Maintenance Engineering
- Reliability Engineering

Solutions for asset reliability

Reliability engineering helps you manage risk by influencing when, why and how assets fail—and preparing for when they do. If your maintenance organization is proactive, you can strive for higher availability, lower costs and longer asset life. Assets may fail but not catastrophically. Read more
In managing risk proactively and comprehensively, you could:

• Develop risk-based solutions for every asset;
• Drive asset performance;
• Ensure equipment reliability at the lowest possible cost;
• Improve resource planning; and
• Manage physical and economic risks throughout the asset life cycle.

Ways that we address asset risk management and reliability engineering with you

People and Processes can guide you to improve productivity and profitability by learning and applying best practices in the following risk management methods, through our training, coaching and consulting services.

Reliability Engineering Concepts
Applying risk management in maintenance by integrating reliability engineering methodologies such as reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) and risk-based inspection (RBI) will help you reduce downtime, increase cost effectiveness and prolong asset life. You can also improve safety and compliance with regulations. Read more
As an Aladon Network Member organization, People and Processes provides reliability solutions that are founded on Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM2™ and RCM3™) consulting & training services.

Reliability Centered Maintenance II (RCM2™)
The Aladon Network's leading RCM methodology, RCM2™, was designed with the optimization of your company’s assets in mind. It helps you identify your most critical assets and how best to reduce system failures. Read more
You can decide what must be done to ensure that any physical asset, system or process continues to do whatever your team wants and needs it to do.

As such, RCM2 is one of the most effective processes to help determine and safeguard the reliability and maintainability of assets. It results in the implementation of an effective and cost-saving maintenance strategy on each of the assets of the facility, allowing you to:

• Increase reliability and productivity;
• Reduce maintenance and avoid unnecessary cost
• Boost safety awareness;
• Generate better understanding of equipment behavior; and
• Share information across the entire organization.

Reliability Centered Maintenance III (RCM3™)
RCM3™ integrates with other business-risk management systems, allowing you to cover all of your assets with a single methodology.
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Aladon developed RCM3 as an enhanced version of RCM2™, the trademark methodology for Aladon.

RCM3 exceeds SAE standards and broadens RCM2 capability to align with more recent and internationally accepted ISO Management Systems (ISO 55000 and ISO 31000). Additionally, RCM3 is fully integrated with other Business Risk Management Systems like RBI and HAZOP.

This risk-based methodology could become the most important management system for improving Process Safety and Asset Integrity and could be the only process you need to maintain and optimize all of your assets (rotating and static).

Risk-based inspection (RBI)
Optimize Manage and address risks related to unanticipated failures of static equipment. Read more
Aladon's RBI3™ methodology is a risk assessment and management tool that addresses an area of asset management not dealt with in other organizational reliability efforts, such as process hazard analyses (PHA), IOWs or Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM).

The RBI methodology is a “zero-based” approach for helping reliability engineers manage and address risks related to unanticipated failures of static equipment, e.g. pipes, tanks, valve bodies, pump and compressor housings and pressure vessels. RBI3 is fully integrated with other risk-based approaches and is designed to work in tandem with methodologies such as Condition Assessment, RCM3™ and RCFA.

Whereas RCM3 helps companies ensure that any physical asset, system or process continues to do whatever its users want it to do, the RBI process is focused on maintaining the mechanical integrity of pressure equipment items and minimizing the risk of loss of containment due to deterioration. The integration of RCM3 with RBI3 provides in one location the information required to reduce downtime while increasing safety and reliability.

Our services include training in the concepts of RBI and application of the methodology.

Reliability Centered Design (RCD)
Optimize equipment reliability and all of the business processes that are required to make any new project successful by approaching failure management holistically. Read more
The Reliability Centered Design™ (RCD™) methodology is a “zero-base” approach for assisting your company with every part of the design process. When used together with other reliability processes, such as RCM and RBI, it can help you achieve a holistic approach to failure management from beginning to end. The Aladon Network has certified People and Processes as an expert in RCD™, meaning we can guide your company through the design process, plus lift the burden of a multi-stage methodology to create optimal proactive solutions.

RCD is applied during the conceptual phase (the earlier the better) and is a proactive approach (before failures occur). RCD is not a design process in itself but evaluates engineering designs for integrity, reliability and operability.

With your company’s business objectives as its foundation, RCD considers and optimizes not just equipment reliability, but all the business processes that are required to make any new project successful. It provides a risk-based evaluation and risk-management strategy for all types of assets in all types of environments (Operating Contexts).

Condition Assessment
Accurately assess asset health by comparing actual key indicators to targets. Then prioritize maintenance accordingly. People and Processes can assist you with quantitative and qualitative condition assessments. Read more
Quantitative Assessment
A quantitative assessment maps and classifies your asset’s maintenance history and data so you can map a dollar amount to a specific risk.

The quantitative assessment may require interviews with subject-matter experts and actual non-destructive performance testing (i.e. vibration testing, thermography, oil analysis, dye penetration, etc.). The assessment must also be verified during the field inspection and qualitative assessment process, should be based on accepted metrics, and should be agreed to by the stakeholders prior to the start of the analysis.

