Equipment Failure Root Cause Analysis: A TapRooT® TV Video Premiere

Join Benna Hughes & Ken Reed as they discuss using Equifactor® to STOP repeat equipment failure in this week’s TapRooT® TV video premiere.

System Improvements President Mark Paradies recently wrote, “Everyone probably agrees that the failure to find and fix the causes of equipment failures leads to additional failures and reliability issues. So, if people agree, why do we continue to have failures to find and fix the root causes of equipment failures? The answer . . . poor equipment failure analysis/root cause failure analysis.

“That was an issue I explored in the late 1990s. I discussed the problem with some very smart people. One of those was Heinz Bloch, noted equipment reliability expert.  Join Ken and Benna as they discuss using Equifactor® to STOP repeating equipment failures.

“The outcome of our discussion was that many maintenance professionals, maintenance managers, and equipment reliability engineers did not use a systematic approach to troubleshooting and root cause analysis.

“What did they do?

• Replace parts or entire units (trial and error)
• Guess at answers using their experience
• Guess at answers based on the advice of others (perhaps vendors)
• Use substandard techniques like 5-Whys

“This leads to a failure to properly troubleshoot the failure and a failure to find the failures root causes.

“Without detecting the reasons for and root causes of the failure, the actions taken usually put the equipment back together with the reasons for the failure still in place. Thus, another repeat failure is bound to occur.

“This has happened so many times that people come to believe that the equipment is just unreliable. After all, it has always been this way. People believe there is no way to improve reliability.”

Equip your people to stop repeat incidents: Educate them with TapRooT® Training: Equifactor®

Equifactor® is a terrific tool to assist your maintenance and reliability folks in finding the physical cause of a machinery problem. It is a tool to assist you in performing your TapRooT® investigation when an equipment problem is part of that investigation.

Obviously, to be good at using a tool, you have to be trained in its use.  Equifactor® training has been set up to be extremely flexible to meet various training needs.

The course is set up to be a 2-Day TapRooT® / Equifactor® course:

• On Day 1 we will teach the Equifactor® troubleshooting techniques.  This day can be attended by any of your equipment reliability and maintenance folks.  They’ll learn how to use the SnapCharT® to collect troubleshooting information, and the Equifactor® troubleshooting tables to analyze the equipment failure.
• Day 2 will then teach the rest of the TapRooT® techniques.  Those that would like to learn the full TapRooT® system, but using equipment examples, will stay for both days and get the full course.

Let us know if you would like to see a demonstration of the system. We’d be happy to show you how TapRooT® and Equifactor® together can be a powerful part of your equipment maintenance and reliability improvement programs.

In the meantime, browse these Equifactor® courses or call us (865.539.2139) to learn how TapRooT® Training can empower your team. We often teach teams in on-site courses.

Suggested reading is Ken’s terrific article about Equifactor Troubleshooting Basics.

Register now for the one conference you must attend in 2021

The  2021 Global TapRooT® Summit, June 14-18, 2021, in Knoxville, Tennessee, is the best setting to help you develop your roadmap to success. You will also meet industry leaders and network with other professionals.

Look through the 2021 Global TapRooT® Summit schedule to browse the tracks and then . . .

1. Peruse and take advantage of the  Pre-Summit Courses (June 14-15).
2. Read Summit FAQ.
3. Save money! Register 3 or more attendees simultaneously for a discount. Also, save when you register for the 3-day Summit plus a 2-day Pre-Summit course.

Interested in some “On Demand” webinar training while you are in COVID-19 mode?  

Sign up today at https://store.taproot.com/e-learning​.​

Contact us at 865.539.2139 or reach out to your TapRooT® representative if your company needs an Executive Briefing or a Roadmap checkup to make sure you are on the right track to success!