The University of Zambia

School of Engineering
Department of Mechanical Engineering

ME 595 - Maintenance Engineering

QUALITY, RELIABILITY AND MAINTAINABILITY (QRM)

 Productivity, Quality and Reliability (PQR) – very important for operating and
production personnel
 Productivity of a m/c = items produced per unit time under specified conditions
e.g. for a lathe doing the same job repeatedly = numbers per shift
if doing different jobs most of the time = rate of metal removal.

Quality of product = what consumers demand

Quality of product should meet the desired specifications and should give desired service.
Total quality management (TQM) is very significant in today’ production.

Reliability of a m/c = probability that the m/c will give failure free performance of its
intended function.
Reliability is different from availability. A machine may be reliable but its availability poor.

While a mtz engineer needs to know PQR, his greater emphasis must be on QRM.

Quality of mtz = good workmanship done to reduce/prevent failures

= capability of the production m/c and mtz tools to give failure free
output.

Reliability
An Astronaut on Reliability, “The most nerve-wrecking part of any space flight is the fact
that your life depends on thousands on intricate parts each produced
by the lowest bidder.”

Reliability = the reciprocal of a function of the confidence interval, i.e. the

smaller the gap between successive occurrences, the greater the
reliability.
= amount of credence placed in a result
= the precision of a measurement as measured by the variance of
repeated measurements.

Engineering Reliability = the probability that a machine/product will give failure free
performance.
Reliability of a piece equipment having many parts is complex.

Consider a m/c with 400 parts each with Rp = 99%.

Reliability for the whole m/c = Rm = Rp1 . Rp2 . Rp3 . … .Rp400
= (0.99)400
= 0.01795055327505 = 0.02
= 2%

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Since no one will accept a m/c likely to fail 98% of the time some parts must have a
reliability of 100% and only a few with less.

Reliability Process and Reliability Improvement

 Reliability Engg = technology concerned with predictions, controls, measurements and
continuous improvement
 Reliability does not imply failure free operation, though this is important in one shot
devices (like missiles, unmanned spacecraft, etc) which are non-repairable, hazardous or
life-saving.
 Reliability is quantifiable using statistics.

 Reliability improvement is a continuous engineering process. It involves enormous

amount of data collection (from operating and service equipment) and analysis, with
respect to failure modes. Feedback of information and analysis goes to users,
maintenance personnel, the manufacturers and designers.

 The following are essential in reliability study:

i) Reliability programme starts in the conceptual phase of equipment and continues
throughout the design, development, production, testing, field evaluation and
service stages.
ii) Adequate management and organisational support is required.
iii) Proper failure reporting system from all concerned agencies has to be built up
iv) Proper action plans, specifying responsibilities, procedures, schedules and budgets
should be issued where necessary and followed up.
v) The execution of the programme (both technical and managerial)

 Some Design Aspects of Reliability Improvement:

i) Massive Over-design When Weight, Space and Cost Limits Permit: 500 tons of
structurals and castings in place of 100 tons, etc.
ii) Simplicity and Standardisation: the lesser the number of parts, the higher the
reliability; Using proven, standard components instead of “tailor-made parts, etc
iii) De-rating of Equipment: Supplying a 50 ton furnace as a 40 ton one
iv) Human Engineering and Maintainability Considerations: making the design such
that using incorrect parts is either difficult of impossible.
v) Applying 80-20 Concept: Identifying critical parts/components that are less
reliable and take pre-emptive measures to avoid failure. Remembering that 20%
of parts account for 80% of the failures/problems.

Use of Reliability
Availability of reliability information (MTBF, MTTF and probability of service) are
beneficial in the following ways:
(i) For Maintenance Personnel: Knowledge of life expectancy and wear-out
characteristics help in development of:
 Good maintenance frequencies
 Estimated need of spare parts and stand-by equipment/sub-assemblies
 Proper replacement plans.
(ii) For Assessing Equipment Availability: equipment availability depends on reliability
and maintainability, such that:
Equipment Effectiveness = Reliability x Availability

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(iii) Success: Reliability permits evaluation of likelihood of success
(iv) Cost Control: Cost of equipment depends on reliability required. For industrial
equipment, a balance between is required between cost and reliability.
(v) Safety: Only by knowing the reliability of components, equipment can maximum
safety be assured.

