order to always be one step ahead.
The science of maintenance is complex due to the fact that it involves variables in unforeseen real events, integrates advanced mathematical calculations, uses probability and statistics as basic tools, practices the best solutions on real scenarios, and in certain cases the optimal result.
It is impossible to talk about maintenance without reliability. Maintenance basically provides confidence; that is, reliability to develop a process in the correct order and time as required by the organization.
As a science of reliability, maintenance has been studied from the simplest aspects to the most modern maintenance management systems based on variables, the best known under these practices is known as risk-based maintenance, among others.
Specialized maintenance
Given the historical evolution, it is possible to classify maintenance tasks based on different concepts. It is possible to locate variables of each of them, such as the concepts of progressive, technical, progressive, symptomatic maintenance, light or deep maintenance, as well as concepts such as improvement maintenance, opportunity among many others, which can be consulted in specialized maintenance books. (Rincón & Cortes Robles, 2011)
Some types of maintenance frequently applied in organizations are listed below:
- Corrective Maintenance (MC) Preventive Maintenance (MP) Predictive Maintenance (CBM) Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) Knowledge Based Maintenance (KBM)
The types of maintenance are mentioned because of the importance they have when it comes to reliability. They are intimately linked and mutually dependent. The study of operational reliability is fundamentally based on maintenance practices and techniques, as well as technical principles of maintainability.
Reliability Engineering Development
- Diagnosis. It is the review of the current state of the equipment, systems or processes that allows identifying how they are and predicting their future behavior. Its objective is the identification of predictive actions that reduce costs. Reliability. Part of the study and analysis of the historical data of the equipment, especially in the data of failures and repairs. Based on the history of failures and statistics. Deterioration-based reliability analysis. It focuses on understanding the scenario that arose for the failure to occur since for this analysis the failure is the last step of deterioration. Its weighting is related in percentage between 1% and 100%. Maintainability. Study the downtime and repair times for equipment, as well as estimate scheduled shutdowns for maintenance. Maintainability is a function of design and appropriate operating conditions. Availability. It is the indicator that indicates the total possible time in which a team fulfills its function. It may be in operation or not, the availability values if it is in operating condition. Times. In the development it indicates multiple parameters, the failure time, the operation time until the planned maintenance, the time since the last failure occurred. Down time analysis. It analyzes two types of time, time for maintenance and time for repair. The analysis of down time variables is called maintainability.
Operational reliability in the organization
Its development is focused on continuous improvement processes, to which a series of tools such as diagnosis, analysis, and technology are incorporated, which result in the optimization of management, planning, execution and control of production processes.
The operational reliability system requires the analysis of four indicators, that is, human reliability, equipment maintainability, equipment reliability, and process reliability.
The execution of reliability in operations requires a change in the culture of the organization, it must adapt to new processes, adjust procedures, the perception and way of understanding productivity and a new vision in line with the business objectives.
This process of developing operational reliability requires the use of implementation strategies known as reliability tools.
Operational reliability tools
Reliability as a methodological process is based on tools with the aim of allowing to evaluate the assets of the organization in a systematic way with which its level of operation, risks and other productivity strategies are defined.
Only a few are mentioned in which it is very common to find active processes in organizations from these tools:
- Criticality Analysis (CA) Failure and Criticality Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) Life Cycle Cost (LCC) Root Cause Analysis (RCFA) Cost Risk Benefit Analysis (BRCA) Risk Based Inspection (RBI)).
conclusion
The practice of studying reliability provides institutions to guarantee the continuity of their operations and productive processes. It is a practice that gains strength due to the constant need to ensure operation in the face of demand and production requirements.
Reliability is closely related to maintenance. It is the essence and support of maintenance strategies, practices and methods. A whole branch and specialized studies depend on the basic principles of quantification that determine their practice.
It is then possible to ensure that any institution that does not take steps towards reliability practices has an imminent risk of deprogrammed failure, delay, stoppage and, consequently, loss.
In operational terms, the institutions that present a better percentage in losses due to failures, it is called that their level of reliability is good, therefore their operating expenses decrease and their profit increases.
Suggested thesis topic
objective
Implement a risk-based maintenance model through reliability engineering in productive equipment in the steel sector.
References
- Acuña, JA (2003). Reliability Engineering. Cartago, Costa Rica: Editorial Tecnológica de Costa Rica, Fuentes, FE (July 19, 2011). University of Talca. Retrieved on November 24, 2015, from http://campuscurico.utalca.cl/~fespinos/ANALISIS%20CAUSA%20RAIZ%20 and% 20sus% 20herramtillas.pdfGómez, ID (2015). IG Group. Retrieved on November 24, 2015, from http://www.iggroupla.com/servicios/confiabilidad.html IMR Consulting LLC. (2013). Retrieved on November 22, 2015, from http://imrconsulting.net/?page_id=39&lang=esJesús, LJ (April 23, 2013). Gestiopolis. Retrieved on November 24, 2015, from http://www.gestiopolis.com/ingenieria-de-la-confiablidad-ymejores-practicas-en-el-software-de-la-empresa/Mexicanos, P. (2012). Learning Guide: Reliability Engineering. Mexico DF: Virtual Learning, Osorio, KC(May 7, 2013). Gestiopolis. Retrieved on November 24, 2015, from http://www.gestiopolis.com/importancia-de-la-ingenieria-deconfiabilidad-en-la-organizacion/Palencia, OG (2006). Human Reliability in Maintenance Management. NORIA Reliability World. Rincon, J. d., & Cortes Robles, G. (2011). Knowledge-based maintenance: fundamentals and application. Saarbrucken, Germany: Editorial Académica Española.Spanish Academic Editorial.Spanish Academic Editorial.
