XYZ CORPORATION NUMBER

123456 PLANT
TITLE: DEFECT IDENTIFICATION &
BEST PRACTICES (RELIABILITY) ELIMINATION PROCEDURE
PROCEDURE DATE: JUNE 2003
REVISION:
DATE:
PAGE: 1 of 6

OVERVIEW OF PROCEDURE

Defect identification and elimination procedure contains the following paragraphs:

PURPOSE

SCOPE

DESCRIPTION

MEETING

RESPONSIBILITY

© Polaris Veritas, Inc.

Houston, TX
 XYZ CORPORATION NUMBER
123456 PLANT
TITLE: DEFECT IDENTIFICATION &
BEST PRACTICES (RELIABILITY) ELIMINATION PROCEDURE
PROCEDURE DATE: JUNE 2003
REVISION:
DATE:
PAGE: 2 of 6

1.0 PURPOSE

The system is designed to prescribe an integrated methodology to handle defects

(problems) related to the reliability of plant and equipment.

This procedure describes how a manufacturing plant will initially screen and select
problems to be worked on based on their total calculated cost to the company.
It goes on to describe methods of initiating and justifying and tracking the resulting
solutions projects.

2.0 SCOPE

This procedure includes a description of a three tiered methodology for handling

defects (problems) which exist in a pyramid with thousands of small defects at the
bottom with a few (fatal) large ones at the top. It goes on to describe prioritization in
order of gradually diminishing cost impact and project implementation.

These include –

IDENTIFICATION & QUANTIFICATION

Quantifying the impact and sorting by type

Rate, Reliability, Quality & Bottleneck Analysis - a procedure used by a team to

select and measure which problems have the greatest financial impact on the
manufacturing operation.

High Level

1. Root Cause Analysis - a procedure used to find the primary or underlying

causes which create problematic situations.

Middle Level

2. Specific single technical discipline - used by Reliability / Unit Engineers -

mechanical, electrical quality or chemical engineers within their disciplines.

3. Monthly issues Analysis – a routine scheduled analysis of any issue that

reduces productive capacity including quality rate or operating time.

© Polaris Veritas, Inc.

Houston, TX
 XYZ CORPORATION NUMBER
123456 PLANT
TITLE: DEFECT IDENTIFICATION &
BEST PRACTICES (RELIABILITY) ELIMINATION PROCEDURE
PROCEDURE DATE: JUNE 2003
REVISION:
DATE:
PAGE: 3 of 6

Low Level

4. On the job action teams - "Action Teams" - Small "ad hoc" teams of operating
and maintenance technicians working to eliminate defects the cost of which can be
recovered in 90 days without capital expenditure.

SOLUTION TECHNIQUES
There are literally dozens of techniques or tools which can be used to analyze the
causes and effects around problematic situations these include the Kepner – Tregoe
method, fault tree, cause & effect diagrams, Fishbone Diagrams etc

PROJECT DEFINITION & EXECUTION

1. Project Approval, Execution and Implementation – a procedure, which

describes how the recommendations of the problem solution teams are
transposed into approved projects, which are implemented without delay.

2. Action Teams or Small Self-Directed Team Improvement - a problem solution

procedure for smaller CIP projects, usually but not always, initiated by non-
exempt employees.

3.0 METHODS DESCRIPTION DETAILS

3.1 Rate, Reliability, Quality & Bottleneck Analysis

This is a process in which you study each major piece of process equipment
one at a time and calculate the cost of its inefficiency in terms of its inability to
meet its required or specified performance. This can be expressed as a
failure to meet the “Cabot Anticipated Service Life" or the more widely
accepted API/ASME standard of achieving a 5-year mean time between
failure. While we are calculating the total cost of the unreliability of a piece of
equipment or control system, we measure:

1. Its potential failure to meet the required production rate.

2. Define whether it is or isn’t a bottleneck.
3. Define how much nonconforming product (scrap) is made and its lost
value.

© Polaris Veritas, Inc.

Houston, TX
 XYZ CORPORATION NUMBER
123456 PLANT
TITLE: DEFECT IDENTIFICATION &
BEST PRACTICES (RELIABILITY) ELIMINATION PROCEDURE
PROCEDURE DATE: JUNE 2003
REVISION:
DATE:
PAGE: 4 of 6

4. Any possible increases in exposure to safety.

5. Any environmental incidents it might generate.
6. Losses due to any inefficiencies in the use of power

3.2 Root Cause Analysis

This is more than just a problem solving methodology. It is an approach involving

triangulation in gathering evidence, consideration of latent defects and
uncovering patterns of systemic and human defects. Its use can involve any
number of problem solving tools. The direct methodologies include:

a) The Fish - Bone Diagram (Cause - Effect) method for the simpler problems.
and for more complex problems

b) The Kepner - Trego method.

The coordinator will publish results of additional update information and details of
solutions and responsibilities from the current assignment in a standard format.

Results are categorized and then analyzed for overall patterns or trends by using
the SCAT analysis technique

3.4 Project Approval, Execution and Implementation

When projects initiated by any of the problem selection, quantification, and

solution teams, which involve significant engineering or capital expenditure the
RCA team leader will pass them on via the Maintenance and Capital Manager to
the Capital Expenditure Engineer. He will then give each one an identifying
number.

The unit engineer in conjunction with the C E Manager will develop a scope and
a financial justification and the C E Manager will prepare a job estimate for initial
review by the plant manager. Assuming that it is approved at that stage and that
the project meets hurdle rates (ROI) it will be developed and included in the
capital plan.

It is commonly found that the solutions projects are categorized as being non-
capital and unbudgeted. This can delay the physical engineering if allowed.

© Polaris Veritas, Inc.

Houston, TX
 XYZ CORPORATION NUMBER
123456 PLANT
TITLE: DEFECT IDENTIFICATION &
BEST PRACTICES (RELIABILITY) ELIMINATION PROCEDURE
PROCEDURE DATE: JUNE 2003
REVISION:
DATE:
PAGE: 5 of 6

5.0 RESPONSIBILITIES

The Plant Manager will identify individual(s) who will be accountable and
responsible for the development, implementations and on-going execution of the
reliability problem selection, quantification, solution and project initiation
procedure program. These will include the following:

The Operations Manager will identify individuals(s) within his group who will
be accountable for providing detailed information regarding plant operations
and support development, implementations, and on-going execution of the
program.

The Individual Team Leaders are responsible for holding regularly

scheduled meetings publishing the results and tracking the recommendations
to conclusion

The Maintenance and Capital Manager will identify individual(s) within his
group who will be accountable for providing detailed information regarding
plant maintenance, and engineering. In addition he will support development,
implementations.

© Polaris Veritas, Inc.

Houston, TX
 XYZ CORPORATION NUMBER
123456 PLANT
TITLE: DEFECT IDENTIFICATION &
BEST PRACTICES (RELIABILITY) ELIMINATION PROCEDURE
PROCEDURE DATE: JUNE 2003
REVISION:
DATE:
PAGE: 6 of 6

SMALL SELF DIRECTED RELIABILITY

NAME:
IMPROVEMENT TEAM

THE IDEA
DESCRIPTION

JUSTIFICATION

MATERIALS YOUR TIME OTHERS’ TIME

HOW MUCH WILL
THE SOLUTION
COST

TOTALS

SAVINGS

TOTALS

APPROVED

REJECTED

REASON(S)

© Polaris Veritas, Inc.

Houston, TX