Mean Time Between Failures &
Mean Time To Repair
Mean Time Between Failures and Mean Time To Repair are two important KPI's in plant
maintenance.
Mean Time Between Failures = (Total up time) / (number of brekdowns)
Mean Time To Repair = (Total down time) / (number of breakdowns)
"Mean Time" means, statistically, the average time.
"Mean Time Between Failures" is literally the average time elapsed from one failure to the
next. Usually people think of it as the average time that something works until it fails and
needs to be repaired (again).
"Mean Time To Repair" is the average time that it takes to repair something after a failure.
For something that cannot be repaired, the correct term is "Mean Time To Failure" (MTTF).
Some would define MTBF – for repair-able devices – as the sum of MTTF plus MTTR. .In
other words, the mean time between failures is the time from one failure to another. This
distinction is important if the repair time is a significant fraction of MTTF.
Here is an example. A light bulb in a chandelier is not repairable, so MTTF is most
appropriate. (The light bulb will be replaced). The MTTF might be 10,000 hours.
On the other hand, without oil changes, an automobile's engine may fail after 150 hours of
highway driving – that is the MTTF. Assuming 6 hours to remove and replace the engine
(MTTR), Mean Time Between Failures is 150 + 6 = 156 hours.
Like automobiles, most manufacturing equipment will be repaired, rather than replaced after
a failure, so Mean Time Between Failures is the more appropriate measurement.
What is a Failure?
"Failure" can have multiple meanings. Let us briefly examine one device's "failures":
An Uninterruptible Power Source (UPS) may have five functions under two conditions:
While the main power is available:
o Allow power to flow from the main source to the machine being protected
o Condition the power by limiting surges or brownouts
o Store power in a battery, up to the battery's full charge
When the main power is interrupted:
Supply continuous power to the machine being protected
Emit a signal to indicate that the main power is off
There is no question that the UPS has failed if it prevents main power from flowing to the
machine being protected (function 1). Failures for functions 2, 3 or 5 may not be obvious,
because the "protected" machine is still running on main power or on the battery supply.
Even if noticed, these failures may not trigger immediate corrective measures because the
"protected" machine is still running and it may be more important to keep it running than to
repair or replace the UPS.
What is Availability?
The "availability" of a device is, mathematically, MTBF / (MTBF + MTTR) for scheduled
working time.
The automobile in the earlier example is available for 150/156 = 96.2% of the time. The
repair is unscheduled down time.
With an unscheduled half-hour oil change every 50 hours – when a dashboard indicator
alerts the driver – availability would increase to 50/50.5 = 99%.
If oil changes were properly scheduled as a maintenance activity, then availability would be
100%.
Why are these important?
"Availability" is a key performance indicator in manufacturing; it is part of the "Overall
Equipment Effectiveness" (OEE) metric.
A production schedule that includes down time for preventative maintenance can accurately
predict total production. Schedules that ignore Mean Time Between Failures and Mean Time
To Repair are simply future disasters awaiting remediation.
MTBF = MTTF + MTTR
Overview
1. This basic calculator allows you to quickly determine the mean time between
repairs (MTBR) for your population of equipment.
2. MTBR is mean time between repairs, M is the total equipment count, t is the
reporting time interval, and R stands for the total repairs made during the
reporting interval.
