Practical Root Cause Failure Analysis: Key Elements, Case Studies, and Common Equipment Failures

169 Pages·2022·6.771 MB·English

by  Randy Riddell

Practical Root Cause
Failure Analysis
Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA) is a method used by maintenance and
reliability industry professionals as one of the key tools to drive improvement.
This book offers a quick guide to the applications involved in performing a
successful RCFA by providing a foundational view of maintenance and reli-
ability strategies. It also highlights the practical applications of RCFA and
identifies how to achieve a successful RCFA, as well as discussing common
equipment failures and how to solve them. Case studies on topics including
pump system failure analysis and vibration analysis are included.
This book also:
• Suggests examples on how to solve common failures on many types
of equipment, including fatigue, pumps, bearings and mechanical
power transmission
• Highlights practical applications of RCFA
• Identifies key elements for how to achieve a successful RCFA
• Presents case studies on topics including pump system failure analy-
sis and vibration analysis
This book is a must-read for any reliability engineer, particularly mechanical
reliability professionals.
Reliability, Maintenance, and Safety
Engineering: A Practical Field View on
Getting Work Done Effectively
Series Editor:
Robert J. Latino, Reliability Center, Inc., VA
This series will focus on the “been there, done that” concept in order to pro-
vide readers with experiences and related trade-off decisions that those in the
field have to make daily, between production processes and costs no matter
what the policy or procedure states. The books in this new series will offer
tips and tricks from the field to help others navigate their work in the areas
of Reliability, Maintenance and Safety. The concept of ‘Work as Imagined’
and ‘Work as Done’, as coined by Dr. Erik Hollnagel (an author of ours), this
series will bridge the gap between the two perspectives to focus on books
written by authors who work on the frontlines and provide trade-off deci-
sions that those in the field have to make daily, between production pres-
sures and costs…no matter what the policy or procedure states. The topics
covered will include Root Cause Analysis, Reliability, Maintenance, Safety,
Digital Transformation, Asset Management, Asset Performance Management,
Predictive Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, the Industrial Internet of Things,
and Machine Learning.
Lubrication Degradation
Getting into the Root Causes
Sanya Mathura and Robert J. Latino
Practical Root Cause Failure Analysis
Key Elements, Case Studies, and Common Equipment Failures
Randy Riddell
For more information on this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.
com/Reliability-Maintenance-and-Safety-Engineering-A-Practical-Field-
View-on-Getting-Work-Done-Effectively/book-series/CRCRMSEGWDE
Practical Root Cause
Failure Analysis
Key Elements, Case Studies, and
Common Equipment Failures
Randy Riddell
CRC Press
Boca Raton and London
First edition published 2022
by CRC Press
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
and by CRC Press
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
© 2022 Randy Riddell
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and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the conse-
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Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
ISBN: 978-1-032-16465-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-16466-3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-24867-5 (ebk)
DOI: 10.1201/9781003248675
Typeset in Times LT Std
by codeMantra
Contents
Foreword vii
Preface ix
Author Biography xi
1 Introduction to Successful Root Cause
Failure Analysis (RCFA) 1
1.1 Troubleshooting vs Failure Analysis 2
1.2 Defining Failure – 4 Levels of Failure 4
1.3 Reliability & RCFA 8
1.4 Predicting Failure 9
