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10 Critical Warning Signs Your New Product Development is at Risk

10 Critical Warning Signs Your New Product Development is at Risk

In the world of hardware new product introduction, a broken process can have severe consequences, jeopardizing the success of a product launch and hurting the reputation of a company. So, it is crucial to understand the warning signs that a process is disfunctional. Whether it’s slipping schedules, exceeding budgets, or missing requirements, recognizing the signs allows teams to intervene in time.

Learn the ten warning signs and understand the potential impacts they can have on your product launch. By familiarizing yourself with these signs, you can take proactive measures to address them before they escalate into more significant problems.

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Test Failure during Validation: Is it a Disaster or a Blessing

Test Failure during Validation: Is it a Disaster or a Blessing

In the automotive industry, particularly when dealing with electromechanical components, the validation process is a critical phase that ensures the safety, reliability, and performance of products before they reach the market. However, there is a growing Trend among companies to avoid failures during this process. Often leading to panic when they occur.

This article explores why encountering failures during validation should be seen as a blessing rather than a disaster.

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Today’s Gremlin – No Plan Needed

Today’s Gremlin – No Plan Needed

Today’s Gremlin – “No plan needed”, shows up even where there are planners. This gremlin is comfortable creating maintenance work schedules that are little more than wishful thinking! Plans describe what work must be done, how it should be done and with what resources (skills, tools, parts, etc.). Schedules show when the work will be done. Between the two steps is a check on the availability of all those resources. Without them, the schedule is at risk. Without a plan, you don’t even know what to check on! “No plan needed” is at the heart of maintenance inefficiency.

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Can Your Engineering and Maintenance Processes Deliver the Reliability You Want? 

Can Your Engineering and Maintenance Processes Deliver the Reliability You Want? 

Much of what we do in engineering and maintenance we accept without question. People say, ―It‘s been done that way for decades,‖ implying that it must be correct. But for equally as many decades have come stories of failed and broken machinery, plant and businesses. On one hand we continue to unquestioningly do what has been done for generations, yet on the other hand we cannot stop equipment failing. There is a subtle connection between the two of which we are only just becoming aware. The connection is obvious when you realise that we have been running our businesses by risk and luck, and not on facts and understanding.

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University Graduates Disruption

University Graduates Disruption

Eighty-five (85%) of the jobs today’s students will be doing in 2030 haven’t been invented yet.
Institute for the Future

Now, let’s look at university graduates’ marketability? Why are so many Gen-Zer’s and millennials unemployed or simply underemployed? One major reason is many recent college graduates are simply not prepared for work. They are not FOW-ready or work-ready. Gartner, the consulting organization, said:

“Only 20 percent of employees have the skills needed for both their current role and their future career”.

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Decision Making: Shaping Success Through Choice

Decision Making: Shaping Success Through Choice

Decision-making is one of the most powerful tools at a leader’s disposal. Whether it’s determining strategic priorities, allocating resources, or solving day-to-day challenges, the ability to make informed and timely decisions can mean the difference between success and failure. It is a skill that shapes the trajectory of teams, organizations, and even industries. 

At its core, decision-making isn’t just about choosing between options—it’s about understanding the impact of those choices, balancing risks and rewards, and taking responsibility for the outcomes. Strong decision-making builds trust, drives progress, and creates clarity, all of which are essential in today’s fast-paced and competitive business landscape.

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10 Best Practices for Managing Hardware Development Risk

10 Best Practices for Managing Hardware Development Risk

In an increasingly competitive market, the need to bring superior products to market swiftly, cost-effectively, and with minimal risk is paramount. This article presents a summary of the top ten best practices for managing risk in hardware development.

Read on to gain insights into navigating the maze of financial, operational, and market challenges that accompany hardware development. Based upon over 100 years of collective experience with hardware development, the Product Realization Group has distilled these insights from real-world experience. Learn how to reduce risk in your New Product Development and Introduction (NPDI) process and bring better products to market faster, at lower cost, and with less risk.

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Why Do a Parts Count Prediction?

Why Do a Parts Count Prediction?

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…]

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Burn-in Testing?

Burn-in Testing?

Burn-in testing is a critical reliability testing method used extensively in the electronics and electromechanical industries to identify and eliminate early-life failures in components. This process involves subjecting components or systems to normal or elevated stress conditions to accelerate the occurrence of latent defects. Here’s a detailed exploration of how burn-in testing works, its methodologies, and its importance in ensuring product reliability:

Purpose of Burn-in Testing

The primary goal of burn-in testing is to detect early failures, also known as infant mortality failures, in components before they are integrated into final products or shipped to customers. These failures typically occur due to defects introduced during the manufacturing process or inherent weaknesses in materials that manifest under operational stress. [Read more…]

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14 Ways to Keep Maintenance Costs Low

14 Ways to Keep Maintenance Costs Low

THE Plant Wellness Way EAM SYSTEM-OF-RELIABILITY METHODOLOGY ENSURES YOU ALWAYS HAVE LOW MAINTENANCE COSTS AS PART OF THE WORLD CLASS MAINTENANCE, RELIABILITY AND LIFE CYCLE ASSET MANAGEMENT SUCCESS YOU GET

BELOW ARE 14 STRATEGIES A PLANT WELLNESS WAY EAM SYSTEM-OF-RELIABILITY BRINGS YOU THAT ENSURE THE LEAST MAINTENANCE COSTS FOREVERMORE.

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Improving Your Operations Through the Use of Collaboration

Improving Your Operations Through the Use of Collaboration

Guest Post by Robert Pojasek (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

Many larger companies have three critically important operations: organizational sustainability, procurement, and supply chain management.   IN most companies, these operations are managed separate from each other, and their operations are not directly influenced by international standards.

Organizational sustainability works to improve all the operations of the company. However, these operations are managed internal to the organization. There may be a sustainability plan for the organization, but it is not used in all facilities or in the same manner for many of the facilities.  The corporate sustainability program creates its own program based on how the sustainability manager works with operations.  This will be coming to an end as the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) is preparing to release mandatory reporting to provide information to the capital markets.

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Quality Objective 7: HIGH-RISK FAILURES IDENTIFIED

“Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing” – Warren Buffett

In this article, I will outline how to evaluate an FMEA against the FMEA Quality Objective for identifying high-risk failures.

One definition for “risk” is “the possibility of loss or injury;” and “high” means “of a greater degree, amount or cost than expected.” Putting these words together, “high risk” means the anticipated loss or injury is too great. [Read more…]