When products were crafted one at a time, the design and manufacturing process was often done by the same person. The craftsman would design and build a chest of drawers or carriage.

Some trades would employ apprentices to learn the craft, which included design. Larger projects may include an architect or lead designer along with a team of engineers.

Yet the shop or site for the railroad engineer or bridge was not far allowing close communication between the ironsmith and design team. [Read more…]

I’ve often said, “reliability occurs at the point of decision.”

At the point of design during the design process. At each and every decision.

The design team of engineers establishes the bulk of the reliability capability early in the design process. The team’s decisions about materials or shape, concerning inventions or outsourcing, about how and where to build the product, and many more decisions impact the final product’s reliability performance.

Reliability is designed into the product right from the start. [Read more…]

Let’s start by understanding the difference between engineers and engineering designers.

The work we do as reliability engineers may require a different approach when working with these different types of engineers. [Read more…]

The ability to assemble a system to meet the functional requirements is constrained by the design, the materials, and the tolerances.

Some designs are impossible to assembly. While other designs take little effort to build. The discipline of design for assembly, DFA, applied during the design process can enhance the manufacturing process. [Read more…]