Reliability handbook

2021
Contents
Introduction
Vision and strategy 4
Collaborative relationship 6
What is reliability 8
Why reliability 8
Achieving reliability 10
Reliability process 12

Development
Reliability and reliability growth 14
New content analysis 16
New content risk reduction 18
Maintenance planning and TCO optimization 20
P-F inteval 22

Operational use
Training 24
Collecting time-series data 26
Visualization of time-series data 28
Maintenance optimization 30

Support
Common data model 32

Terms and abbreviations 34

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 Our vision - Zero unplanned stops and market leading TCO

Strategy
Understand the customer Act on feedback Smart maintenance
We know the value of understanding our We recognize feedback as a valuable asset We provide machines with dynamic and
customers and our customers’ operations. that drives our product improvements, new Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) centered
Collaboration, and information sharing is key development, and service offerings. Close maintenance plans. Built on engineering
to proactively develop, and provide the best collaboration with customers and connected excellence, operational profiling, and
possible equipment, services and customer machines is key to delivering world class feedback. Smart maintenance is key to
support. performance. optimal uptime and world class productivity.

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 Collaborative relationship
Going from a transactional relationship as an equipment manufacturer delivering equipment and spare
parts to a collaborative relationship as a productivity partner. Which means working together with the cus-
tomers to find the most cost effective approach for utilizing available resources over the entire life of the
mine.

Customer perspective on a collaborative relationship: Epiroc perspective on a collaborative relationship:

• Develop maintenance philosophy • Increasing presence with customers
• Develop more efficient operations • Improving our experience in running costs, machine
• Improvement of machine reliability and uptime usage, and Total Cost of Ownership
• Mapping of parts consumption, running costs, and • Providing customized and Total Cost of Ownership
Total Cost of Ownership centered maintenance plans
• Identifying critical machine/component failure types • Improve spare parts availability by optimizing stock
and failure causes levels and at the same time reducing costs
• Development of customized machine maintenance
plans based on the local environment and/or operators
• Improved parts/material availability
• Efficiency at a fraction of the cost of a new machine

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 What is reliability
The definition of reliability is: the ability to successfully
perform a mission in given conditions for a specific time. It
can be expressed as probability of success, rate of failure
or mean time between failures. Another common defini-
tion is: quality over time. Despite definition, reliability has a
big impact on customer satisfaction and profitability.

Why reliability
Since reliability impacts mission success, warranty costs,
support costs, profitability and customer satisfaction it is
important to understand that it can be refined and im-
proved. It is also important to understand that the reliabili-
ty of a product is the result of decisions and actions made
in an eco system; everyone has their part to play. The aim
of this handbook is to describe that eco system.

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 Achieving reliability
Reliability by daily usage is the short-term feedback loop for con-
tinuous optimization of daily operations. It is to make sure that the
machine is used in the correct and most productive way, but it also
includes optimization of maintenance and repair tasks at every
planned stop. This is related to the operational phase i.e. opera-
tor and maintenance training, collecting, analyzing and visualizing
time-series data and smart dynamic maintenance. Reliability by daily
usage is an ability that combines reactive, preventive, and predictive
maintenance to maximize the equipment uptime.

Reliability by maintenance is the mid-term feedback loop for optimiz-

ing maintenance planning. It includes improvement of the preven-
tive maintenance plan, corrective maintenance information, and
planning of required logistic resources. This loop is a living program
that continuously improves maintenance management. It is also an
important feedback loop for design and development as being part
of proactive activities, creation of cost-effective product mainte-
nance plans, and TCO improvements.

Reliability by design and quality is the long-term feedback loop for

optimizing the product design based on field performance data.
Design optimization leads to increased inherent reliability, reduced
product risks, and reduced maintenance and repair downtime.
Reliability by design and quality is related to the product develop-
ment process involving new content analysis, proactive risk reduc-
tion activities, reliability growth planning, as well as inspection and
testing to verify product reliability and maintainability.

