Accendo Reliability

Your Reliability Engineering Professional Development Site

Christopher Jackson — Thought Leader

Author of Reliability in Emerging Technology, multiple books, co-host on Speaking of Reliability, and speaker in the Accendo Reliability Webinar Series.


This author's archive lists contributions of articles and episodes.

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SOR 367 Dealing with the Occurrence of Failure

SOR 367 Dealing with the Occurrence of Failure

Dealing with the Occurrence of Failure

Abstract

Chris and Fred discussing how different organizations deal with failures. Failures are a ‘bad’ thing in that a system doesn’t do what you hoped it would. But what about failures that occur during the design or production process? This is different. If you have scope to improve your system, then failures that you can analyze in a laboratory or test bed are invaluable. They, more than any other event, will help you understand the vulnerabilities of your system. And you must actively seek vulnerability to improve reliability. But if you are looking for failures, you must first admit that your system is vulnerable. And that is difficult for many people to do.
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SOR 366 The Soyuz Rocket Failure and What We Can Learn

SOR 366 The Soyuz Rocket Failure and What We Can Learn

The Recent Soyuz Rocket Failure and What We Can Learn

Abstract

Chris and Fred discussing the recent Russian Soyuz rocket failure. With the retirement of NASA’s space shuttle fleet, the Soyuz rocket and spacecraft are now the only viable way to launch humans into space. The 1960s Soyuz rocket propels the 1960s Soyuz spacecraft into orbit … and to be clear it is only the rocket that failed. The Soyuz spacecraft successfully aborted the launch keep the crew safe. The Soyuz rocket has long been the yardstick of rocket safety – it easily has the most impressive reliability track record. But should this recent failure change that perception? And how can the Soyuz system still be operating when other programs have come and gone, primarily due to safety and reliability? This podcast attempts to answer some of these questions.
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Engineering Reports Need to Be Like Bad Movies – Give The Ending Away At The Start

I am frequently asked to review engineering reports and documents. And I am continually baffled with how many engineers want to ‘take their reader on a journey’ as opposed to getting to the main point. These engineers write documents where you have to read every single word to work out what they are trying to say. But having a final reveal is never a good thing in any technical document. [Read more…]

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Millennials and Management: It Is Your Fault They Don’t Stay at Your Company

I was presenting at the Aerospace Conference earlier this year, where something astounding happened. I was talking to the audience about ‘organizational culture’ and my experiences working with a small satellite manufacturer to help them improve their product’s reliability.

At the end of my talk, I was asked the following questions (which I have done my best to remember verbatim):

How do you accommodate the young engineers of today, who will only stay at one organization for a couple of years before moving on? Research has shown they typically leave within three years – so why should we invest time and effort into them?

If you are a team leader or manager that is searching for the answer to this question, I have some potentially bad news for you:

It is not them … it is you. [Read more…]

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The Russian Concorde … and why you haven’t heard of it

The Russian Concorde … and why you haven’t heard of it

I was recently talking with my colleague Fred Schenkelberg from FMS Reliability (this conversation can be heard here), about a plane that he had never heard of. Most of the world hasn’t heard of it. And there is a reason you probably haven’t either. The plane in question is a case study on how to design something to fail.

[Read more…]

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SOR 358 The Russian Concorde – How Not to Design Reliable Aircraft

SOR 358 The Russian Concorde – How Not to Design Reliable Aircraft

The Russian Concorde – How Not to Design Reliable Aircraft

Abstract

Chris and Fred discussing the little known Tupolev Tu-144 or the Russian Concorde. It was developed as a direct competitor to the Anglo-French Concorde, and was also the first commercial aircraft to fly at a speed of Mach 2. It even looks like the Concorde. But there is a reason you have not heard of it. Yup … reliability. And there is much to learn. In fact, Chris decided to write an article about it which can be read here.
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Small Satellites, Emerging Technology and Big Opportunities (part seven of seven) – Ok … now what?

Small Satellites, Emerging Technology and Big Opportunities (part seven of seven) – Ok … now what?

There is no question that standardizing processes, techniques and best practices has contributed greatly to technological evolution. Just writing down or passing on what has worked well in the past helps anyone’s learning process. But there are many problems associated with this approach when blind obedience kills critical thinking.

[Read more…]

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Small Satellites, Emerging Technology and Big Opportunities (part six of seven) – A Call for ‘Evolutionary Production’

When is the biggest ‘improvement’ in the reliability of a new ‘type’ of product? This is a very broad question with no doubt lots of answers that aren’t wrong. But what we do know is that the more experience we have with building something, the more reliable it gets. And this effect is most marked at the start of the product’s life. [Read more…]

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Small Satellites, Emerging Technology and Big Opportunities (part five of seven) – Stop solving the problem you want to solve

InnoCentive CEO Dwayne Spradlin wrote in this article about how many companies in a rush to develop something new and innovative try to solve a problem that they want to solve rather than the problem the customer wants to be solved. He quotes Albert Einstein who once said

If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it.

[Read more…]

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Small Satellites, Emerging Technology and Big Opportunities (part four of seven) – Lets Learn about Reliability

Small Satellites, Emerging Technology and Big Opportunities (part four of seven) – Lets Learn about Reliability

Imagine you are not feeling well and you go to a doctor. When you sit down in the doctor’s office, he doesn’t even look at you. Instead, he has a book opened on the desk and starts reading it aloud. You sit there without being examined, listening to a list of medicines, activities, exercises and diet changes. The doctor then looks up and says that you need to do all of them. Take all the medicines. Change all your activities. Start doing all the exercises. And completely change your diet. [Read more…]

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Small Satellites, Emerging Technology and Big Opportunities (part three of seven) – No, we really mean ‘Mission Assurance’

Small Satellites, Emerging Technology and Big Opportunities (part three of seven) – No, we really mean ‘Mission Assurance’

In the late 1970s, Hewlett Packard was a company that valued quality compliance, certification and awards. But the then Chief Executive Officer noticed a problem. He (on a hunch) initiated an analysis of ‘quality related expenses.’ He wanted to quantify the cost of defects and failure. The results were terrifying. [Read more…]

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Small Satellites, Emerging Technology and Big Opportunities (part two of seven) – Compliance and the Antithesis of Performance

In 1995, the United States Department of Energy (DoE) funded research into Princeton University’s Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). PPPL was developing plasma fusion techniques, and the research in question focused on quality assurance within the laboratory. It was investigating the utility of a new type of quality assurance: on that was performance-based. [Read more…]