Let’s review an example of Breakdown Analysis of the failure that occurred in real life in the material handling department of a manufacturing factory:
Step 1. 5W+1H and Phenomenon Summary
Start your Breakdown analysis by answering six simple questions: 5 whys and 1 how
5W+1H
Description
Example
What
What happened? What is the problem?
Mix is not being dispensed from feeder tank
Where
Where did you see the problem? (Production Line, Machine and Location)
Line X feeder tank
Which
Which trend (or pattern) did you see? (Recurring or Sporadic)
Recurring (3rd time in 1 year)
When
When did the problem occur? (Changeover, normal operation, PM or start-up)
Normal operation
Who
Is the problem related to skill? (Either skill dependent or skill independent)
Skill independent
How
How is state changed from normal?
Paddle is not turning
Phenomenon Summary
Use all answers from 5W+1H to construct a description of the issue
(HOW+WHAT+WHERE+WHEN+WHICH+WHO)
The paddle isn’t turning and the mix is not being dispensed from the feeder in the Line X feeder tank in downfeed during normal operation, it’s recurring (it has happened 3 times in 1 year) and was skill independent.
Step 2. Why-why analysis
Why
Answer
Why (The paddle isn’t turning and mix is not being dispensed from feeder in Line X feeder tank in downfeed during normal operation, it’s recurring (it has happened 3 times in 1 year) and was skill independent)
Gearbox was seized
Why (Gearbox was seized)?
Lubrication failure
Why (Lubrication failure)?
Mix had contaminated gearbox oil
Why (Mix had contaminated gearbox oil)?
Mix was spilling on top of the seal of gearbox
Why (Mix was spilling on top of the seal of gearbox)?
Mix feeder design allows mix to leak onto gearbox – design flaw
Step 3. Major code
Major Code
Description
Mech
Mechanical
Elec
Electrical
Oper
Operational
Compound
Compound, Mechanical, Electrical or other
Hydr
Hydraulic
Pneum
Pneumatic
Fasten
Fasteners
Step 4. Breakdown Reason
Breakdown Causes described here
Immediate Actions Taken
Description
Example
What did you do immediately to put it back to operating condition
Cleared mix spillage and replaced gearbox
Step 5. Countermeasures
Countermeasure
Description
Example
Immediate
What can you do right now to prevent recurrence of the breakdown
Replace with “sealed” gearbox to prevent future mix contamination
Intermediate
Is there a better solution to reduce loss?
Replace gearbox oil every 60 days
Long term
What is solution to eliminate future re-occurrences?
Design and install new seal in all tanks
Visual indicator
Can we use visual indicator to detect issue? Anything we can actively do to show the abnormality before it happens?
Breakdown Analysis Template
To download breakdown analysis template, follow this link
4M Analysis Process
The purpose of this procedure is to define the steps to do a 4M …
