An Introduction To Equipment

Failure Patterns
Last updated on September 7, 2023 Bryan Christiansen

What failure patterns tell us

While the percentages vary from study to study, we can take some
important guidance from these patterns and their implications.

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 Age-related failures

Patterns A through C are examples of age-related failures where

we can define a component’s life. The failure probability will
increase once the part reaches a certain age, hours, or cycles in
operation.

Wear or corrosion are examples of failure causes. Based on the

percentages identified for each curve, only approximately 15% of
all components would benefit from having a defined life, providing
increased equipment reliability.

Random failures

Patterns D through F have a short period of higher failure

probability when new, before settling into a period of low random
failures.

While this doesn’t mean that some of these components wouldn’t

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 benefit from preventive maintenance, we will only see small to
moderate gains in reliability for an increased cost and
administrative burden.

Approximately 85% of all components fall into the random failure

category. That is a huge percentage, so it isn’t surprising that we
have developed efficient ways to address this problem.

Tools and strategies for handling random

equipment failures
The fact the failures are random doesn’t mean there are no
signs of imminent failure. Here are some tools and strategies
that can help you catch deterioration signs early and extend your
P-F interval.

Condition-based maintenance

Nowlan & Heap found the solution to managing random failure

components lies in condition-based maintenance (CBM). The CBM
philosophy relies on replacing components when visual inspections
or remote monitoring suggest that a component is approaching a
point of failure.

Currently, most CBM initiatives use sensors connected to critical

components to collect real-time data. Computers watch for any
changes in the received signals that may indicate component
deterioration or potential failure.

Predictive maintenance

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 Combining condition monitoring with machine learning leads to
predictive maintenance, where an analytics engine assesses all
possible failure modes and identifies how long the component will
continue to operate.

This prediction is sent to maintenance planners to ensure that the

planned maintenance intervention, along with spare part
allocations, occur right before component failure.

Condition monitoring includes techniques like oil analysis, vibration

analysis, sound, temperature, pressure, or electrical current
monitoring.

Computerized Maintenance Management

Software

Condition-based maintenance requires consistent data, reliability

expertise, and equipment failure analysis — all combined to allow a
targeted application of appropriate maintenance strategies.

Most organizations use CMMS as a key enabler of condition-based

maintenance, enabling data collection, storage, and the real-time
monitoring of critical components.

A modern cloud-based CMMS provides processing power and data

security for the large data volumes created by CBM. It provides
insight into trending conditions, and helps predict the time until
failure — well before human monitoring can detect a change.

While implementing a CMMS and CBM system requires an

investment in sensors and software, the savings generated by

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 cutting down on excessive maintenance and improving
productivity pay back the initial investment rapidly.

However, the benefit to the organization is not reflected solely in

maintenance savings. Equipment reliability improves, increasing
uptime and lengthening the useful life of your equipment.

Key takeaways
Identifying component failure patterns in the 1960s was a pivotal
moment in equipment maintenance. Subsequent studies have
repeatedly supported the conclusion that at least three-quarters of
all failures will not see reliability improvements from defined
overhaul or inspection periods.

Understanding the implication of failure patterns is an important

prerequisite for building an effective maintenance program. Such a
program minimizes your organization’s maintenance costs and
effort while maximizing asset life and reliability.

To learn more about equipment maintenance and reliability, keep

browsing the Limble blog.

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