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Find all articles across all article series listed in reverse chronological order.

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RSM Part-2 Central Composite Design with Illustrated Application Example

RSM Part-2 Central Composite Design with Illustrated Application Example

Dear Friends, We are happy to share this second video on Response Surface Design. In this video, Hemant Urdhwareshe, Fellow of ASQ and Six Sigma Master Black Belt explains the structure of Response Surface Design with focus on Central Composite Design (CCD). Hemant has taken lot of efforts to illustrate this little complex concept with lot of graphics and animations so that viewers can understand it clearly and quickly. Hemant has also illustrated how to create, analyse and interpret results of Central Composite Design on Minitab with a virtual catapult.

We recommend that viewers should watch our previous videos:

(1) RSM Part-1

(2) Fractional Factorial Designs and Resolution Code

[Read more…]

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How a Mission Statement Drives Behavioral Change in Organizations

How a Mission Statement Drives Behavioral Change in Organizations

A Guide to Aligning Values and Actions

A mission statement is more than just a set of words on a company’s website or a framed plaque on the wall. When crafted thoughtfully and embraced by leadership and employees alike, a mission statement can serve as a powerful tool for driving behavioral change within an organization. It’s the foundation upon which culture is built and provides direction for decision-making, aligning team efforts with the broader vision. But perhaps most importantly, a mission statement can be a catalyst for shifting behaviors and guiding individuals and teams toward shared goals.

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Back to the Basics: Understanding the Deming Cycle (PDCA)

Back to the Basics: Understanding the Deming Cycle (PDCA)

In the world of quality, reliability, product design, and manufacturing, improvement is a necessity, not a luxury. Few models have provided a stronger foundation for improvement than the Deming Cycle, commonly referred to as PDCA: Plan-Do-Check-Act.

Although simple in structure, PDCA represents a deep and disciplined approach to learning, problem-solving, and continuous improvement. Whether you are optimizing a production process, refining a laboratory method, or developing a new product, understanding PDCA is essential.

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A Free Jack-Knife Diagram Online Calculator

A Free Jack-Knife Diagram Online Calculator


At Pardus Consulting, we’ve just launched an online Jack-Knife Diagram (JKD) calculator that transforms downtime data into a clear, actionable visual.

By entering failure codes, counts of interventions and MTTR values, you’ll see at a glance which issues are both frequent and severe—no manual plotting or spreadsheet gymnastics required.

We’ve previously talked about this method as a much needed upgrade from Pareto Charts when prioritising downtime events and focus areas in our article HERE. [Read more…]

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Reliability Engineering – It’s all about Models!

Reliability Engineering – It’s all about Models!

Definition of Reliability

The concept of Reliability is often misused, misunderstood, and misinterpreted. Reliability in its academic root, is defined as the probability that a system will perform its intended function in a specified mission time and within specific process conditions. So, it is in essence a probability.

The ageing variable is crucial in calculating the reliability of a system. Reliability is the Probability of Success. And 1 minus the Probability of Failure. In the equation below , the ageing variable is time (t).

$$ \displaystyle \large R\left(t\right) = 1 – F\left(t\right) \:\:\:\: (where \: F = Failure \: Probability) $$

Reliability engineering is based on building data models to predict future system performance accurately. Based on past performance records. The model is more or less precise depending on how many past records we have. The more data, the more precise the model. At the end of the day, a well defined model, even with a little data, is better than no model. At least we can proceed in the right direction. That is, make the best possible decision for our assets.

This article looks at a non exhaustive list of models in the Reliability Engineering realm.

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The Damage Done by Drenick’s Theorem

The Damage Done by Drenick’s Theorem

The Damage Done by Drenick’s Theorem

Have you ever wondered by we use the assumption of a constant failure rate? Or considered why we assume our system is ‘in the flat part of the curve [bathtub curve]’?

Where did this silliness first arise?

In part, I lay blame on Mil Hdbk 217 and parts count prediction practices. Yet, there is a theoretical support for the notion that for large, complex systems the overall system time to failure will approach an exponential distribution.