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 Reliability process
The reliability process described in this handbook emphasizes the fact that reliability requires an ongoing effort.
Beginning with the Design for Reliability (DFR) activities during conceptual design, industrialization and continuing
through the product’s commissioning in the field. Efforts should be maximized to collect and analyze data and infor-
mation regarding the product’s behavior to reveal potential flaws that can be corrected to improve the current (and
future) products. The reliability process is divided into different phases of the product life cycle.

Feasibility study The Reliability growth testing should be long enough to

run a sufficient number of test hours to have the possibil-
This initial part of the reliability process includes New
ity to identify and resolve new problems that have been
Content (NC) analysis as well as starting maintenance
introduced in the new product. The test can continue on
planning and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) optimization.
first serial built products in a customer environment to fur-
The NC analysis evaluates and qualifies the reliability
ther “collect” growth as input in continuous improvement
risks associated with a new product development pro-
activities
gram. The serviceability analysis affects the maintenance
planning and the final TCO for the new product. Most of a
product’s serviceability and TCO are determined already Verification, validation and industrialization
during the feasibility and conceptual study. This part of the reliability process includes continued
work on reliability growth testing, maintenance plan veri-
Conceptual study fication, and TCO optimization.
This part of the reliability process is valid for NC, proac-
tive activities and reliability growth planning as well as Commissioning
continued work on maintenance planning and TCO opti- This part of the reliability process includes delivery of
mization. Different types of proactive activates – such as the product’s technical information, operator, and main-
Failure Mode and Effect Criticality Analysis (FMECA) and tenance training. Operator training to gain knowledge of
Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) – should be con- the products’ characteristics and limitations. Maintenance
ducted by cross functional teams to reduce the NC risks training to gain knowledge of how maintenance should be
and increase the reliability. The reliability growth planning done in a safe and proper manner.
provides a realistic plan to achieve and demonstrate a
specific Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) target val- Follow-up
ue at the end of the product development program.
This part of the reliability process includes collecting,
analyzing, and visualizing time-series data, logistic and
Detailed design maintenance optimization. Time-series data shall con-
This part of the reliability process is valid for pro- tinuously be collected, analyzed, and visualized during
active activities and reliability growth testing as well as operational use to enable all stakeholders to use the data
continued work on maintenance planning and TCO opti- for their purposes. Standardization of the time-series data
mization. Reliability growth testing is a systematic way to is a must to enable direct comparison of data, reduce
improve new product reliability to reach the required level. repeated effort, and encourage collaboration.

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What Reliability and
Achieve the right reliability level for new products

When reliability growth

Development phase
In the early stages of new product development, problems may
exist in the design that negatively impacts reliability. If uncorrected,
Why these deficiencies would likely manifest themselves in field use,
Eliminate problems that impact reliability as early resulting in:
and proactively as possible • Equipment down-time
• Increased maintenance costs
• Increased safety and liability exposure
• Dissatisfied customers

Reliability growth includes a number of different steps: warranty

analysis, new content analysis, new content risk reduction, reliability
growth planning, and reliability growth testing.

Our application of reliability growth consists of five different activi-

ties:
1. The first activity is to fully understand the product requirements.
This includes targets for quality and uptime and understanding
of the impact on different concepts.
2. The second area is to make a risk identification of the New
Content. This also includes a technology readiness level assess-
ment. Together with that, risk analysis of the old carry over part
with respect to changed environments, loads, new suppliers, or
other things that can affect the system in a negative way.
3. The third area is reliability estimation and final target setting of
the new product. This includes breaking down for a purchased
subsystem the specific quality requirements and following up
on the quality level during development.
4. The fourth area is risk reduction. This includes design work to
lower risk to an acceptable level. The work can be followed up
by burn down curves and will continue until an optimal level has
been reached.
5. The fifth step is to actually find, evaluate and solve residual
problems in the new design by various tests and verification
methods.

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What New content analysis
Define and quantify the potential risk in the new
design or feature Assessment of the degree of change and failure rate for each func-
tion group in the new product is used to estimate the new content
When reliability risk. The new content risk is a product of the degree of
Development phase change and the failure rate.

