Important metrics that the industrial sector should be aware of. An important strategy for achieving production goals is to track reliability metrics, or metrics that measure the reliability of a system or machine. Two important reliability metrics are Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) and Mean Time to Recovery (MTTR or MTR).
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This article details the meaning of these indicators, how to calculate them, and how to make them an effective part of your company's Asset Management strategy. But first, let's discuss why these metrics are critical to your business.
According to industry experts, keeping equipment running until a failure occurs can cost up to 10 times more than a preventive maintenance program; This is why reliability metrics are so important. They provide important insights into equipment conditions, extend the time between machine failures, and help predict downtime for equipment or services.
If downtime is more predictable, time and money budgets can be budgeted, projected production goals can be made more realistic, and machine replacement costs can be completely avoided over the next few years.
Next, let's examine the difference between the two metrics.
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) measures the mean time between repaired failures of a product, excluding planned downtime. This measurement gives enterprises valuable insights into product reliability.
For example, an operations manager at a steel manufacturing company is wondering whether to replace an industrial electric arc furnace; This is a costly investment in the company's production process, but it is a necessary investment. After reviewing MTBF statistics (and other reliability metrics), the manager found that the machine was more reliable than originally thought and could be improved by replacing specific parts rather than the entire machine; This saves companies thousands of dollars and loses production time while improving the capabilities of existing machines.
MTBF = Total Number of operational hours in a period / Number of failures that occurred in that period
It is important to note that MTBF does not consider the time it takes to fix a problem, only the time between failures.
The MTBF is very useful because manufacturers can use this metric to plan the production of their products. Although the exact failure cannot be completely predicted, the frequency and need for planned maintenance are as follows:
Of course, the MTBF of gears is not always high. Machines are aging, parts are out of order, and engineers come and go. If you are not satisfied with the component's MTBF, you can take steps to improve it. Let's discuss ways to increase the time between unplanned outages or increase MTBF.
Make sure your staff is qualified and experienced. We also provide device-specific training appropriate for new employees and new products. Proper use of the product is important to reduce failures.
Cheap replacement parts often lead to cheap repairs. Use high-quality recommended replacement parts to extend the failure interval and maintain the machine's overall condition.
Keeping regular maintenance up-to-date can reduce unexpected downtime. Regular maintenance is ideal because it can be scheduled and incorporated into scheduled downtime.
MTTR has multiple meanings, but it is usually the average time it takes to repair a system after an unplanned outage.
The MTTR includes the entire repair process. It starts with the start of the repair and ends with its testing and fully functional components.
Imagine an injection molding company installing a new thermal heater. MTTR is unusually high and will take a very long time to repair. Since the machine is new, the administrator cannot understand why. After a bit of digging, they realized that their technicians weren't used to this new model. Providing proper training to technicians can quickly reduce MTTR. With MTTR, managers were able to fix problems while keeping production going quickly.
You can calculate MTTR by dividing the total maintenance time by the total number of maintenance actions over a period of time.
MTTR = total maintenance time / total number of maintenance actions
Because MTTR is designed to provide mean time to repair, onsite results may vary depending on factors such as severity, availability of parts, and qualified repair personnel. However, MTTR can help indicate a problem. B. When replacing components, conducting further staff training, or updating SOPs.
The goal is always a low MTTR, as repair times are reduced. The higher the MTTR, the longer the downtime, which affects the availability of components and the production of goods or services. A high MTTR can have a negative impact on your business.
Ensure all repair personnel are properly trained for each particular type of equipment. Proper training can improve the efficiency of repairs.
Is the repair process as wasteful as possible? Remove or make changes to unnecessary steps to make the process comprehensive and as efficient as possible. Checklists are also useful when optimizing the repair process.
Machine performance tracking can speed up the evaluation phase of the repair process, as the analyzed data points out specific issues and helps staff allocate resources for future repairs.
Maintenance and reliability applications can help streamline processes and provide a command center for maintenance management.
MTBF and MTTR are often closely related but have very different reliability indicators.
The mean time between failures calculates the average time a device will operate without unplanned outages. For example, a manufacturing company's industrial HVAC machine runs on demand for 40 consecutive days over three months, with three unplanned downtimes; This is the information needed to calculate the MTBF.
On the other hand, the mean time to repair determines the average time required to repair a device. Suppose a chemical company technician takes an average of 34.7 minutes to repair a packaging machine in the event of a breakdown; This is MTTR.
Although the MTBF and MTTR have different uses, these two calculations are important for predicting future equipment downtime and improving overall reliability.
Reliability metrics help ensure the availability and productivity of the components essential to your business growth. Cryotos is an essential tool for managing and even improving these indicators.
Cryotos is an easy-to-use mobile-first maintenance and reliable application designed to improve technician utilization and efficiency in processing work orders. The platform includes a central command center that allows technicians to manage and share the required information about work orders in one place. Users can also create custom dashboards and reports to track key maintenance data that helps improve reliability.
Cryotos also provides real-time monitoring using IoT sensors. This IoT data can play an important role in improving reliability. If that's not enough, Cryotos has a variety of preventive maintenance checklists to help you start or improve your preventive maintenance program and ultimately reduce equipment downtime. Get a free Cryotos Maintenance Software product tour now!
