Air Transport Services Group, Inc. Form 10-K Annual Report Filed

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Air Transport Services Group, Inc. Form 10-K Annual Report Filed SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION FORM 10-K Annual report pursuant to section 13 and 15(d) Filing Date: 2019-03-01 | Period of Report: 2018-12-31 SEC Accession No. 0000894081-19-000040 (HTML Version on secdatabase.com) FILER Air Transport Services Group, Inc. Mailing Address Business Address 145 HUNTER DR 145 HUNTER DR CIK:894081| IRS No.: 261631624 | State of Incorp.:DE | Fiscal Year End: 1231 WILMINGTON OH 45177 WILMINGTON OH 45177 Type: 10-K | Act: 34 | File No.: 000-50368 | Film No.: 19650731 937-382-5591 SIC: 4513 Air courier services Copyright © 2019 www.secdatabase.com. All Rights Reserved. Please Consider the Environment Before Printing This Document UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 ________________________________________________________________ FORM 10-K ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 Commission file number 000-50368 ________________________________________________________________ (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) ________________________________________________________________ Delaware 26-1631624 (State of Incorporation) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) 145 Hunter Drive, Wilmington, OH 45177 (Address of principal executive offices) 937-382-5591 (Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) ________________________________________________________________ Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Common Stock, Par Value $.01 per share (Title of class) Name of each exchange on which registered: NASDAQ Stock Market LLC Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None ________________________________________________________________ Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. YES x NO o Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. YES o NO x Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. YES x NO o Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulations S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). YES x NO o Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. o Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one): Large accelerated filer x Accelerated filer o Smaller reporting company o Non-accelerated filer o Emerging growth company o If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). YES o NO x Copyright © 2019 www.secdatabase.com. All Rights Reserved. Please Consider the Environment Before Printing This Document The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold, as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter: $1,307,024,419. As of March 1, 2019, 59,142,273 shares of the registrant’s common stock, par value $0.01, were outstanding. DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE Portions of the Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders scheduled to be held May 9, 2019 are incorporated by reference into Parts II and III. Copyright © 2019 www.secdatabase.com. All Rights Reserved. Please Consider the Environment Before Printing This Document FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This annual report on Form 10-K, including “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” in Item 7, contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Forward-looking statements can also be identified by words such as “future,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “can,” “may,” and similar terms. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and the Company’s actual results may differ significantly from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in “Risk Factors” in Item 1A . The Company assumes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements for any reason, except as required by law. Copyright © 2019 www.secdatabase.com. All Rights Reserved. Please Consider the Environment Before Printing This Document AIR TRANSPORT SERVICES GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES 2018 FORM 10-K ANNUAL REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PART I Item 1. Business 1 Item 1A. Risk Factors 12 Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 21 Item 2. Properties 21 Item 3. Legal Proceedings 22 Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 22 PART II Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities 22 Item 6. Selected Consolidated Financial Data 24 Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 25 Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 44 Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 45 Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure 86 Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 86 Item 9B. Other Information 89 PART III Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 89 Item 11. Executive Compensation 90 Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters 90 Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence 90 Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 90 PART IV Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 90 SIGNATURES 98 Copyright © 2019 www.secdatabase.com. All Rights Reserved. Please Consider the Environment Before Printing This Document PART I ITEM 1. BUSINESS Company Overview Air Transport Services Group, Inc. leases aircraft and provides airline operations, ground services, aircraft modification and maintenance services, and other support services to the air transportation and logistics industries. Through the Company's subsidiaries, we offer a range of complementary