Minimizing operational risk in a manufacturing process

Abstract

In organisations, the performance of key processes has to be monitored and improved to sustain and achieve better results. Therefore, the risk of not achieving process outcomes should be identified and reduced. The identification of operational risks involves defining the possible events that compromises the achievement of process outcomes and also the consequences of the occurrence of these events. This paper proposes a methodology to minimize operational/technical risk across different manufacturing processes, minimizing the possibility of spending excessive resources in a given process while other processes pose bigger risks. It assumes that the probability of occurrence of events that hinder process outcomes can be influenced by some technical, administrative or management action. The presented methodology is tested through a case study of a CNC milling section on a furniture manufacturing process. Based on a censured data set, the reliability of a key item, eletrospindles, is determined and the influence of maintenance activities on such reliability and therefore on risk is analysed.