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by Christopher Jackson Leave a Comment

Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)

Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)

Reliability happens at the point of DECISION

Reliability doesn’t just happen. Following standards, doing what worked 10 years ago or any other approach to reliability engineering that doesn’t focus on what your system is today won’t make reliability happen.

Fault trees are great at modelling system reliability. They are one of several tools that can help you turn what you know about component or subsystem failure characteristics into an understanding of system reliability characteristics. Which lets you measure reliability.

But measuring reliability is one thing. Improving reliability is a much bigger thing.

Good reliability decisions are based on 
knowing HOW your system will fail

Fault trees are a great Root Cause Analysis (RCA) tool. They can really help you and your team identify the potential causes of failure, which then focuses your investigation on what really happened.

But it is much better to prevent failures from occurring. Making your first design a reliable design means you need to know how your system will fail … from the first day of design.

Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) is a great 
tool for working this out

<add a suitable testimonial here>

— former FTA course student

Get started with Fault Tree Analysis today

Enroll in the Fault Tree Analysis course.

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Course Description and Overview

The 4-hour, 11-module Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) Course teaches you how to use fault trees to achieve important outcomes supporting reliability performance.

Fault trees are visual representation methodologies that represent our understanding of how faults progress to a state of failure. 

Fault trees can be used to model system reliability where the reliability performance characteristics of components are used to determine system reliability performance characteristics. This allows us to model Time to Failure (TTF) at a system level if we have a good understanding of component TTF. This can then be used to inform things like warranty period determination or reliability at any point in usage.

Fault trees can also be used from the perspective of Root Cause Analysis (RCA). This usually occurs when we have observed a failure (or undesirable event) and want to ‘collectively brainstorm’ a series of explanations as to why it occurred. Fault trees used in this way can be used to identify likely ‘root causes’ that can either be the subject of further investigation or be designed out of the system. Fault trees used in this context support ‘reliability improvement’ more than ‘reliability measurement.’ 

Fault trees in this way can be used in a fundamentally more valuable context where we focus on preventing problems like failure before they occur. Fault trees used in this way are often parts of larger proactive reliability engineering activities like Failure Mode and Effects Analyses (FMEAs). If failure is defined as any event where we fail to meet our customer or user expectations, fault trees can help us do robust, customer-centric design. This is where we prioritize what features matter the most to our customers, and we incorporate really simple design changes very early in the production lifecycle to become or remain an industry leader.

Students who design, manufacture or need to otherwise manage any sort of product or equipment will benefit from this course. FTA can be used for modelling TTF and informing key business plan decisions. FTA can be used to identify root causes of failure – both in the past and in the future. This means that FTA can be used to prevent problems, including issues that may introduce production costs and delays. FTA can be used to identify the VITAL FEW problems and issues our product, systems or services need to focus on.

Medium or Delivery Mode

This FTA Course is made up of 

11 lessons

that take you through the fundamentals of FTA, broken down into ‘three’ perspectives: system reliability modelling; RCA; and robust customer-centric design. These modules are based on an example that is iteratively developed throughout the course, with students completed exercises and questions in the workbook.

There is a total of 

4 hours of lessons.

This course will be delivered through

Self-paced video lessons.

So, regardless of where you find yourself in life, you 
will be able to do this course when it suits you.

Here is what you get. You get

1-year access

There will always be new developments in reliability engineering, and we will keep finding better ways to tell the story. 
So, as we make module updates, you will continue to get access to the course for one year from the date of purchase.

Then there is

 Ongoing expert Q&A.

I will be available to answer your questions for 12 months after completion of the course. See the course Materials tab to find contact options.

Who is your teacher? Dr. Chris Jackson

Dr Jackson holds a Ph.D. and MSc in Reliability Engineering from the University of Maryland’s Center of Risk and Reliability. He also holds a BE in Mechanical Engineering, a Masters of Military Science from the Australian National University (ANU) and has substantial experience in the field of leadership, management, risk, reliability and maintainability. He is a Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE) through the American Society of Quality (ASQ) and a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) through Engineers Australia.

