The Link Between Reliability Engineering and MRO

Often organizations order recommended spare parts as part of a capital project. While well-intentioned, organizations often end up with many parts that are not needed, while not having enough of the right parts to support commissioning and operation. So, if organizations can’t rely strictly on recommended spare parts form the vendor, how should the required spare parts be identified? A reliability engineering analysis should be conducted to understand the specific failure modes that the asset will experience during it’s commissioning and during operation. The analysis should also identify the likelihood or frequency in which the failure will occur. This analysis can then be used to specify which parts should be purchased, at which quantities. There are a few different analysis tools that can be used to assist with the decision, such as a Failure Mode Effects Analysis or a Maintenance Task Analysis. A Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) is the process of reviewing as many components, assemblies, and subsystems as possible to identify potential failure modes in a system and their causes and effects. Using this information, the analyst can recommend the specific parts to stock. A Maintenance Task Analysis (MTA) is the identification of the steps, spares, and materials, tools, support equipment, personnel skill levels, and facility issues that must be considered for a given repair task. Often is completed after the FMEA has been completed, but further refines the ability of the organization to plan for maintenance activities. Once the specific parts needed have been identified with one of the reliability analysis, there is another analysis required to determine the right level of parts to stock. Stocking parts cost money, not having parts costs money, so the analysis of the spare parts enables organizations to find the right balance. This presentation will walk the audience through the process of using the reliability engineering tools to identify the likely failures to evaluating stocking levels of spare parts. This will ensure that the organization can support the asset throughout its life at an optimized cost.

Originally presented at MainTrain 2021