Why You Should Avoid MTBF

podcast episode with speaker Fred Schenkelberg

In the past two months, I’ve received a few questions concerning why I recommend avoiding using MTBF or similar metrics. I’m also moving the articles I and others wrote on the topic from NoMTBF.com to Accendo Reliability. So, the topic of MTBF has been on my mind.

This morning’s email included a question on why I was so against using MTBF. This event is my answer.

MTBF is a point estimate, and that is not an issue. What is a problem is using just MTBF leads to deplorable decisions and costs you and your organization dearly. The misunderstanding and misuse of MTBF and means to estimate it is another set of reasons to avoid its use.

In this event, let’s examine MTBF a bit closer and just how much trouble this simple metric causes.

This Accendo Reliability webinar was originally broadcast on 8 August 2023.