3 Ways to Improve your Reliability Program

A Few Simple Ideas to Improve Your Reliability Program

Spending too much on reliability and not getting the results you expect? Just getting started and not sure where to focus your reliability program? Or, just looking for ways to improve your program?

There is not one way to build an effective reliability program. The variations in industries, expectations, technology, and the many constraints shape each program. Here are three suggestions you can apply to any program at any time. These are not quick-fix solutions, nor will you see immediate results, yet each will significantly improve your reliability program and help you achieve the results you and your customers expect.

1. Stop using MTBF

Given the nature of this blog and site, you may have expected I would recommend not using MTBF. The same applies to MTTF, MTBUR, and the many variations of MTxxx that exist.

The primary reason is that MTBF is not useful. It doesn’t help you and your team make decisions that lead to improving reliability.

The focus should be on balancing what you know about the performance and your other priorities. While you may have fantastic cost-of-goods data, reliability data is often vague. Do not cloud that scant information by obscuring what it means using MTBF.

Instead, use reliability directly. The function performs within a defined environment with a probability of success over a specified duration. My phone has a goal of making/receiving calls in my home office with a 99% probability of success over five years.

Use reliability

• to set goals,
• do apportionment,
• to set vendor requirements,
• for comparisons,
• To define and report reliability tests,
• And anywhere you talk about reliability.

The clarity alone will improve your reliability program.

2. Do your failure analysis

When something fails in a prototype or in a fielded product, you need to understand what failed. Not only that, you need to know the root cause of the failure. To implement a design, process, or assembly fix to address the failure, you need to understand what happened.

Isolating the failed part and sending it off to the vendor for analysis rarely works.

Vendors rarely can determine the root cause of a failure when looking at an isolated part or two. The failed component may be a victim of poor design or another element that has failed.

The element that fails may have design or assembly problems. It may be the part downstream for another item of the product that is not functioning properly. We don’t send blown fuses to the vendor for analysis. Instead, we look for the cause of the excessive current.

Instead, work with a 3rd party failure analysis laboratory directly. You will likely get answers faster; you will also likely learn more about the potential root causes, especially if the root cause is part of the vendor’s design or assembly process. It is your failure analysis, so you need unbiased information to allow you to determine the appropriate corrective action.

3. Identify Reliability Risks Early

Product testing or reliability testing, or demonstration tests are too little too late in most cases. You cannot afford to test in reliability, especially when done late in the development process.

Also, simply testing a product may or may not find novel or rare failure mechanisms. Sample sizes alone prevent finding significant issues. Not being able to detect precursors to serious problems is another. Testing is not a great means to identify reliability risks.

Instead, use tools like FMEA and HALT as early and often in the development process to help you focus on failure mechanisms that present the most risk to the reliable performance of your product. Give your development team time to focus on solving or mitigating the reliability risks facing your product.

Summary

That is just three suggestions. I’ve seen each of these make significant improvements to the reliability program in diverse industries.

What would you recommend be in the top 10 list of improvements to a reliability program? What works for you, why? Please leave a comment or question below, as I would like to hear from you.