Reliability through Redundancy

 In a system with many sub-systems and elements, reliability of each element has to be
improved to near 100% to achieve a high overall reliability.
 If reliability of individual elements can not be improved, duplication or triplication of
those components or sub-assemblies can improve overall reliability. This amounts to
inclusion of redundancy to boost overall reliability even if such sub-systems will be on
stand-by most of the time.
 Consider a System with one pump unit, one valve and one cylinder with probabilities of
success Ps as indicated:

Pump Valve Cylinder

Ps (P) = 70% Ps (V) = 90% Ps (C) = 80%

Ps (System) = 70% x 90% x 80%

= 50%

 But if the pump is duplicated in parallel:

Pump 1

Ps (P1) = 70%
Pf (P1) = 30% Valve Cylinder

Ps (V) = 90% Ps (C) = 80%

Pump 2

Ps (P2) = 70%
Pf (P2) = 30%

Ps (at least one pump) = 100% - Pf (P1) x Pf (P2)

= 100% - (30% x 30%) = 91%
Ps (System) = Ps (at least one pump) x Ps (V) x Ps (C)
= 91% x 90% x 80%
= 66%

 Similarly by triplication of the pump units in parallel:

Ps (System) = [100% - Pf (P1) x Pf (P2) x Pf (P3)] x Ps (V) x Ps (C)
= 97.3% x 90% x 80%
= 70%

 Thus by redundancy, the system reliability has been improved, but at a cost in extra
equipment and space, which may not be possible in some systems.

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 In addition to cost and space limitations, there are some additional constraints to
reliability through redundancy:
i) Parallel units are sometimes connected through a changeover switch (automatic
changeover) which may not be fail proof, thus introducing a reliability reduction
factor.
ii) With duplication or triplication of components, non-working failed components
may cause adverse effect on working components (e.g. possible internal leakage
through non-working hydraulic valves or pumps).

MANINTAINABILITY
Maintainability  Probability that a failed component or system is restored to its operable
state within a specified period of time.
 Characteristic of equipment/component design and installation which is
expressed in terms of ease and economy of maintenance, availability of
equipment, safety and accuracy of performance of the maintenance
actions.
 Aims to design and develop equipment, which can be maintained and
restored after failure in least time and at the least cost.
 Differs from reliability to the extent that it is based on total repair time
where as reliability is based on active repair time.
 Does not improve performance
 When introduced at design stage calls for association with the
service/maintenance engineer

Maintainability Improvement
The following areas can be considered for good maintainability and improved in
maintainability:
(i) Access and Approach
(ii) Reducing Complexity of Maintenance
(iii) Standardisation and Variety Reduction
(iv) Reducing the Need and Frequency of Design Dictated Maintenance
(v) Providing Proper Diagnostic and Early Warning Aids
(vi) Reducing the Possibility of Committing Maintenance Errors
(vii) Safety and Environmental Requirements

Common errors Affecting Maintainability

(i) Do not put components where they can not be removed without the removal of whole
units or without removal of other parts
(ii) Do not screw sub-assembles together in such a way that the maintenance man can not
tell which screw holds what
(iii) Do not put adjustment screw/handle out of arms’ reach or at an awkward position
(iv) Do not make sockets and connections of modules of same configuration, otherwise
wrong unit will be installed
(v) Do not provide access doors with numerous small screws. It should be fixed with a
minimum number of bigger bolts for easy dismantling
(vi) If equipment /system is battery operated, provide internal charging system to minimise
frequent removal of batteries
(vii) Do not permit high voltage points to be exposed
(viii) Avoid using of indicators/meters which require frequent evaluation and calibration