services to delivery businesses, freight forwarders, airlines and government customers. (When the context requires, we may use the terms “Company” and “ATSG” in this report to refer to the business of ATSG and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis.) We offer standalone services along with bundled, customized solutions, scalable to our customers' needs. Our services are summarized below. Aircraft leasing: We lease aircraft through the Company's leasing subsidiary, Cargo Aircraft Management, Inc. (“CAM”). CAM's fleet consists of Boeing 737, 757 and 767 cargo aircraft, Boeing 767 and 777 passenger aircraft and Boeing 757 "combi" aircraft which simultaneously carry passengers and cargo on the main deck. CAM services global demand for cargo airlift by offering Boeing 767, 757 and 737 aircraft leases. CAM is able to provide competitive lease rates by converting passenger aircraft into cargo freighters. CAM monitors the market for available passenger aircraft, typically 15 to 20 years beyond their original manufacture date. After evaluation of an aircraft's condition and technical specifications, CAM acquires passenger aircraft that meet its requirements for projected into- service costs and rate of return targets. After conversion to freighter configuration, CAM's aircraft can be deployed into markets more economically than newly built freighters. CAM's aircraft leases are typically under multi-year agreements. Airline operations: We offer combinations of aircraft, crews, maintenance and insurance services to provide customized transportation capacity to our customers. ATSG wholly owns three airlines, ABX Air, Inc. (“ABX”), Air Transport International, Inc. (“ATI”), and Omni Air International, LLC ("OAI") which are each independently certificated by the U.S. Department of Transportation and separately offer
Recommended publications
  • Learning from Pipeline Failures
    This document was downloaded from the Penspen Integrity Virtual Library For further information, contact Penspen Integrity: Penspen Integrity Units 7-8 Telephone: +44 (0)191 238 2200 St. Peter's Wharf Fax: +44 (0)191 275 9786 Newcastle upon Tyne Email: [email protected] NE6 1TZ Website: www.penspenintegrity.com United Kingdom WTIA/APIA Welded Pipeline Symposium Perth, Australia March 2008 LEARNING FROM PIPELINE FAILURES Hopkins, P ABSTRACT All engineering structures can fail, and oil and gas pipelines can and do fail. What can we learn from these failures, and could they have been avoided? Pipeline failures continue to occur, as pipelines present a complex mix of problems, in particular deterioration with time, changing conditions, external factors, and - as always – the ‘human’ factor. This paper emphasises that learning from pipeline failures can help us reduce these failures, and hence we should never allow a pipeline failure to pass without a thorough and wide ranging ‘lessons learnt’ exercise that is both used and shared within the pipeline community. Three major conclusions emerge from this paper: o Pipelines are a safe form of energy transportation; o Current trends indicate reducing pipeline failure rates; o Good training (knowledge transfer), a solid skills base, and strong management are key to preventing failures, but safety always starts with good design. Of particular note from recent failures is the increase in theft, sabotage and terrorist attacks. It will be difficult to reduce these failures by detection methods; therefore, prevention will be the best approach. KEYWORDS Pipeline, Oil, Gas, Failure. Damage, Defects, Theft, Sabotage, Terrorism. AUTHOR DETAILS Professor Phil Hopkins ([email protected]) is a Technical Director with Penspen Ltd., UK, and Visiting Professor at Newcastle University, UK.
    [Show full text]
  • Caxton Okoh a Framework
    CAXTON OKOH A FRAMEWORK DEVELOPMENT TO PREDICT REMAINING USEFUL LIFE OF A GAS TURBINE MECHANICAL COMPONENT SCHOOL OF AEROSPACE, TRANSPORT AND MANUFACTURING Manufacturing Department DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, PhD Academic Year: 2013 - 2017 Supervisors: Professor Rajkumar Roy, Professor JÖrn Mehnen September 2017 SCHOOL OF AEROSPACE, TRANSPORT AND MANUFACTURING Manufacturing Department DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, PhD Academic Year 2013 - 2017 CAXTON OKOH A Framework Development to Predict Remaining Useful Life of a Gas Turbine Mechanical Component Supervisors: Professor Rajkumar Roy, Professor JÖrn Mehnen September 2017 This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy © Cranfield University 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the copyright owner. ABSTRACT Power-by-the-hour is a performance based offering for delivering outstanding service to operators of civil aviation aircraft. Operators need to guarantee to minimise downtime, reduce service cost and ensure value for money which requires an innovative advanced technology for predictive maintenance. Predictability, availability and reliability of the engine offers better service for operators, and the need to estimate the expected component failure prior to failure occurrence requires a proactive approach to predict the remaining useful life of components within an assembly. This research offers a framework for component remaining useful life prediction using assembly level data. The thesis presents a critical analysis on literature identifying the Weibull method, statistical technique and data-driven methodology relating to remaining useful life prediction, which are used in this research. The AS-IS practice captures relevant information based on the investigation conducted in the aerospace industry.
