Research & Development

Technical Reporting Course

Year 2014
 Research & Development
Failure Mode Reporting

Introduction

This guide is a part of the Failure Mode Reporting Course .This course is
designed to be used in preparing failure reports for ECS Mud Logging
Instruments and tools. It describes the structure of a good Failure report,
outlines the different sections of the report, and explains the need for
each of them. It also introduces some standard conventions and rules for
writing reports of professional quality.
Course student are required to follow the general rules in this guide and
the specific format instructions given to them by the course instructor
during the course itself.
 Research & Development
Failure Mode Reporting

Summary of Course Contents:

1. Importance of Reporting
2. Definition of “Failure”
3. Failure Reporting Process
4. Importance of the Failure Report to the Performance of the System.
5. Who Should Write this Report and When.
6. How to fill each part of the Failure Report.
7. The Correct Language to use.
8. Report Format.
9. Failure Report cycle.
10. Live Examples to Study.
11. Evaluation Exam.
Research & Development
Failure Mode Reporting

Course Contents:
 Research & Development
Failure Mode Reporting
Importance of Reporting
According to recent nationwide surveys, engineers and other professionals in the science
spend at least fifty percent of their time writing reports and memoranda. The quality of
written reports presented by working professionals is invariably one of the criteria used
by their superiors in performance evaluations, making the ability to write a good,
professional-quality report is an essential, marketable skill. For these reasons, training
and practice in report writing are important parts of doing your job in a correct manner.
When we think about the worldwide standard ways of performing any profession no
matter the field of business is we find that ISO (International Standards Organization)
basically stated that you've got to document everything and track it in order for you to
work according to the current international standard.
“Write what you do, do what you write”
Additionally a general rule, in which any professional employee must be aware of during
performing his job, is that:
“If it was not written, it didn’t happen!”
 
Definition of “Failure”
A failure is the inability of a system or component to perform its
required functions within specified performance requirements
 Failure Reporting Process

Failure Reporting Process is a Part of the “Failure

Reporting, Analysis, and Corrective Action System
(FRACAS)” which is a closed-loop feedback path in which
the Mud Logger and the QC-R&D Engineers work
together to collect, record, and analyze failures of both
hardware and software data sets
Failure Reporting Process
 Failure Reporting Process

The Mud Logger captures data about all problems with a particular tool,
Equipment or software and submits the data to the QC-R&D Team. A
Failure Review & Analysis Process at the QC-R&D Lab analyzes the failures,
considering factors as time, cost, and engineering personnel in order to
solve the problems captured. The resulting analysis identifies corrective
actions that should be implemented and verified to prevent failures from
recurring.
 
 Importance of the Failure Report to the Performance of the
System.
1. Providing engineering data for corrective action
2. Assessing historical reliability performance, such as mean time between failures
(MTBF), mean time to repair (MTTR), availability, preventive maintenance, etc.
3. Developing patterns for deficiencies
4. Providing data for statistical analysis
5. Failure Reporting and FRACAS system as a whole provides a complete process fulfilling
the ISO 9001 Requirements which is now a company objective to complete within the
near future.
6. Correct Failure Reporting Process provides an Indirect way to evaluate the ECS
personnel against the following Skills :
A. Language.
B. Reporting Skills.
C. Observation and Problem Capturing.
D. Following Standard Troubleshooting Procedures.
 
 Who Should Write this Report and When.

Who?

A Failure Report should be written by one of the two unit operators

“Mud Loggers” who have witnessed a failure of one of the ECS Mud
Logging equipment and tools during operation .Both Mud Loggers
can write the report together if the problem was witnessed by both
of them and in any case, the person who wrote and signed the
report should hold the responsibility of the data written and
descriptions included.
 
 Who Should Write this Report and When.

When?
The Unit Operator must start writing the report as soon as he
captures a problem in one of the equipment inside the ECS Mud
Logging Unit.
He should start by taking side notes on a paper containing the
following points:
1. The description of the symptom appeared
2. The exact date and time
3. The operating conditions and any other surrounding
conditions present at this time.
 
 Who Should Write this Report and When.

How to fill each part of the Failure Report.

Mud Logging Unit Details :
1. Unit No. : Unit Number (Example : E#3)
2. Unit Crew: Here, the user must write the names of both
unit operators (Mud Loggers) along with their exact
position and level (Third Mud Logger, Second Mud Logger,
Unit Captain, etc.)
3. Rig Name: (Example :ECDC #7)
4. Company: (Example :Petroshahd)
5. Location: (Example :Western Desert)
 
How to fill each part of the Failure Report.
• Problem Details:

In this part of the report, the mud logger must be aware that every
single detail no matter how important it is from his point of view, is
highly important for the final end user of this report (QC-R&D
Engineer), and it is strongly recommended that the mud logger
commits to delivering detailed informative descriptions of the
problem in order for this report to output the required purpose and
result.