Why New content reliability risk = degree of change (%) x failure rate
To understand, accept and/or implement actions to
Changes that increase risk can be in design, loads/stress, manufac-
reduce the risks to an acceptable level (new content
turing/assembly, customer usage, serviceability, or in the supply
risk reduction) chain. If available, the failure rate from the reference product should
be used. The larger the new content reliability risk value, the more
new, unforeseen failure modes can be expected.

The total reliability product risk will also include the Technology
Readiness Level (TRL) status of the new design (module, subsys-
tem). The combination of a high new content risk value and a low
TRL level indicates a design with a high reliability risk. If a new
design has not reached an appropriate TRL level it should not be
used in a New Product Development (NPD) industrialization project
without further maturation.

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What New content risk reduction
Iterative and proactive actions taken to reduce the
risk associated with the new contents Focus must be on different types of proactive activities conducted
by R&D/Engineering to reduce the new content risk and increase
When the reliability of the product.
Development phase
Examples of proactive activities:
Why • Failure mode and effect criticality analysis (FMECA)
• Component and/or subsystem rig and bench testing
To reduce the cost and time for verification and test-
• System simulations
ing and lowering the risk of unforeseen and major
design changes in the late stages of the project If the proactive activities are completed as planned, they lower the
project’s new content risk value. They will also reduce the num-
ber of initial problems in physical prototypes which in turn directly
reduces the project total costs and have a positive effect on Time-
To-Market. These effects are increasingly important due to tighter
development time frames, and for balancing the required test and
verification budget toward the product’s expected sales volume.

Executing the Reliability Growth (RG) test plan to systematically

improve the new product reliability to the required level before
starting production is essential. The test application selected shall
represent the application in which the product is normally used.
Even if very few units are used, it may be important to try to test the
product in a variety of primary applications to cover different oper-
ating conditions.

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What Maintenance planning and TCO
Define needed maintenance task and when to per-
form them
optimization
When The proactive activity called Reliability Centered Maintenance
Development phase (RCM) is used to identify what preventive maintenance tasks are
needed and to some extent when they should be conducted. The
Why objectives of an effective RCM analysis is not to eliminate failures
To identify the optimum set of maintenance activities within products but to reduce them or mitigate the consequences of
to be included in the maintenance plan, along with a failure when one occurs. The cost for the preventive maintenance
maintenance frequency and level for each activity, task must be less than the alternative, i.e. the corrective mainte-
nance task, subsequent to the occurred failure, alongside costs for
from a cost perspective
any additional damage.

The level of repair analysis is an analysis method to assist in estab-

lishing an optimized maintenance strategy (optimized TCO).

The approach is to evaluate and balance the available information

by best engineering judgement, field experience, and time-series
field data. A software package can be used if more complex mathe-
matical calculation models are used.

The RCM analysis results in any of the following maintenance types:

Preventive Maintenance (PM)

Daily checks
Routine maintenance
Preventive Maintenance (PM)
Predictive Maintenance (PdM)
Condition based PdM
Basic condition monitoring
Advanced condition monitoring
Profile based PdM
Prescriptive maintenance

Corrective Maintenance (CM)

Planned CM
Unplanned CM

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What P-F interval
Identify failure modes that have an identifiable con-
dition that indicates a functional failure is about to Most failure modes does not occur absolutely instantaneously. In
occur those cases, it is often possible to detect that the items concerned
are in the final stages of deterioration before they reach the failed
When state. This evidence of imminent failure is known as a “potential
Development phase failure,” which is defined as “an identifiable condition that indicates
that a functional failure is either about to occur or is in the process
Why of occurring.” If this condition can be detected, it may be possible
to take action to prevent the item from failing completely and/or
To be able to introduce the best preventive actions
avoid the consequences of the failure mode.
to avoid the functional failure and/or its conse-
quences If a potential failure is detected between point P and point F, this is
the point at which it may be possible to take preventive action to
avoid the functional failure and/or its consequences.