Dr Jackson is an Accendo Reliability Thought Leader. Was the inaugural director of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA’s) Center of Reliability and Resilience Engineering and the founder of its Center for the Safety and Reliability of Autonomous Systems (SARAS). He has had an extensive career as a Senior Reliability Engineer in the Australian Defence Force and is the Director of Acuitas Reliability Pty Ltd.

He has supported many complex and material systems to develop their reliability performance and assisted in providing reliability management frameworks that support business outcomes (that is, making more money). He has been a reliability management consultant to many companies across industries ranging from medical devices to small satellites. He has also led initiatives in complementary fields such as systems engineering and performance-based management frameworks (PBMFs). He is the author of two reliability engineering books, a co-author of another, and several journal articles and conference papers.

What you will receive

Access to all 4 hours of lesson videos

The comprehensive electronic course notes are an interactive PDF document that allows you to take notes using your computer or tablet.

Direct access to Chris for questions about the course content or its application.

Technical support for any issue accessing or viewing the course content from Accendo Reliability.

Student Learning Objectives

Students who complete this course will be able to do the following:

  • Describe fault trees and how they are constructed
  • Understand the different perspectives from which fault trees are used and how this affects their employment
  • Identify which decisions may benefit from FTA, and which perspective is relevant
  • Construct fault trees that model system reliability
  • Understand ‘logic gates’ and how they are included in a fault tree
  • Understand basic system reliability configurations that include parallel, series, ‘k out of n’ configurations
  • Integrate fault trees with other modelling methodologies including Reliability Block Diagrams (RBDs), success trees, Event Trees (ETs) and other fault tree
  • Analyze system reliability using a fault tree system reliability model and component reliability performance characteristics
  • Model basic dependent failure scenarios including Common Cause Failure
  • Understand the different redundancy configurations represented by fault tree ‘AND’ gates that include load sharing and switching systems
  • List key limitations of FTA software
  • Construct a fault tree that models ‘causality’ to help identify potential root causes of failure (both past and future)
  • Identify potential root causes of observed failure using FTA (as part of RCA)
  • Identify potential root causes of potential failure using FTA (as part of FMEA)
  • Design robust, customer-centric products, systems and services using FTA based on customer expectation
  • Understand system ‘cut sets’ and how they relate to reliability performance characteristics
  • Identify ‘cut sets’ from a fault tree that models system reliability
  • Create FTA strategies that efficiently and effectively using teams (as part of a group activity)
  • List the pros of FTA to help identity when fault trees can support a specific decision
  • List the cons of FTA to help identify when fault trees can NOT support a specific decision

Learning Resouces

All students will need to have a computer or laptop with speakers, microphone and the capability of hosting Zoom TMvideo conferencing software. You will also need to prepare yourself to be an ‘online student’ and make sure that wherever you are, you have set yourself up for learning. More help can be found at https://www.acuitas.com/how-to-be-an-online-student.

You should have a pen and note-taking paper. You do not need any textbooks to undertake this course, but if you are interested in learning more about reliability engineering, than we recommend Reliability Engineering and Management.  

You will also need access to Microsoft PowerPoint for a class exercise. You will be required to overlay certain statistical plots as part of a class exercise.

We also highly recommend becoming a member at www.accendoreliability.com. This is a free resource with podcasts, webinars, articles and books that can help you remain up to date with reliability engineering developments. 

There is no assessment or exam you have to pass in order to complete this course.

by Fred Schenkelberg Leave a Comment

Accendo Reliability Webinar Series

Accendo Reliability Webinar Series

Recordings of live webinar events providing practical and informative educational material for your professional development.

A mix of topics ranging across the field of reliability engineering and related fields. Formats range from how-to tutorials to thought-provoking essays. Topics include fundamental statistical concepts to overarching program management.