 
1. Date of Failure : the exact date of failure should be
written in this format (Day/Month/Year)
2. Name & Full Serial Number: in this part, the operator
must enter the device name along with the full 14-Digit
Identification number of the device .In case of difficulty
obtaining the number or the number cannot be clearly
recognized on the instrument, the user must state and
write it inside this cell. It is not acceptable to leave an
input cell left with no text inside.
3. Number of Working Days before Failure:
The unit operator must state the amount of days that the device or
instrument has operated before a failure have occurred, such piece of
information can be calculated by comparing the date of failure with the
date of arrival of the instrument to the unit which is obtained from the
“Cargo Form” delivered with the instrument, a copy from each cargo
form shall be kept and filed in the unit. In case the instrument has no
cargo form, there are two possibilities available, either the instrument
was shipped originally with the unit to the field or the cargo form is lost
and in both cases the mud logger shall state that in the report. It won’t
be acceptable that the mud logger state an approximate or estimated
number of days depending on memory or a verbal piece of information
from a colleague .once he writes the information down in the report; he
personally will be responsible of the validity of it and should be aware
that any wrong number will mislead the analysis team.
4. Symptoms of Problem: One of the most important parts of
the report, is the symptoms of the problem .It is how the
Instrument operator has captured and observed the problem
during operation, and what is the evidence that the device
or instrument is in actual failure mode. In this part of the
report ,the mud logger should write what did he observe and
not what he concluded or thinks .He shall not write the
actual problem if he did troubleshoot it and knew the reason
behind it ,he must only write a description of what he
observed and seen and in specific details. It is also preferred
that he write down the time of the day when the symptom
starts to appear in case its discreet and happens in a
repeating manner.
Corrective Action Description

Before
Contact to WS Hotline + Result
Corrective Action Description

After
Contact to WS Hotline + Result
Language and Writing Style:
Language and Writing Style:

1. Get straight to the facts without any

distractions.
Mention what makes the reader of the report
knows exactly what happened
Language and Writing Style:

2. Use impersonal style

Report writing is usually presented in an
impersonal; descriptions should usually be written
in third person, past tense. The personal
pronouns I, we, and you are generally not used in
failure reports. There are several ways of avoiding
using personal pronouns.
Language and Writing Style:

Use Passive not Active

Examples:
Instead of Write
We tested the sensor. The sensor was tested.
I measured the The resistance was
resistance measured
Language and Writing Style:

Use Third Person Pronouns

Examples:
Instead of Write
I found that... It was found that...
We concluded that... It was concluded that...
Language and Writing Style:

3. Avoid using abbreviations as much as you can.

Instead of Write
DW Drawworks Instrument
Chrom Chromatograph
Instrument
TG Total Gas Instrument
30 min 30 minutes
Language and Writing Style:

4. Use Objective writing

Report writing should be unbiased and unemotional. You should
only present facts or information. Avoid using emotive language,
presenting a point of view, or presenting only selective information
and personal opinions.
Language and Writing Style:

5. Clear writing
It is best to use short simple sentences rather than long complicated
ones that have the potential to confuse the reader
Language and Writing Style:

6. Be Accurate & Precise

The information you present in your report should be accurate,
specific and complete. For example, statements such as, ‘The
analysis time increased slightly in the test, but a lot more in the
second’ are not accurate. Similarly, if you are making comparisons, it
is important that you are consistent in your use of units of
measurement. Statements such as, ‘The analysis time increased by
2 seconds in the first test, but decreased by 4 seconds in the second
test’ will be accepted instead. Use quantifiable expressions of
quantity.
Language and Writing Style:
6. Be Accurate & Precise
Examples:
Instead of
The computer shuts down
after short time from start-
up.
Gas readings were less than
the previous readings.
The FID Chromatograph
program hangs a lot
Write
The computer shuts down
after 35 seconds from start-
up.
Gas readings were
approximately 24% of the
previous readings.
The FID Chromatograph
program hangs at an average
rate of 4 times a day.
Language and Writing Style:

7. Arrange events according to its sequence (in terms of time)

Do not write down a detail which happened two days ago
underneath one which happened two hours ago .avoid this as it
results in confusion.
Language and Writing Style:

8. Record what you hear, See or observe not what you think or
conclude.
It’s not the purpose of the report to record what you think or
conclude from a problem, the main purpose to mention the
symptoms as it appeared and how did you react to it .Only the unit
operator (Mud Logger) has had the opportunity to record the
symptoms of any problem in the time of its appearance and that’s
why he’s required to mention it in every detail possible to the
person who will be in charge of the problem analysis.
Language and Writing Style:

9. Use Known Technical Terms and Names

Always use the known technical terms to name anything inside your
report ,whether it’s a known fault or problem (Ex : Leak ,Hang
,break …etc.) or a hardware or software part (Output Valve ,Flow
Display ,Calibration Screen …etc.) .Always refer to a written manual
or label to provide you with the correct name for anything ,and
don’t try to invent a new name for any condition or a part according
to its function and then expect the reader to simply guess which
part do you mean .If you cannot find a name for anything ,try to ask
your supervisor or the technician for the correct name or title for it
before writing it down in your report.
 
Language and Writing Style:

10. Attach a supporting evidence if you available

It is recommended that you attach a copy of a chart or a print
screen of any problem that can be observed clearly on the software
interface.
 
Report Format:
The original format of the failure report form file delivered to the
unit should be kept unchanged; any change in the format of the
document is strongly prohibited. As an example, the following
properties of the document should not be changed:
• Font type
• Font Size
• Colors
• Spacing
• Header & Footer
Report Format:

The report form file is a typical Microsoft Excel Sheet file, containing
cells to be filled by the report user .Cells originally included in the
file must not be modified or altered in any way and the user should
only fill the required information in the cells indicated and
mentioned inside the form.
The mud logger ,shall use his basic knowledge of Microsoft Excel
software in order resize ,add or remove cells in the user input area
,in order to the keep the general layout of the report unmodified.
Report Format:

Filling the report electronically using Microsoft Excel is strongly

recommended; using hand writing is not accepted, except in special
circumstances.
Adding a Signature to the report should be done after the printing
step (In case the report is delivered as a hard copy) ,in case of
delivering the report using e-mail ,the mud logger should write in
the signature area “Sent Using E-Mail” ,and his supervisor available
at the ECS Office ,shall sign the document .