In the last issue of Render, the foundation for developing purchasing specifications that help increase reliability was established. In this article, we will explore how to identify the various performance requirements and develop specifications around the data.
Performance Requirements
To understand the performance requirements, first identify the cause of downtime, parts replacement, and labor costs. Once this is established, then standards are identified as basic performance levels. After these standards have been determined, price, packaging, delivery, and value-added services are then requested.
Failure Modes
There are several techniques that can be used to identify a failure mode and root cause of a problem. Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is a process used to identify potential failure modes and determine the effect of each on the overall system performance and cost. The process is broken down into four areas:
1. Potential failure modes – What can we fail at (e.g., materials, manpower, methods, machines, measurements)?
2. Potential failure effects – What do we do when failures occur? How does it affect the customer and the company?
3. Potential causes – What happened to cause the failure?
4. Current controls – What can help to prevent the failures? What is the process to prevent failures?
Examining the answers to these difficult questions can, by themselves, bring about improvements. Utilizing them in the development of procurement specifications can increase plant reliability with dramatic results.
Failures can be hard to categorize. They can be by-products of negligence or natural processes. Here is an oil pipeline failure example:
• Negligence: If someone failed to inspect/repair failing equipment, then they are guilty of negligence. Failing to notice and fix such problems could lead to a broken pipeline or an accidental explosion that spills oil or petroleum.
• Natural process: A pipeline will eventually rust. This is a natural process. Rusting might cause the pipe to leak. Leaking pipes are a mechanical failure. This is how mechanical failure could be a natural process’ by-product.
Standards of Performance
An organization that has established standards for performance is the American Society for Testing and Materials, now known as ASTM International. ASTM is a global forum for the development of consensus standards. Organized in 1898, ASTM, a not-for-profit organization, is one of the largest voluntary standards developing organizations in the world, providing a forum for the development and publication of voluntary consensus standards for materials, products, systems, and services. ASTM’s members, representing producers, users, consumers, government, and academia from over 100 countries, develop technical documents that are a basis for manufacturing, management, procurement, codes, and regulations. These members belong to one or more committees, each of which covers a subject area such as steel, petroleum, medical devices, property management, consumer products, and many more. It is these committees that develop the more than 12,000 ASTM standards that can be found in the 77-volume Annual Book of ASTM Standards. An online index enables one to locate standards in 130 varying industry areas. Available on the ASTM Web site at www.astm.org, the online index facilitates searches by keyword or standard number, and viewers can access the titles and scopes of all ASTM standards. The full text of any standard is available electronically or in print via the Web site or through ASTM customer service. Your vendor should be well-versed in the particular standards for their products.
Submission of the Proposal
It is essential that the submission be as painless as possible for all parties involved. The purchasing department does not want to pour through an endless stack of papers to get to the heart of the matter, nor does the prospective vendor want to submit the proposal that may hurt their chances of winning the business just because the format was difficult to work with. The easiest format that the procurement team can request is in table form with numeric or short answers for the prospective vendor to fill in. This makes the submission process easy, but more importantly it makes the selection process very easy. The data can be stored in a spreadsheet and quickly analyzed.
Identifying the various opportunities for failure is the first step. Once that is established, the next step is identifying the various performance standards that will have a direct relationship to the failure. Examining the performance levels of various items using ASTM methods is a good gauge for beginning the selection process. Using a spreadsheet to chart the various values is one way to organize the data. It is sound practice to try a new product in a designated area of the facility and monitor the actual performance. Only after certain expectations are met or exceeded should a given product be considered for plant-wide purchasing.
By following the basic steps of the procurement process, increased cost savings can be realized. It is important that the engineering, maintenance, and even purchasing departments become familiar with FMEA and ASTM standards. By pressuring vendors to deliver more in the way of value and performance, increased plant reliability and decreased cost are almost guaranteed.
Getting Down on the Floor - February 2006 Render