Typical metrics for consideration include:

• PM compliance
• Operating within safe operating limits
• Maintenance strategy exists and is being followed
• Maintenance records are kept accurately
• Root Cause Analysis (RCA) performed on repeat failures
• Bad Actor Analysis
• Defect Elimination

Qualitative Assessment
Over time, as your team interacts with an asset and utilizes it, that asset will eventually start to show wear and tear. As a result, a qualitative assessment should be done to inspect its physical decline and determine its remaining life.

As an Aladon Network Member organization, People and Processes is expertly trained in the Qualitative Assessment process and can fulfill your need for a systematic approach. We can help your company measure remaining life for each asset as well as accurately predict when an asset may need rebuilding or replacing.

Our process starts by asking a number of critical questions specific to the asset's characteristics and failure modes. This information goes into a strategic questionnaire, which is then used in a working assessment, physical checks, performance tests (if required), and information from O&M.

The reviewer will then inspect the asset for leaks, corrosion, wear, physical damage, noise, vibration, evidence of lubrication, dirt buildup, etc. From the condition assessment results, the reviewer will be able to adjust the remaining life based on the physical condition of the asset. You can then adjust your rebuild and replacement plan.

Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA)
Establish efficient procedures for determining why an asset failed so that you can prevent a similar failure.
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Never again risk a loss in productivity and a drop in asset reliability due to the unknown. Aladon’s RCFA methodology is a continuous improvement tool for your organizational asset strategy, and when used together with other reliability processes, such as RCM and RBI, provides a holistic approach to asset failure management.

Whereas RCM is applied proactively (before the failure occurs) and delivers the best proactive failure management strategy for all types of assets (Operating Contexts), RCFA is applied reactively (after the failure has happened) to allow reliability engineers the ability to maximize equipment availability and improve asset performance.

The combination of RCFA and RCM is especially effective: improving resource planning and forecasting as well as the implementation of effective corrective measures. By joining forces with other risk-based approaches—RCD™, RCM3™ and RBI3™—RCFA empowers businesses to diagnose and resolve risks and threats quickly and easily.

Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
Look beyond Maintenance's role to identify why failures occur and to prevent them by partnering with departments like Operations.

With our expertise in failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), People and Processes can help you identify potential failure modes for a product or process, assess the risk associated with those failure modes, and carry out corrective measures to address the most critical issues. Read more
Even if your organization has an asset maintenance program to help increase productivity and optimize your assets, a shortage of expertise in the area of asset failure could send your critical risks spiraling out of control.

The FMEA procedure is an effective tool for improving designs for products and processes—resulting not only in higher reliability, and better quality but also increased safety, enhanced customer satisfaction and reduced costs.

FMEA can also be used to establish the need for maintenance programs (for maintainable items) and contribute to quality assurance procedures. It provides a knowledge base of failure modes (causes and mechanisms) and associated corrective action information that is useful for future training, troubleshooting, root-cause failure analysis, and RCM-based maintenance programs.

Risk and Criticality Analysis
Analyze the potential impact of failures and prioritize maintenance to prevent the most damaging. Read more
People and Processes can perform quantitative and qualitative criticality analyses.

A quantitative analysis calculates the criticality for each potential failure mode by multiplying Expected Failures X Mode Ratio of Unreliability X Probability of Loss. The criticality of each item is calculated by obtaining the sum of the criticalities for each failure mode.

In a qualitative analysis, we use predefined rating scales to rate the possibility of occurrence of each failure mode and the severity of the potential effects of failure, without considering the probability of prior detection.

Preventive Maintenance Optimization (PMO)
People and Processes can optimize your existing preventive maintenance (PM) or predictive maintenance (PdM) program so that you can minimize downtime without compromising equipment. Read more

• Define parameters for corrective work orders based on condition monitoring results.
• Balance the expense of servicing an asset with the costs of shutting it down for maintenance.
• Identify the optimum conditions and costs for your PM and PdM programs

Maintenance Task Analysis (MTA)
Improve reliability by determining and managing the components of a successful maintenance task, such as the methods, machines, materials, measurements and people involved. Read more
Increase efficiency by detailing the steps required to successfully complete corrective and preventive maintenance tasks. People and Processes can help you determine the proper number of people and the skills they require as well as the right tools, parts, materials and support equipment. We can also help you write clear descriptions that include instructions on how to complete each step and estimates of how long they should take to complete.

Software solutions
Isograph Availability Workbench provides a fully integrated environment for optimizing your maintenance and reliability engineering strategy.
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Availability Workbench improves asset performance by providing detailed assessments of past performance and current conditions, and precisely simulating future changes so that you can make better decisions.
As an authorized seller and training provider, People and Processes helps you customize Availability Workbench for your organization.

Availability Workbench provides the following benefits.

• Attainment of safety, quality and operational targets
• Better management of spares holdings
• Control of your maintenance budget
• Increased profits
• Justifications for maintenance strategy and costs
• More uptime

Learn more at our Availability Workbench page.