1.5 Maintenance & RCFA 11
2 5 Rights of Successful RCFA 15
2.1 The Right Systems 16
2.1.1 RCFA Process Infrastructure 17
2.1.2 Type of RCFA Process 18
2.1.2.1 Kepner Tregoe 19
2.1.2.2 The 5 Whys 20
2.1.2.3 Failure Mode Based 21
2.2 Right Resources 22
2.2.1 People 22
2.2.2 Budget 23
2.2.3 Tools 23
2.3 Right Evidence 24
2.3.1 Event Investigation 24
2.3.2 Failure Scene 25
2.3.3 Failure Type 26
2.4 Right Analysis 29
2.4.1 Failure Mode 29
2.4.2 Possible Causes 30
2.4.3 Physics of Failure 31
2.4.4 Failure Patterns 32
2.4.5 Ending Analysis 33
v
vi Contents
2.5 Right Corrective Actions 35
2.5.1 Type of Action Items 36
2.5.2 Execution of Action Items 38
2.5.3 Closing the Loop 39
3 Key Factors in Fatigue Failure 41
3.1 Fundamentals of Fatigue Failure 41
3.2 Case Study 1 – Chain Fatigue Failure 46
3.3 Case Study 2 – Conveyor Shaft Failure 52
4 Key Factors in Bearing Failure 57
4.1 Fundamentals of Bearing Failure 57
4.2 Case Study 1 – Combustion Fan Bearing Failure 61
4.3 Case Study 2 – Suction Roll Bearing Fracture 65
4.4 Case Study 3 – Pulper Motor Bearing Failure 69
4.5 Case Study 4 – Vacuum Pump Bearing Failure 72
4.6 Case Study 5 – Suction Press Roll Internal Bearing Failure 75
4.7 Case Study 6 – Exhaust Fan Bearing Failure 78
5 Key Factors in Pump System Failure 87
5.1 Fundamentals of Pump Failure 87
5.2 Case Study 1 – White Water Pump Failure 90
5.3 Case Study 2 – Stock Dilution Pump Failure 98
5.4 Case Study 3 – Loop 1 Dilution Pump Failure 102
5.5 Case Study 4 – Rejects Pump System Failure 106
5.6 Case Study 5 – Screen Feed Pump Failure 109
6 Key Factors in Mechanical Power Transmission Failure 117
6.1 Fundamentals of Mechanical Power Transmission Failure 117
6.2 Case Study 1 – Agitator Belt Drive Failure 119
6.3 Case Study 2 – Screen Belt Drive Sheave Failure 123
6.4 Case Study 3 – Paper Roll Gearbox Failure 128
6.5 Case Study 4 – Coating Roll Gearbox Failure 130
6.6 Case Study 5 – Press Roll Gearbox Failure 135
7 Key Factors in Bolted Joint Failure 141
7.1 Fundamentals of Bolt Failure 141
7.2 Case Study – Dryer Journal Bolt Failures 146
Index 153
Foreword
There are many books written about Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA), so
what makes this one different? As its title conveys (as well as the book series),
the difference is PRACTICALITY! This is not a book written by a researcher
or an academic, it is written by a seasoned practitioner, Randy Riddell. This
means it is based on field experience, where an operational plant in a real-life
working environment forms Randy’s “lab.”
For those of us fellow RCFA practitioners, it is refreshing to read a per-
spective that doesn’t sugarcoat these realities but faces them head on and tells
us how they have been overcome. We all are acutely aware that we do not work
in perfect settings and not everything we simulate in a lab can be reproduced
in real life.
For instance, a bearing may run forever in a lab setting, where operat-
ing conditions are always ideal for the design of that bearing, and the perfect
amount of the correct lubricant is maintained.
However, we know the reality is those bearings are going to be exposed to
imperfect operating conditions, as well as to imperfect people and systems that
will purchase, store, commission, operate and maintain them. This exposure
to true reality will dramatically impact the bearing life. These are all variables
which didn’t exist in the lab. How long that bearing will really last is up to us!
Practical RCFA is about using evidence-based, analytical approaches to
uncover these realities and implement effective corrective actions that will
strengthen the supporting organizational systems to prevent recurrence. But
the goal of RCFA itself should not just be to prevent recurrence, but to organi-
cally create and share knowledge across an organization. When this does NOT
happen, think about the amount of RCFA re-work (costs) that occur simply
because we did not know that a problem we have has already been solved.
