Comparative Analysis of RPN and Criticality Index for Assessment and Prioritization of Dumper Breakdowns

Abstract

Abstract Dumper is a repairable equipment which is used to carry and dump the coal in open cast mining (OCM). Due to the enhanced demand for thermal power, the consumption of coal has increased to generate electricity. To meet the demand, coal must be produced and supplied at right time in right quantity. Dumpers, which act as load transport system, carry the coal from the mine to the power plant. Interruptions in the dumpers in the form of failures may result in improper and delayed delivery of coal to the power generating unit. In the interest of proper delivery and production of coal, failures are to be minimized and the reliability of the dumper should be maximized. In this paper, a well-known reliability enhancement metric, i.e., failure mode effect and criticality analysis (FMECA) is used to identify the risk and criticality level of dumper breakdowns. Initially, FMEA is carried out to find out all potential failure modes of functionally significant components of dumpers and thereafter, risk priority number (RPN) and criticality index is computed for each identified failure mode. Further, a comparative analysis of RPN and criticality index is performed to find out the convenient approach to conduct criticality analysis in FMECA.