What are the Other Challenges in Reliability

Creating a product or system that lasts as long as expected, or longer, is a challenge.

It’s a common challenge that reliability engineering and entire engineering team face on a regular basis. It’s also not our only challenge.

We face and solve a myriad of technical, political, and engineering challenges. Some of our challenges are born and carried forward by our own industry. We have tools suitable for a given purpose altered to ‘fit’ another situation (inappropriately and creating misleading results). We have terms that we, and our peers, struggle to understand.

Sometimes, we, as reliability engineers have set up challenges that thwart our best efforts to make progress.

Let’s examine a few of the self made challenges and discuss ways to overcome these obstacles permitting us to tackle the real hurdles in our path. [Read more…]

Why Would You Do a Parts Count Prediction?

Is there any useful result from a parts count prediction?

In most cases that I’ve seen parts count predictions used they are absolutely worthless. Worse, is the folks receiving the results believe they are accurate estimates of reliability performance (or at least use the results as such).

In my opinion, the range of parts count prediction methods and databases harm the field of reliability engineering.

We need to call out the poor results, promote better practices, and stop the vapid use of such a poorly understood tool. [Read more…]

Reliability is about making the right decision, each time.

Answering Questions

A common role during a first assignment as a reliability engineering is to answer a question or accomplish a task. It may help someone to make reliability decisions.

We may be asked, as I was, how long will this new product function during use? The director of engineering wanted to know if the new design was reliable enough to meet the customer’s requirements concerning reliability. He didn’t ask it that way, yet he did have a question that needed answering.

Sometimes we run a batch of tests, conduct failure analysis on field returns, or compare the durability to two vendor subsystems. In each case, there is a question to be answered.

A decision to be made by someone else. [Read more…]

Field Failure: A Quality or Reliability Problem

When my car fails to start, as a customer I only know that my car didn’t start.

When my phone fails to turn on, or the dishwasher leaks, or the printer jams, I only know I’ve experienced an unwanted outcome.

I really do not care, at the moment, why the coffee maker is not producing my morning cup of coffee. My first thought is ‘now where do I find a cup of coffee?’ As a reliability engineer I’m naturally curious about what caused the failure and can I fix it immediately to get the morning cup brewing.

My thinking does not classify the failure or the source of the failure as a quality or reliability problem. Then why is it that some organizations split reported field failures thus? [Read more…]

Two people have shaped how I guess an answer.

Their comments and guidance have tailored how to form a quick estimate, my ability to articulate a hunch and the effectiveness of those guesses.

You probably guess or make a rough estimate regularly. How good is your gut feel? Do you keep track and score yourself?

Making an estimate should be second nature for you. It’s not something to do in public, too often. The practice can aid you in numerous ways. [Read more…]

Teaching Reliability is Part of Your Role

Nearly everyone I’ve ever met doesn’t like their toaster to fail.

It will, and that is a bummer, as the quick and easy way to warm up the morning toast will be thwarted.

Failures happen. As reliability engineers, we know that failures happen. Helping others to identify potential failures, to avoid failures or to minimize failures is what we do best.

It is out ability to teach others about reliability engineering that allows us to be successful. [Read more…]

When Do Failures Count?

One technique to calculate a product’s MTBF is to count the number of failures and divide into the tally of operating time.

You already know, kind reader, that using MTBF has its own perils, yet it is done. We do not have to look very far to see someone estimating or calculating MTBF, as if it was a useful representation of reliability… alas, I digress.

Counting failures would appear to be an easy task. It apparently is not. [Read more…]

Sample Size and Duration and MTBF

If you have been a reliability engineer for a week or more, or worked with a reliability engineer for a day or more, someone asked about testing planning. The conversation may have started with “how many samples and how long will the test take?”

You have heard the sample size question.

[Read more…]

Learn to Notice MTBF Everyday

Did you notice the speed limit signs in your neighborhood today?

If like me, you went about your commute or regular travels relatively blind. You watched for the neighbor’s dog that jumped into the road last week, yet didn’t register seeing the speed limit sign.

It’s a cognitive burden to notice the mundane or known. [Read more…]

Coming Soon

Speaking of Reliability

A new podcast show featuring discussions with reliability experts about a wide range of reliability engineering topics is in the process of development. We’ve recorded a few episodes and in editing now.

I expect to launch the podcast in the next week or two.

The show is in large part based on the questions received over the past few years from you.    You being reliability minded folks that would like to solve problems, improve reliability performance and advance your career.  [Read more…]