Abnormalities Versus Failures

What better way to spend an afternoon than to debate which came first, the chicken or the egg? One thing that cannot be debated, however, is the fact that abnormalities come before failures. This is a fact.

We are conditioned early on to react to failures, the loss of function, why did the lights go out? Why did my car stop working? The abnormalities that lead to these failures often fly below our radar. This ability to change our thinking or refine our attention to look for abnormalities is the first critical step in transforming from a reactive to a proactive organization. Reactive organizations attribute their performance to bad luck, proactive organizations make their own luck.

So, what is the difference between an abnormality and a failure? First, I prefer to use the phrase “functional failure” rather than simply “failure.” I must concentrate and force myself to use these words, but it has an important effect on my thinking and the thinking of those around me. To me, failure seems to be an arbitrary word open to interpretation. On the other hand, loss of function or functional failureThe state in which a physical asset or system is unable to perform a specific function to a level of performance that is acceptable to its owner or user. is quite clear; I can no longer do what I desire.

If the lightbulb goes out, I can no longer read my book – loss of function. If the impeller wears on my pump and can no longer produce my product in the required quantity – loss of function. If my tire goes flat and I can no longer drive my car at full speed – loss of function. In each case, if we start with that condition we desire, the loss of this ability or function becomes quite clear.

What should we do about abnormalities? We must report them in an official way as soon as we see them. When I say “reporting in an official way”, I mean something like putting a work request into our computerized maintenance management systemComputerized systems that schedule, track and monitor maintenance activities and provide cost, component item, tooling, personnel and other reporting data and history. (CMMSComputerized Maintenance Management System) or using an abnormality tag that is part of our operator careSpecific, detailed activities accomplished by operators to ensure proper asset operation, routinely check asset operating parameters (pressure, temperature, speed, etc), make necessary adjustments, lubricate, and make minor repairs incidental to the production process, and provide early detection of potential problems requiring maintenance support. process.

Tugs on the shirtsleeve, emails, phone calls, sticky notes, none of these count. This collection of official notifications represents what we know to be our backlog, and a full and rich backlog is critical to our proactive approach to maintenance.

I talk to many people who tell me, “I only want people to report the important or critical problems”. Guess what? Today’s unimportant problem will quickly become tomorrow’s important one. The P-F curve illustrates this perfectly.

Better to have a solid reporting system, a simple method to prioritize work so we are attacking the most important abnormalities first, as well as a robust and visual means to communicate our progress to everyone who participates in the process (managers, technicians, operations, and maintenance).

If we do not report abnormalities early or strive to report only those ambiguous “really important ones,” we sell ourselves short. When we fail to report abnormalities early, we lose the ability to address them early.

The most important thing to remember is this: all abnormalities eventually become functional failures. It is our choice to address them on our terms (proactively) or when the equipment demands it (reactively).