In a competitive world, industrial maintenance alongside failure analysis is a priority. This is because a stopped or malfunctioning machine impacts the entire production, causing losses and even potentially leading to workplace accidents.
On the other hand, it is possible to reduce bottlenecks and invest in tools that can transform this scenario. Want to know how? Then keep reading and understand how investigating inaccuracies can positively impact you and help you deal with challenges on the shop floor. Check it out!
How to perform a failure analysis?
Failure analysis is a set of actions aimed at preventing potential problems that may arise at different stages of the operational cycle in industries. The goal is to reduce these occurrences as much as possible, in order to keep production running, minimizing losses and all negative impacts of this type of situation.
In this sense, criteria established according to the FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) method are used, which consists of identifying and gathering all potential bottlenecks and evaluating possible consequences, such as risks to Lead Time, for example.
The first step is to align planning, create checklists, and raise awareness among those involved about the importance of this work.
Thus, starting from this approach, managers and responsible parties can also use various tools that directly contribute to this research, making it even more assertive and reliable. Among them, the most common are:
- Five Whys — the idea involves questioning the occurrence of failures until detecting their cause, such as why is the equipment defective? What is happening with the leak? How did it arise? And so on;
- Ishikawa Diagram (“Fishbone”) — Through a graphic diagram, a central spine is created with various channels. These branches bring the possible causes, in order to gather evidence that will later be categorized and analyzed;
- Fault Tree Analysis — similar to a family tree scheme, the goal here is to establish all sequences of events that resulted in the failure or problem. It therefore starts from the occurrence towards the fact that triggered the situation;
- Pareto Diagram — unlike other tools that seek to identify the causes of failures, this consists of a chart aimed at quantitatively and qualitatively gathering the defects that usually arise, in order to define which ones are most frequent and the extent of the impact.
What are the main stages of a failure analysis?
The more detailed the failure analysis work, the better the results tend to be. To this end, it is necessary to execute a solid process mapping and gather a committed team with the appropriate technical knowledge.
Each industry has its own particularities and needs, therefore, this diagnosis must be customized according to the objectives and reality of the business. However, some steps are usually indispensable.
Check out the 5 steps that guide bottleneck investigation below.
1. Specify the problem
The first step is to identify the cause(s) of the problem as precisely as possible. This is where the support of techniques such as “The Five Whys”, the Ishikawa Diagram, and the Fault Tree Analysis comes in.
2. Develop and verify hypotheses
Next, hypotheses are raised, meaning all events that may have contributed to the occurrence of the failure are gathered. At this stage, it is interesting to receive contributions from employees from different departments, thus bringing various viewpoints, covering the largest possible number of causes.
3. Analyze the current process
Based on all the information and data gathered up to this point, the third step involves checking how the current process stands. This means evaluating whether the possible justifications were indeed the reasons that caused the problems.
4. Measure failures
Once the causes of the occurrence have been identified, it is necessary to measure the failures, classify them, and record them. One way to do this work is by creating indexes, such as: probability of the situation happening, severity of the problem, and chances of detecting it.
Thus, it is possible to visualize which bottlenecks should be treated as a priority and which ones demand more attention.
5. Develop preventive and corrective actions
With the analysis complete, it is possible to outline a preventive and corrective maintenance plan. The former aims to prevent occurrences from arising by acting ahead of adversity. For example, maintaining a periodic cleaning or machinery lubrication routine.
On the other hand, the corrective plan is where one proceeds with solving the failure, since, after the investigation work, it is possible to know exactly the cause of the problem, allowing it to be resolved more assertively.
In both situations, it is necessary to rely on well-prepared professionals. Furthermore, it is essential to monitor results and make adjustments.
How to perform effective maintenance?
As we have seen, failure analysis plays a fundamental role regarding the maintenance routine in industries.
In addition to resorting to the methods and approaches we presented, it is important to always keep three questions in mind:
- How does the proposed measure correct the problem?
- Is it capable of eliminating the cause?
- Does it contribute to detecting similar failures occurring in the future?
At the same time, keeping teams trained and aligned and establishing noise-free communication favors this work.
All these issues, combined with well-done planning, usually raise the quality standard and significantly reduce bottleneck rates.
Relying on a technological solution also facilitates this routine, and in addition to reducing production bottlenecks and optimizing employee performance, it contributes to even more satisfying and assertive results.
Liked this content? Then download the Production Planning Guide and discover how an APS software can transform your production chain!