    [Show full text]
  • A-P201807-MICE Science Based Operational Risk
    MIRCE Science Based Operational Risk Assessment Jezdimir Knezevic, MIRCE Akademy, Exeter, UK Abstract The philosophy of MIRCE Science is based on the premise that the purpose of existence of any functionable system 1 is to do functionability work. The work is done when the expected measurable function is performed through time. However, experience teaches us that expected work is frequently beset by the natural environment, the general population or the businesses, some of which result in hazardous consequences. Undoubtedly, the ability to accurately and quantitatively assess the risk of occurrence of these undesirable and especially those hazardous interruptions early in the design stages would be invaluable for all decision makers. Regardless of whether engineering solutions or management methods are chosen to control the risk, they will have a direct impact on the operational plan that should deliver the expected work, within the expected budget and delivering the expected return on their investment (e.g. profit or performance). For the last sixty years, Reliability Theory has been adopted to address this need. However, the efficacy of these predictions is only valid until the time of the occurrence of the first failure of a functional system. This is seldom understood and far from satisfactory where we are working with repairable or maintainable equipment and systems over their expected life. Consequently, the main objective of this paper is to demonstrate how the body of knowledge contained in MIRCE Science can be used for the assessment of the risk of occurrences of operational interruptions during the expected life of any given functionability system type.
    [Show full text]
  • Failure Engineering Artifacts
    This thesis is an attempt to clarify a concept we are all familiar with, engineers and non-engineers alike. It shows that, behind the first impression of familiarity, there is a Concept Analysis of an Engineering Failure: wide range of intuitions about failure which are not easily reconciled. While the ensuing ambiguities and lack of clarity may be tolerated in ordinary circumstances, engineers strive for precision and efficiency. These qualities become even more relevant given that engineering activities are increasingly carried out by multidisciplinary and multicultural teams. The chapters included in this thesis illustrate that pursuing conceptual clarification may result in valuable contributions to the existing literature. The identification of tacit assumptions that, so far, have gone undetected can help bringing some degree of order and unity to discussions that have shown a tendency towards fragmentation along disciplinary boundaries. As a whole, these chapters constitute the preliminaries of a conceptual framework that, once supplemented with additional engineering and philosophical contributions, may embrace the multiple facets of failure; a rather complex tangle of phenomena which, despite engineersí efforts to rein it in, is not going to disappear from the engineering agenda anytime soon. Luca Del Frate Del Luca Failure: Analysis of an ‘Wonder en is Engineering Concept gheen wonder’ Luca Del Frate Simon Stevin Series in the Philosophy of in the Philosophy Series Technology Stevin Simon Simon Stevin Series in the Philosophy of Technology Failure Analysis of an Engineering Concept Failure Analysis of an Engineering Concept Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Technische Universiteit Delft, op gezag van de Rector Magnificus prof.