The shortest time between the discovery of a potential failure and

the occurrence of the functional failure (the P-F interval) shall be
long enough for a predetermined action to be taken to avoid, elimi-
nate, or minimize the consequences of the failure mode.

The P-F interval governs how often on-condition tasks must be

done. In order to detect the potential failure before it becomes a
functional failure, the interval between checks must be less than the
P-F interval. It is also essential that the potential failure condition is
sufficiently described, so that a person who is trained to perform
the check will detect the potential failure if and when it occurs.

The P-F interval is also known as the warning period, the lead time
to functional failure or the failure development period. It can be
measured in any units that provide an indication of exposure to
stress (running time, units of output, stop-start cycles, etc.). For dif-
ferent failure modes, it varies from fractions of a second to several
decades.

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What Training
Conduct internal and customer training
The training course content is based on the results of the reliability
When and maintainability work. The identified daily checks, routine main-
Operational use (before use or early on) tenance, preventive maintenance and corrective maintenance are
documented in technical publications, spare part catalogues, and
Why training courses.
To train operators how to operate the machine and
get knowledge about machine characteristics and Example of customer training:
• Operators training (skill and behavior), to learn how to operate
limitations, and train technicians how to perform
the machine and to become familiar with the machine charac-
maintenance in a safe and proper way teristics and limitations.
• Maintenance management and execution, to understand the
importance of maintenance and learn when and how to perform
maintenance safely and properly. Also includes training in trou-
bleshooting and repair.

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What Collecting time-series data
Collecting time-series data from relevant data
sources
Collecting data is crucial within the reliability field. Without data, it
is impossible to build understanding and knowledge about ma-
When chine, system or component performance, nor is it possible to work
Operational use with product improvements or maintenance optimization in a struc-
tured and fact based way. The data itself must also be time-series
Why data i.e. the data must be possible to connect to a time axis to make
To build the foundation for all reliability analytic work it valuable. Otherwise it is impossible to distinguish cause from
effect and vice versa.

When talking about data and data sources, machine data is one of
the more important sources but it needs to be supported by data
from external support systems to create the full value. The com-
bination of data from different sources it what gives context and
understanding, hence the need to have time-series data to be able
to combine the data from the different sources.

Examples of machine data:

Sensor data e.g. temperature, pressure, flow, RPM, angle etc.
Actuation data e.g. throttle, brake pedal, gear selected etc.
Operational modes e.g. positioning, drilling, tramming etc.

Examples of external support system data:

• Operator logs
• Failure reports
• Maintenance records
• Warranty issues

Standardization and digitalization is a must to enable time- and cost

effective collection of data. Collected data shall also be stored in a
common and fit for purpose domain for easy access by approved
stakeholders and analytic tools.

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What Visualization of time-series
Single source of easy to access machine perfor-
mance related data
data
When The collected feedback data (both machine and external support
Operational use system data e.g. maintenance records) gives, when analyzed and
visualized, the stakeholders a better knowledge and awareness of
Why the product’s operational use, availability, reliability, and mainte-
To provide stakeholders with valuable insights and nance history.
fact based decision material.
A data visualization tool can be used to provide a more user-friendly
view of time-series data. The data visualization tools should give
stakeholders both easy access and a simple way to interpret facts
and insights.

Some factors that should be considered when visualizing time-

series data
• Stakeholders should be able to quickly spot trends and outliers
• Provide right level of detail for the right audience. A Product
Company (PC)/global analyst may need more detailed informa-
tion than a Customer Center (CC) site planner, and some people
may need drill-down capabilities
• Results must support common definitions and metrics across
Epiroc

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What Maintenance optimization
Perform smart/dynamic maintenance
Maintenance optimization and smart maintenance are done to
When improve asset availability and to reduce the cost. By utilization of all
Operational use available data (both global and local) such as warranty data, main-
tenance records, failure reports, operational profile (usage), and
Why operators’ logs, the maintenance engineer, maintenance planner, or
To optimize the planned maintenance slot local reliability engineer can optimize the individual maintenance
plans for the assets.

