Is your asset management strategy covering critical failure modes?

What is FMECA?

Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) is a widely used method in the field of engineering, manufacturing, and other industries. It is a systematic and comprehensive approach to identifying and analysing potential failures of a system or product, and their potential impact on the system or product’s functionality, safety, and reliability.

A FMECA:

• Identifies the ways in which a product or process can fail
• Estimates the risk associated with specific causes
• Prioritises the actions that should be taken to reduce risk
• Is part of effective strategy development and implementation
• Requires active involvement of subject matter experts to ensure their expertise is utilised in developing and taking ownership of the asset strategy.

At EnterpriseIS, we have conducted sessions aimed at optimising asset strategies, and it brings us great satisfaction when the team experiences a “lightbulb moment” by identifying a failure mode that they hadn’t previously considered for a specific item. However, we have also encountered organisations facing reliability issues due to relying solely on CMMS master data provided by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

When developing maintenance programs, OEMs typically prioritise managing their own risks and often overlook the requirements of the asset owner and stakeholders. This approach often results in a combination of “mandatory” requirements during the warranty period and “recommended” requirements afterwards, leading to numerous failure modes being left unaddressed and causing reliability issues to arise.

Throughout our extensive global travels and client engagements over the years, we have encountered a wide range of maintenance standards derived from Computerised Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS). While some systems exhibited exemplary practices, others fell short of expectations.

Interestingly, we even had the opportunity to collaborate with a client in a country that still relied on the traditional card system for managing preventive maintenance, which surprisingly proved to be effective compared to some flashy maintenance systems. The FMECA process emphasises the use of quantitative risk analysis to determine the content of asset strategies to populate your CMMS. The ultimate goal is to achieve an effective asset that is cost-efficient and reliable.

Here are some key considerations to ponder:

• Building an Effective Asset Strategy:
  How have you developed your asset strategy? Have you simply uploaded OEM information into your CMMS, or have you dedicated time to defining criticality and conducting FMECA to mitigate risks?
• OEM Familiarity with Operational Strategy:
  Is the OEM familiar with your process’s operational strategy? It is crucial for them to have a genuine understanding of the product’s characteristics and its impact on the overall process.
• Understanding Personnel Capabilities:
  Does the OEM possess knowledge about the capabilities of your personnel involved in operations and maintenance, and how their expertise will influence operations?
• Balancing Reliability and Cost:
  If the OEM is required to meet contractual obligations for in-service reliability, they may implement a cautious condition-based inspection regime. While such a conservative program can safeguard asset performance, it may result in increased demand for spare parts and resources, leading to higher operations and maintenance costs for the asset owner. Have you allocated a sufficient budget to accommodate this scenario?
• Maximising Asset Potential:
  How will you develop your asset strategies to extract maximum value from your assets?

If you’re improving reliability, optimising a maintenance system, or in the development of maintenance programs with a CMMS implementation then consider using FMECA techniques during design, for existing assets, or to drive continuous improvement.

To gain further insights on FMECA and its potential to support your asset strategy development and optimise the performance and efficiency of your assets, reach out to the team at EnterpriseIS. After exploring what success looks like for you, we’ll tailor a solution to deliver your goals.