    [Show full text]
  • Madge, Jason John (2009) Numerical Modelling of the Effect of Fretting
    Numerical Modelling of the Effect of Fretting Wear on Fretting Fatigue Jason John Madge, MEng(Hons). Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2008 Numerical Modelling of the Effect of Fretting Wear on Fretting Fatigue Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………………. v Publications ……………………………………………………………………. vi Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………… vii Nomenclature………………………………………………………………...… viii Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Air Travel………………………………………………………………. 1 1.2 Socio-Economic Drivers for Efficient Engine Design .……………. 2 1.3 A Future Perspective ………………………………………………… 2 1.4 Spline couplings……………………………………………………….. 3 1.5 Aims…………………………………………………………………….. 6 1.6 Thesis scope…………………………………………………………… 6 Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………... 8 2.2 Contact mechanics……………………………………..……………… 8 2.3 Tribology.……………………………………………………………… 16 2.3.1 Introduction……………………………………………………….. 16 2.3.2 Friction…………………………………………………………….. 16 2.3.3 Wear……………………………………………………………..... 18 2.4 Fatigue of Metals……………………………………………………... 19 2.4.1 General………….………………………………………………… 19 2.4.2 Fatigue Mechanisms…………………………………………….. 20 2.4.3 Relating Stress and Fatigue Life……………………………….. 21 2.4.4 Damage Models………………………………………………….. 24 2.4.5 Fracture Mechanics…………………………………………….... 27 2.5 Fretting…………………………………………………………….... 32 2.5.1 General…………………………………………………………...... 32 2.5.2 Multiaxial fatigue parameters in fretting…………………........... 36 2.5.3 Fracture mechanics in fretting……………………….................. 38 2.5.4
    [Show full text]
  • Failure Analysis and Fatigue Life Estimation of a Shaft of a Rotary Draw Bending Machine B
    World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering Vol:11, No:11, 2017 Failure Analysis and Fatigue Life Estimation of a Shaft of a Rotary Draw Bending Machine B. Engel, Sara Salman Hassan Al-Maeeni important to ensure that the shaft geometry will satisfy the Abstract—Human consumption of the Earth's resources increases material strength requirements and shaft-supported element the need for a sustainable development as an important ecological, requirements. Stress analysis at specific points depends on the social, and economic theme. Re-engineering of machine tools, in local geometry, while slope and deflection analysis relies on terms of design and failure analysis, is defined as steps performed on the overall dimensions of the shaft [1]-[4]. Stresses an obsolete machine to return it to a new machine with the warranty that matches the customer requirement. To understand the future concentrate in shaft shoulders and key ways and depend on the fatigue behavior of the used machine components, it is important to local dimensions [2]. Shafts mostly work under the influence investigate the possible causes of machine parts failure through of fluctuated loads or combined torsion and bending loads. If a design, surface, and material inspections. In this study, the failure shaft supports a static load, the bending stresses are fully modes of the shaft of the rotary draw bending machine are inspected. reversed and the torsion is steady [1], [5]. Even well-designed Furthermore, stress and deflection analysis of the shaft subjected to shafts, when subjected to repeated loads or overloads, will combined torsion and bending loads are carried out by an analytical method and compared with a finite element analysis method.
    [Show full text]
  • Fatigue Failure Analysis of a Speed Reduction Shaft
    metals Article Fatigue Failure Analysis of a Speed Reduction Shaft Rodrigo S. Miranda 1 , Clarissa Cruz 2, Noé Cheung 3,* and Adilto P. A. Cunha 1 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, State University of Maranhão-UEMA, São Luís 65055-310, MA, Brazil; [email protected] (R.S.M.); [email protected] (A.P.A.C.) 2 Department of Production Engineering, Federal University of Ouro Preto-UFOP, João Monlevade 35931-008, MG, Brazil; [email protected] 3 Department of Manufacturing and Materials Engineering, State University of Campinas-UNICAMP, Campinas 13083-860, SP, Brazil * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +55-19-3521-3488 Abstract: The mining industry sector is notable for the severe service loads and varied environmental conditions that it imposes on its equipment and mechanical systems. It has become essential to identify the causes of failures and use the information to avoid similar failures and improve projects. In this paper, a study on shaft failure in a speed reduction box was carried out. A section of a fractured shaft made of hardened austempered steel was analyzed to determine the cause of the break. Fractography was performed to characterize the failure mode on the fracture surface. The microstructural analysis and hardness profile revealed that the shaft was inadequately heat treated, resulting in low resistance microstructures and the development of a thin layer of bainite at the shaft edge. Large amounts of inclusions were found in the fracture region, and the tensile tests revealed that the material had an elongation below the specification. The analyses showed that the combination of factors of a large amount of inclusions present in the low resistance banded structure, and the presence of concentrated pores in that same region, acted in a synergistic way to decrease the Citation: Miranda, R.S.; Cruz, C.; fatigue resistance and fatigue life of the shaft material.