Through continuous monitoring and analyzing of the data, the

maintenance planner can even adjust and optimize an upcoming
planned service slot, in real time, to fit the specific need for the
asset depending on how the asset has been utilized.

Smart/dynamic maintenance saves a lot of time and money, since

the service crew knows what to do and has the correct tools and
parts available when the asset comes in for service.

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What Common data model
Prerequisite for fast and effective analytic work
Data standardization is the critical process of bringing data into a
When common format that allows for collaborative research, large-scale
Development phase and operational use analytics, and sharing of sophisticated tools and methodologies.
A common data model is essential to enable direct comparison of
Why data, reduce repeated effort, and encourage collaboration. It is im-
To unify data across Epiroc and establish interopera- portant to formally define all available measures and dimensions to
bility between machine level and business levels avoid misunderstandings about terms and definitions.

A common data model provides a single metadata definition that

can be customized, making it easier to build reports, and connect
business entities like Engineering/R&D, Aftermarket, Purchasing,
Operations, and Marketing. The common data model establishes
an integration pathway between machine level and business levels.
This will “enable” all business users to access the operational data.

A common data model for field data is one of the most important
elements for successful reliability work. The data model enables the
reliability work and facilitates the transition from making decisions
based on hindsight to making decisions with foresight.

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 Availability MTBE
A measure of the degree to which a product is available to be Mean Time Between Events
utilized for operation
MTBF
BD Mean Time Between Failures
Basic Development
MTTR
CC Mean Time To Repair. A basic measure of maintainability.
Customer Center The sum of corrective maintenance times divided by the
total number of failures within the product
Condition based PdM, advanced condition monitoring
Sensor or machine data algorithms measuring the condition/ NC
state of specific components or whole systems New Content

Condition based PdM, basic condition monitoring NPD

Manual checks according to pre-defined list, thresholds and New Product Development
interval
On-condition task
Daily check A periodic or continuous task used to detect a potential
Prelaunch checks (fluid levels, oil leaks, loose-panels, tire condi- failure
tion etc), according to a check list
PC
DFR Product Company
Design for Reliability
Planned CM
EPC In maintenance engineering: Known failure modes with-
Epiroc Performance Center out interval with prepared maintenance task/maintenance
master data
FMECA
In maintenance operations: Noncritical failures that can be
Failure Mode and Effect Criticality Analysis
scheduled to be attended to at a later and already planned
service stop
Maintainability
A measure of the ability of a product to be retained in a specific Predictive Maintenance (PdM)
condition when maintenance is performed, using prescribed Change out or maintain components or systems to prevent
procedures and technician skill levels unplanned downtime, based on condition or profile

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Prescriptive Maintenance TCO
Advanced PdM also considering the eco-system of the whole Total Cost of Ownership
mining process, what is best for the process
TRL
Preventive Maintenance (PM) Technology Readiness Level
Change out or maintain components or systems to prevent un-
planned downtime, based on intervals Scheduled discard
A scheduled task that entails replacing an item at or before
Profile based PdM a specified age limit, regardless of its condition at the time
Deterioration profile for individual components in correlation
with actual operation Scheduled restoration
A scheduled task that restores the capability of an item at
RCM or before a specified interval (age limit), regardless of its
Reliability Centered Maintenance condition at the time, to a level that provides an accept-
able probability of survival to the end of another specified
Reliability interval
The probability that a product will perform its intended function
for a specified interval under stated conditions Stakeholder
An organization, group or individual, inside or outside of the
project, who influences or will be affected by its realization
Reliability growth
The improvement in reliability caused by the successful correc-
tion of deficiencies in a product’s design Unplanned CM
In maintenance engineering: Unknown failure modes and/
or unlikely failure modes that is not prepared with a mainte-
Routine maintenance nance task. Random failure frequency
Consumables (fluids, filters, lubrication) changed out according
to interval In maintenance operations: Critical failures that needs im-
mediate attention to get the asset working again
Run to failure
A failure management policy that permits a specific failure
mode to occur without any attempt to anticipate or prevent it

R&D
Research and Development

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