Drivers of reliability requirements and targets Archives

Determining Customer Reliability Requirements

Determining What Customers Really Want Concerning Reliability

Customers want the benefits created by your product. They want the time savings, the reduced yield loss, they want simplicity, coolness, speed, etc.

Customers buy your product to solve a problem, they do not buy it to simply enjoy the features. The features have to do something of value. They have to provide a benefit.

If your product fails, the feature doesn’t work. Customers do not realize the benefit they expected.

In short, your customer wants your product to work as expected. When asked a customer will tell you they do not want to have product failures. [Read more…]

by Fred Schenkelberg Leave a Comment

Using Reliability Goals to Set Requirements

Customers of your product would like the particular one they have to work. To work over time.

If a product meets the customer’s expectation by working as long or longer than they expected it to do so, then they may consider your product reliable.

We use reliability goals to discuss the customer’s reliability expectations. It is the establishment of requirements that converts the customer expectations to development and production obligations. [Read more…]

by Fred Schenkelberg Leave a Comment

The Liability Part of Reliability Engineering

In many parts of the world ‘caveat emptor’ [let the buyer beware] no longer applies.

The producer and distributors of products are liable for their products.

This extends beyond product failures and a warranty claim. Today the company is liable for to make right any loss or damage incurred by the use of the product.

Courts and laws around the world reflect the protection of users of products from adverse consequences due to a negligent design and assembly practices.

The producer of a product must consider the user’s safety and provide reasonable safeguards.

This applies even when the user misuses or abuses a product. [Read more…]