About MFPT

The MFPT Society originated in 1967 under the leadership and sponsorship of the Office of Naval Research as the Mechanical Failures Prevention Group (MFPG).? Charter sponsors also included several other naval organizations, the Atomic Energy Commission, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and several industrial organizations.? The MFPG was formed primarily to provide a mechanism for effective interchange of technical information among segments of the scientific and engineering communities in order to gain a better understanding of the processes of mechanical failures. ?

The anticipated result was to reduce the incidence of mechanical failures by improving design methodology, to devise methods of accurately predicting mechanical failures and to apply the increased knowledge of the field to current problems.? Improved reliability, greater safety and economic savings were among the clear goals to be met through a better understanding of mechanical failures.? In 1990 the MFPG came under the wing of the?Vibration Institute?and in 1995 it changed its name to the Society for Machinery Failure Prevention Technology (MFPT Society).? It has continued to evolve, but the original objectives still form the basis for its current activities.? In this way the MFPT Society acts as a focal point for technological developments that contribute to mechanical failure reduction or prevention.

Organization and Operation

The MFPT Society is an interdisciplinary technical organization?strongly oriented toward practical applications.? The membership includes professional scientists, engineers, failure analysts, maintenance specialists and others who?represent a wide variety of disciplines from government agencies, universities, research institutes and industry.? The MFPT Society policy is to cooperate whenever possible with appropriate technical committees from government, professional organizations, technical societies, industrial associations and consortia – both nationally and internationally.

The MFPT Society is managed day-to-day by the?MFPT HQ Staff?in Dresher, PA and is steered by its?Board of Directors, which meets at least twice each year.??Interchange of information within the technical community is provided through its?annual conference?and other symposia, seminars and short courses as appropriate or necessary. ?The annual conference includes technical presentations, panel discussions, tutorials, workshops and other features that promote an atmosphere conducive to a free exchange of ideas, problems and solutions.? When appropriate, joint conferences are held with professional organizations having similar technical interests.? The technical papers from these meetings are published as?proceedings, distributed to each meeting participant (at the meeting in hard-bound format, and after the meeting on CD), and made available for subsequent purchase.? In addition, MFPT publishes its?newsletter three times each year, and keeps its audience up-to-date through email contact.? One of the key interchange mechanisms used by MFPT is its technical?Focus Groups, each of which is chaired by a member of the Board of Directors.? Finally, MFPT could not continue to operate without the support of its?Corporate Members, for whose contributions we are indebted.

Objectives

The objectives of the MFPT Society are:

  • To stimulate interdisciplinary communication relative to component and system failure prevention and to provide a forum for the interchange of technical information among the academic, industrial and government research communities.
  • To stimulate awareness of component and system failures and their impact in areas critical to international, national and regional failures and to provide a technology base for failure prevention technologies.
  • To provide a common meeting ground for those who have component and system failure problems and those who are engaged in failure prevention.
  • To contribute to the improved efficiency and collaboration of government and industry through the transfer of technology within and between sectors.

History of MFPT

Henry Pusey and Paul Howard (members of the MFPT Board of Directors) wrote a comprehensive article An Historical View of Mechanical Failure Prevention Technology that presents a detailed history of the MFPT Society and was published in Sound & Vibration magazine in 2008.