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Component Reliability - Poor Design
There is really not much an operator can do when a component family suffers from a poor design. The onus is on the manufacturer to either improve the design with a modification or replace the product line with a better one. However, the operator has a responsibility to share as much information about the problem as possible – to help the manufacturer fully understand what is wrong and what improvements are needed.
Just a few thoughts on design issues:
1. Design issues affect ALL components in the population. If you own 100 parts and you are
only having problems with 5 or 10 of them, this is not a design issue. Make sure you review
the history of all your parts before claiming that they are all defective.
2. Design issue symptoms will appear when the parts are new. If you have problems with a
new fleet type or component population, your problems may indeed be design related.
However, if your problems are occurring with older equipment, you are most likely
experiencing life cycle or rogue issues. Neither of these problems will be fixed with a
modification.
3. Premature wear is an exception to rule #2. Mechanical parts, such as valves and
actuators, usually have a predictable service life. If you are expecting your valves to last
many years, yet they are failing after a year or two, your problems may be design related.
Get in touch with your OEM representative and ask about the expected life expectancy of
the part you are having problems with. If your parts are not performing as well as the
manufacturer expects, compile your data and share it with the manufacturer.
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