To this end, Randy starts off with laying the firm groundwork for what a
holistic RCFA approach looks like. This focuses on the broader systems view,
like:
1. The four levels of failure and the appropriate depth of analyses
2. Proactive versus reactive analyses
3. Exploration of physical, human, and latent root causes
4. Where RCFA fits in an effective Reliability system
vii
viii Foreword
5. The 5 ‘Rights’ of a successful RCFA system
6. Using RCFA to create a knowledge management system (what I call
“institutionalizing corporate memory”)
It’s one thing to understand principles, but it’s another to successfully apply
them. From this point on, Randy practices what he preaches, and demonstrates
the application of these principles (the Physics of Failure) across many types
of failure, such as key factors in:
1. Fatigue Failure
2. Bearing Failure
3. Pump System Failure
4. Mechanical Powertrain System Failure and
5. Bolted Joint Failure
It becomes evident the author is not only an effective RCFA facilitator in the
field, but also quite an adept Subject Matter Expert (SME) in the technical
aspect of the failures he uses for his extensive case studies. This is a unique
and valuable combination.
Those who are practitioners will find this to be an invaluable reference as
they develop their RCFA facilitation skills. Those who support RCFA efforts
will truly understand the effort it takes to conduct a proper RCFA, thus giving
them a new appreciation for how best to support the analysts. Systems integra-
tion professionals will gain a unique perspective of how they can integrate the
successful logic from an RCFA into their knowledge management systems,
making it easier to share lessons learned across the organization (and grow
RCFA knowledge databases).
There is much to be gained from properly digesting this information, con-
veying it to knowledge and eventually converting it to wisdom. But in the end,
it is up to us as to how far along the spectrum we will go.
I think this saying is appropriate here, as I view this as a paradigm that all
of us in the RCFA business are united in our efforts to defeat:
We NEVER seem to have the time and budget to do things right, but we
ALWAYS seem to have the time and budget to do them again!
Thanks for this significant contribution to the RCFA field, Randy!
Robert J. Latino – Principal, Prelical Solutions, LLC.
Preface
The reliability field is one of the most exciting fields to work and can bring
great satisfaction in solving some of the most difficult and chronic failures.
If you work in maintenance, reliability or engineering for almost any indus-
try, root cause failure analysis is a key activity to improve your operation.
Modern day industry has molded our manufacturing organizations with roles
and responsibilities which embrace and drive RCFA activities. As many have
stated before, reliability and especially RCFA are the most powerful tools for
uncovering the hidden plant within our current operations.
Over the decades, organizations and companies have committed lots of
resources to install RCFA systems and to transform their culture into a root
cause finding culture. We have purchased training programs around RCFA,
built massive databases, collected failure data, enhanced our computerized
maintenance management system for failure analysis, added positions in our
organizations to lead and manage RCFA systems and processes, and the list
goes on and on. All of these are great things and necessary things to move our
efforts to high levels of performance; however, it takes even more than all that
to produce excellence in RCFA in our plants. Despite all our efforts and the
popularity of RCFA, the results have not been a universal success.
For any mature reliability organization, RCFA is a core function.
Additionally, anyone who invests in RCFA wants a successful RCFA, so why
doesn’t everyone achieve it? What does a good RCFA look like? In simple
terms, a good RCFA finds the root causes and makes the necessary corrections
to prevent or insulate future failures from occurring. More importantly, what
are the key elements to achieve a successful RCFA? Guessing or being lucky
will work sometimes but there is no need to depend on luck or chance for being
successful. There are key elements that will greatly increase the chance for
successful RCFA. The more key elements that are employed then the higher
the chance that the desired outcome will result. This book will look at what
successful root cause failure analysis looks like.
RCFA is a process – but mastering a process will not guarantee a suc-
cessful RCFA. In three decades of using many different methods for RCFA,
I’ve not seen a silver bullet in any of them. However, there are some good ele-
ments in each of them that can be key in helping to solve failures. This book
does not attempt to teach a particular method or process but will utilize some
ix