Your Reliability Engineering Professional Development Site
Let's have an in-depth discussion during the live webinar series events: Reliability Engineering Basics, Statistics, Accelerated Testing, Program Assessment, and Improvement. Catch up or review past events below.
To attend an upcoming live event, visit the Live Events section of the site, which lists the available upcoming webinars. Recordings are available via recorded videos or audio only via the podcast show.
Find one that looks interesting and register for the event. You will receive login directions and reminders prior to the event. Plus you will be able to join the discussion during the event.
If reliability engineering ends up costing you money, then you are doing it wrong. But chances are that someone you work for looks at reliability engineering as a black hole of costs. This needs to stop!
Reliability engineering is about creating value. Or money. Or more missions. Or safety. But you need to show how this will happen. [Read more…]
Many companies haven’t the resources to purchase much more expensive software specifically for reliability, but many have the quality software Minitab. Minitab itself has many reliability functions available; this presentation covers the basics, beginning with “individual distribution identification” to ensure your data fits one of the reliability models. Data is then analyzed with parametric distributions (right censoring vs arbitrary censoring). Additionally, the accelerated life testing functions are explored focusing on the interpretation of the results. This is presented with practical examples for clarity. [Read more…]
While the NoMTBF movement is making progress, we still find those that seem to want to use MTBF (or MTTF). As you know, MTxx type metrics are means, they contain little information and are generally misunderstood and misused. So, what should a well-educated practitioner do? [Read more…]
Ever wondered if your servicing intervals are ‘good’? Do you know what ‘good’ is? Are you servicing too much or too little? What happens if you service too much? Do you use some basic equations in textbooks and plug in numbers which seem too simple and basic AND you don’t understand them (all at the same time)?
If you have asked yourselves any of these questions, then this is the webinar for you. A really simple, never done this before, please join me in the discussion on what it actually means to optimize servicing intervals. [Read more…]
Recently received a question about the differences, similarities, and which discipline is better concerning reliability and quality engineering. Some say reliability is a characteristic of quality, while I say reliability is quality yet over time. [Read more…]
Ok. They say there are lies, damn lies and statistics. And at the heart of statistics are these intimidating functions like ‘probability density functions’ and ‘cumulative distribution functions.’
They mean something – but are practically useless unless they help inform a decision. And we as engineers are supposed to know what these functions mean. But have you ever sat in a meeting or presentation where you realized there were some gaps in your knowledge? … or perhaps you felt like you were given too many charts but not enough help to make your decision?
If you want a really easy introduction or review of these functions – then check out this webinar!
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It’s not possible to point to one moment, class, seminar, workshop, or conference where I learned reliability engineering. Not one situation, project, conversation, or meeting either. Learning reliability engineering is a journey and each is different. [Read more…]
If you are a reliability engineer – chances are you have done a Weibull plot. You take something like failure data, put it into a piece of software, and presto! [Read more…]
Having a reliability target for your product is great. But how does that help all the little design teams, who make their own decisions on all the different parts of your system?
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What do you tell someone you just met when they ask, “So, what do you do?” Saying you’re a reliability engineer is likely to get a polite nod or confused look. How do you explain what you do, and why? Why is what we do as reliability minded folk important? [Read more…]
The reliability engineering discipline, like all fields of endeavor, is changing. The inclusion of risk management, the shift to proactively avoiding field failures, and the increasing use of sensors and models, all make the future fascinating.
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The reliability culture of an organization is about how individuals make decisions. It is a combination of priorities & policies, behaviors & motivations, and information & capability. Understanding the current culture allows you to improve the culture.
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When you ‘pass’ a standard based test, just what does that mean? How can you use test results in a meaningful way other than just noting the product ‘passed’? Understanding the failure mechanisms at play along with the statistics is key. [Read more…]
Graphics, when used well, can convey easy to understand information. Reliability graphics may focus on trends in failure rates or the verification of improvement work. Often reliability graphics convey time to failure patterns.
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When a product or system fails there is a consequence. Often there is a loss of value. Each warranty replacement costs money. Downtime may result in lost revenue. Do you know the full extent of the costs involved when something fails?
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