    [Show full text]
  • Sucker Rod Failure Analysis a Special Report from Norris
    Sucker Rod Failure Analysis A Special Report from Norris A NORRIS A ______ D O V E R ) COMPANY A NORRIS A DOVER) COMPANY Failure Mechanisms........................................................ 1 Design and Operating Failures ....................................... 5 Mechanical Failures ........................................................ 8 Bent Rod Failures ............................................................ 8 Surface Damage Failures ............................................... 9 Connection Failures ........................................................ 10 Corrosion-fatigue Failures................................................ 14 Acid Corrosion ....................................................... 15 Chloride Corrosion ............................................... 16 CO2 Corrosion ...................................................... 16 Dissimilar Metals Corrosion .................................. 17 H2S Corrosion ...................................................... 17 Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC) ....... 18 Acid Producing Bacteria ............................. 18 Sulfate Reducer Bacteria ........................... 19 Oxygen (02) Enhanced Corrosion ........................ 19 Stray Current Corrosion ....................................... 20 Under-Deposit Corrosion....................................... 20 Manufacturing Defects ..................................................... 20 Failure Analysis Request Form ........................................ 23 2 © 2000-2007 Norris/A Dover Company
    [Show full text]
  • Booklet No. 14 Failure Mode and Effects Analysis FMEA
    Quality Management in the Bosch Group 14. Failure Mode and Effects Analysis FMEA Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) Table of contents 1. Introduction 3 1.1. Aims 3 1.2. History 3 1.3. Benefits 3 1.4. Success factors 4 1.5. Legal aspects of the FMEA 5 2. Basics 6 2.1. Product FMEA 6 2.2. Process FMEA 6 2.3. Trigger and timing of the FMEA 6 2.4. FMEA team 7 2.5. FMEA work plan 8 2.6. Systematic preparation 9 2.6.1. Definition of tasks 9 2.6.2. Preparation for an FMEA meeting 11 2.6.3. Special Characteristics 12 2.6.4. Prioritizing the scope of observation 12 2.7. Cooperation with externals 12 2.7.1. Joint FMEA with customers 13 2.7.2. FMEA presentation to the customer 13 2.7.3. Cooperation with suppliers 13 2.7.4. Cooperation with external service providers 14 3. Creation and actualization of an FMEA 15 3.1. Structural analysis 15 3.1.1. Structure of the Product FMEA 15 3.1.2. Structure of the Process FMEA 16 3.2. Functional analysis 18 3.2.1. Requirements 18 3.2.2. Functions 19 3.2.3. Function net 22 3.3. Failure analysis 25 3.3.1. Failures/malfunctions 25 3.3.2. Failure effects and failure modes 27 3.4. Action analysis 29 3.4.1. Severity (S) 29 3.4.2. Probability of occurrence (O) 29 3.4.3. Probability of detection (D) 29 3.4.4.