Join us for these upcoming live events. Catch up with past events via the podcast series or the recorded videos of the events found here. If you have questions before, during, or after an event – just let us know. We do enjoy hearing from you and assisting you to improve your abilities.

I want to tell you that I have gone through many webinars on Accendo Reliability and found them very useful. I am new to Reliability Engineering and very keen to learn it and apply it in my organization.

– Ankur Sharmapu

by Allise Wachs

Design of Experiments

Design of Experiments Course

A little background and motivation for the material in this course.

  • Welcome
  • Instructor Introduction / Background
  • Course Format / Materiasl / Software

 

The material was very clearly articulated.  Allise is very knowledgeable about the subject as well as very excited about it.  She does a good job explaining the topics and putting them into real-world applications.

— former DOE course student

Get started with Design of Experiments today

Enroll in the Design of Experiments course

If you have already signed up for the course, login and enjoy.




Lost Password? Click here to have it emailed to you.

Training Objectives

The objective of Design of Experiments Training is to provide participants with the analytical tools and methods necessary to:

  • Plan and conduct experiments in an effective and efficient manner
  • Identify and interpret significant factor effects and 2-factor interactions
  • Develop predictive models to explain process/product behavior
  • Check models for validity
  • Apply very efficient fractional factorial designs in screening experiments
  • Handle variable, proportion, and variance responses
  • Avoid common misapplications of DOE in practice

Participants gain a solid understanding of important concepts and methods to develop predictive models that allow the optimization of product designs or manufacturing processes. Many practical examples are presented to illustrate the application of technical concepts. Minitab or other statistical software is utilized in the class.

Allise Wachs, Course Instructor

Allise Wachs

She is the President of Integral Concepts, Inc. where she assists engineers and scientists in the application of statistical and optimization methods to reduce the time and cost to develop new products and optimize manufacturing processes.  She also helps her clients to resolve complex engineering, R&D, and manufacturing problems quickly and thoroughly.  Allise has facilitated hundreds of designed experiments, and regularly consults with companies in numerous industries.  Her communication/training skills are rated as outstanding.

 

I got more in three days than from 20+ years in manufacturing.  Allise has excellent command of the material and has been able to share some of her knowledge with us.

— former DOE course student


Why is DOE Training Important?

Experimentation is frequently performed using trial and error approaches which are extremely inefficient and rarely lead to optimal solutions.  Furthermore, when it’s desired to understand the effect of multiple variables on an outcome (response), “one-factor-at-a-time” trials are often performed.  Not only is this approach inefficient, it inhibits the ability to understand and model how multiple variables interact to jointly affect a response.  Statistically based Design of Experiments provides a methodology for optimally developing process understanding via experimentation.

In this course, participants gain a solid understanding of important concepts and methods in statistically based experimentation.  Successful experiments allow the development of predictive models for the optimization of product designs or manufacturing processes.  Several practical examples and case studies are presented to illustrate the application of technical concepts.  This course will prepare you to design and conduct effective experiments.  You will also learn how to analyze the data from experiments to understand significant effects and develop predictive models utilized to optimize process behavior.

Without question, this class was the most beneficial training I have received for my particular job function.  I will be able to utilize the information on the job immediately.

— former DOE course student

DOE Has Numerous Applications, Including:

  • Fast and Efficient Problem Solving (root cause determination)
  • Shortening R&D Efforts
  • Optimizing Product Designs
  • Optimizing Manufacturing Processes
  • Developing Product or Process Specifications
  • Improving Quality and/or Reliability
  • Ensure designs are robust against uncontrollable sources of variation

Typical Attendees

  • Scientists
  • Product and Process Engineers
  • Design Engineers
  • Quality Engineers
  • Personnel involved in product development and validation
  • Laboratory Personnel
  • Manufacturing/Operations Personnel
  • Process Improvement Personnel
  • Six Sigma professionals
Enroll in the Design of Experiments course

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