Reliability: It’s Not Just About Maintenance

Welcome Reliable Plant readers to my new column, which I’ve titled "The Exponent". I’m thrilled to start this conversation with you.

I chose the name "The Exponent" deliberately. The dictionary offers two key definitions:

1. A symbol placed above and to the right of a mathematical expression to denote exponentiation.
2. a. One who expounds or interprets; b. One who champions, practices, or exemplifies.

For a plant reliability professional, the term carries a dual significance: it signals the champion of the discipline and the mathematical concept that underpins the exponential distribution—our foundational tool for calculating component and system reliability. The exponential distribution raises the natural logarithm (e = 2.718…) to the negative power of the failure rate multiplied by time.

Most basic reliability calculations—including Weibull analysis, arguably the most powerful quantitative tool in a reliability engineer’s toolkit—rely on the natural logarithm or its derivatives. In this sense, e is to reliability what π is to geometry: a versatile, irrational constant that unlocks insight.

My goal with this column is to explore the core elements of plant reliability management and to advocate for best practices that benefit readers, their employers, and other stakeholders. Some installments will enhance your technical toolbox; others will provoke reflection, celebrate successes, or dissect failures to prevent recurrence.

Reliability is a functional enabler that transforms root causes into desired outcomes.

The first issue I want to tackle is the industry culture that equates reliability merely with maintenance. Too often, managers respond to reliability inquiries with “Joe handles that.” This mirrors the early days of the quality revolution, when quality was treated as a separate function rather than an organizational goal. When companies embraced a quality culture that made everyone accountable, they moved beyond inspection‑based control to mission‑focused management. Reliability deserves the same treatment.

Let’s illustrate this with a simple flow model. Reliability is a functional enabler shaped by root causes—design, procurement, operations, and maintenance—that produce symptoms, which in turn translate into mission‑serving outcomes. Relying on a single factor to deliver reliability is a form of “pretzel logic” because it ignores the interdependence of all influencing variables.

Take design and procurement, for example. Like genetic predisposition governs a person’s risk of heart disease, mechanical and electrical design—alongside procurement—sets the baseline reliability of a machine. Bad design is akin to “bad DNA.” Mike Johnson, a senior technical consultant at Noria, famously calls it “Design Not Adequate!” Even with flawless maintenance, a machine built on flawed DNA will never meet uptime, yield, quality, safety, or environmental targets—and consequently the firm’s financial goals such as RONA, EPS, and share price.

Ray Oliverson of the Hartford Steam Boiler Insurance Company attributes roughly 40 % of plant problems to design, about 30 % to operations, and the remaining 30 % to maintenance. These figures underscore the importance of cross‑functional collaboration: design influences maintainability and operability, while maintenance and operations must communicate to avoid recurring failures. When all groups align with design and procurement, they can collectively eliminate root causes and achieve sustainable reliability.

In short, reliability is not a task that can be delegated to a single person or department. It is a shared responsibility that unlocks organizational performance. Let’s shift our mindset and work together to make reliability a true enabler of mission success.

Thank you for joining me in this journey. I welcome your feedback and ideas for future editions of "The Exponent".