    [Show full text]
  • Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis for Wind Turbines Considering Climatic Regions and Comparing Geared and Direct Drive Wind Turbines
    energies Article Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis for Wind Turbines Considering Climatic Regions and Comparing Geared and Direct Drive Wind Turbines Samet Ozturk 1, Vasilis Fthenakis 1,* and Stefan Faulstich 2 ID 1 Earth and Environmental Engineering Department, Columbia University, 116th St & Broadway, New York, NY 10027, USA; [email protected] 2 Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology—IEE, Königstor 59, 34119 Kassel, Germany; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel: +1-212-854-8885 Received: 30 July 2018; Accepted: 27 August 2018; Published: 3 September 2018 Abstract: The wind industry is looking for ways to accurately predict reliability and availability of newly installed wind turbines. Failure modes, effects and criticality analysis (FMECA) is a technique utilized to determine the critical subsystems of wind turbines. There are several studies in the literature which have applied FMECA to wind turbines, but no studies so far have used it considering different weather conditions or climatic regions. Furthermore, different wind turbine design types have been analyzed applying FMECA either distinctively or combined, but no study so far has compared the FMECA results for geared and direct-drive wind turbines. We propose to fill these gaps by using Koppen-Geiger climatic regions and two different turbine models of direct-drive and geared-drive concepts. A case study is applied on German wind farms utilizing the Wind Measurement & Evaluation Programme (WMEP) database which contains wind turbine failure data collected between 1989 and 2008. This proposed methodology increases the accuracy of reliability and availability predictions and compares different wind turbine design types and eliminates underestimation of impacts of different weather conditions.
    [Show full text]
  • Sucker Rod Failure Analysis SUCKER ROD FAILURE ANALYSIS
    A SPECIAL REPORT FROM NORRIS Sucker Rod Failure Analysis SUCKER ROD FAILURE ANALYSIS Table of Contents Failure Mechanisms 3 Design and Operating Failures 6 Mechanical Failures 9 Bent Rod Failures 9 Surface Damage Failures 10 Connection Failures 11 Corrosion-Fatigue Failures 16 Acid Corrosion 16 Chloride Corrosion 17 CO2 Corrosion 17 Dissimilar Metals Corrosion 17 H2S Corrosion 19 Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC) 18 Acid-Producing Bacteria (APB) 18 Sulfate Reducer Bacteria (SRB) 18 Oxygen-Enhanced Corrosion 19 Stray Current Corrosion 19 Under-deposit Corrosion 19 Manufacturing Defects 20 Mill Defects 20 Forging Defects 20 Processing Defects 21 2 SUCKER ROD FAILURE ANALYSIS Root Cause Failure Analysis Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA) is Essential for Failure Frequency Reduction in Wells with Artificial Lift. Most failures associated with the sucker rod form of problem(s), recording the “real” root cause of each failure, artificial lifted wells using the sucker rod lift method can be implementing the appropriate change(s), and preventing attributed to one of three primary downhole components— future failures from occurring. This process is central to subsurface pump, sucker rod string or tubing string. All of overall cost-effective asset management. For the purpose these components is defined as any catastrophic event of this special report, we will deal only with sucker rod requiring servicing personnel to pull or change-out one or string related failures. more of these components. Cost-effective failure management begins with prevention, By this definition, the failure frequency rate is the total and the time to stop the next failure is now—prior to the number of component failures occurring per well, per year next incident! Simply fishing, hanging the well on after a in a producing field.
    [Show full text]
  • Test Planning and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
    Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) R. Larson Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) An analysis technique used to identify potential design or process problems Method examines causal relationship and effects of lower level failures on devices or systems. Identifies where actions or compensating provisions are needed to – reduce the likelihood of the problem occurring, and – mitigate the risk, if problem does occur. Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) Application in Industry – FMEA Project teams made up of experts from engineering, manufacturing, etc assigned to review the concept, design, process or system – The FMEA team determines the effect of each failure and identifies single failure points that are critical. – Team may also rank each failure according to failure effect probability and criticality, to assign importance. Varieties of FMEAs. Conceptual FMEAs Functional FMEAs Design FMEAs Process FMEAs (e.g. Manufacturing process) – Some Alternative FMEA Approaches: Review just hardware Review hardware and function. Design failure modes effects analysis (DFMEA) DFMEA procedure probably the most common FMEA encountered by MEs/METs Identifies potential design failures before they occur. Investigates the potential effects of the failures, and their cause. Anticipates when failures might occur, how often. Estimates severity of effect Manufacturing Process FMEA (Process FMEA, or PFMEA) Recognize and evaluate the potential failure of a process and its effect Identify actions which could eliminate or reduce the occurrence of
    [Show full text]