Thanks go to Wally Tubell Jr., a professor of systems engineering and test. He recently sent me his analysis of Drenick’s theorem and it’s connection to the notion of a flat section of a bathtub curve.

Wally did a little research and found the theorem lacking for practical use. I agree and will explain below. [Read more…]

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Software Reliability

Software Reliability

Software reliability and hardware reliability are two distinct concepts within the field of engineering, each with its own unique characteristics and measurement challenges.

Software reliability is defined as the probability that software will operate without failure for a specified period of time in a specified environment. It is a reflection of the design perfection rather than manufacturing perfection, which is more associated with hardware reliability. The complexity of software is a major contributing factor to software reliability issues. Unlike hardware, software does not degrade over time or wear out, but it may have faults due to design defects that can cause failures.

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Aiming for Operational Excellence

Aiming for Operational Excellence

The aim of being in business is to satisfy customers in ethical ways while making a profit. To achieve this, variable and fixed costs should be as low as possible without sacrificing on quality products or customer experience.

The term Operational Excellence is often used to refer to a range of technical, soft-skills, and culture components. Regardless of how it is phrased, the core definition and goal are the same – to produce better operational results, and create value for customers and shareholders. In short, Operational Excellence performance is to produce the best quality products or services customers will buy for the lowest expenditure to maximize operating profit. The most successful businesses have built systems and processes that automatically keep their costs low and profits high

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Response Surface Designs: Part-1 Addition of Centerpoint

Response Surface Designs: Part-1 Addition of Centerpoint

Dear friends, I am posting a video after some gap! This is our first video in our series on Response Surface Designs. Response Surface Designs become necessary when we want to model a second order response in an experiment. In this first video, Hemant Urdhwareshe explains addition of centerpoint to a factorial design to assess presence of non-linearity in the response. The concept is explained with a virtual catapult with a two-factor two-level design.

Links to the related videos:

(1) DOE-1: Introduction to Design of Experiments

(2) DOE-8: Linearity and Orthogonality in Experimental Design

(3) DOE-6: Case Study in Creating Full Factorial Design in Minitab

(4) DOE-7: Analyse Factorial Design with Minitab

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The Standard for Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM)

The Standard for Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM)

What Is SAE JA1011? The International Standard for Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM)

In today’s video, I explain SAE JA1011, the internationally recognized standard that sets the minimum criteria for any process to be called Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM). Published in 1999, this 12-page document was created to ensure that the term “RCM” is used correctly, following the original principles defined by Stanley Nowlan and Howard Heap. If you’re ever presented with a process claiming to be RCM, SAE JA1011 is your go-to reference to verify that the process is True RCM.

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3 MTBF Stories

3 MTBF Stories

3 MTBF Stories

Everyone loves a great story. Storytelling has been a long tradition to pass along knowledge and wisdom.

There are good stories, tales of inspiration. There are sad stories, tales of caution.

There are fables, ghost stores, legends, epic poems, and more. When considering the reliability performance of your product or equipment, you probably have a few stories that you can tell. “That time … “

Simple join colleagues for lunch and ask about the ‘major disasters’ of the past. The stories help us to remember and hopefully avoid repeating mistakes.

Here are three stories with MTBF as a central figure. It is a site and blog that does take about MTBF, so it fits. To start, let me introduce you to Martin, a new reliability engineering reporting to his first day of work at a bicycle design and manufacturing company. Two sad stories and a good one. enjoy. [Read more…]

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Machines only Stop Working after their Parts Fail 

Machines only Stop Working after their Parts Fail 

 The level of care given to an equipment item depends directly on the size of business risk if it fails. Reduce the chance of its failure and you increase its reliability. It becomes vital to know the full range of risks each part within an equipment item will suffer. The right asset management strategy starts by knowing which parts are at risk and it is completed when the necessary actions to prevent all failures are in use. Asset Management that does not identify all the risks to equipment parts when selecting equipment maintenance and operating strategies will get you doing the wrong work.

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