What Could Go Wrong
Abstract
Chris and Fred discuss ‘what can go wrong’ in scenarios where it is almost impossible to even comprehend might happen … like when something is really old! ᐅ Play Episode
SOR 800 What Could Go Wrong
What is a ‘Fault Tree’?
What is a ‘Fault Tree’?
podcast episode with speaker Chris Jackson
If you have spent any time doing reliability engineering stuff, you will probably have heard of this thing called a ‘fault tree.’ You may have even used fault trees a lot. But it is amazing how many different reliability engineers have different ideas about how to use a fault tree best. Some think fault trees are strictly used to work out which combinations of components need to fail for the system to fail (system reliability modeling). Others think fault trees are really useful for helping us work out what the causes of failure are (root cause analysis). Both people are right. So why do we get these competing schools of thought? Join us for this webinar to learn more about how fault trees can help you … regardless of what you are trying to achieve.
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SOR 793 Putting Reliability Plans Together
Putting Reliability Plans Together
Abstract
Chris and Fred discuss how we create a ‘reliability plan.’ It is not simply a list of tools …
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SOR 792 Overcoming Resistance
Overcoming Resistance
Abstract
Chris and Fred discuss how we overcome cultural resistance to ‘good’ things – like better reliability engineering. Is it possible?
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SOR 787 Working with a Lab
Working with a Lab
Abstract
Chris and Fred discuss how you go about finding a lab to help you come up with some meaningful reliability information. Does that laboratory exist?
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SOR 786 Strength-Stress with Limited Information
Strength-Stress with Limited Information
Abstract
Chris and Fred discuss this thing called ‘stress-strength’ we hear a lot about in the world of reliability … especially when we need to use it to work out ‘reliability stuff.’
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What do you see in a ‘Probability’ Plot?
What do you see in a ‘Probability’ Plot?
podcast episode with speaker Chris Jackson
Some of you might have heard about probability plots … like Weibull plots. Some of you might not. A Weibull plot is a really useful way of quickly ‘looking’ at data and being able to ‘see’ really useful things. This could be seeing that a system’s failure rate is decreasing over time … which usually means there are manufacturing defects. It could be seeing that the rate of failure of a system is increasing over time … which means the system is accumulating damage or wearing out. And lots of other things. So, let’s look at a different sort of ‘probability’ plot … and see what we can work out from it. And that means working out what we need to do to improve reliability. Join this webinar if you want to learn how to see really useful things in lines that you might not have appreciated in the past.
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SOR 781 Data and Mechanism
Data and Mechanisms
Abstract
Chris and Fred discuss how reliability data analysis really doesn’t mean a lot … unless you pair it with a failure mechanism. Why is this? What does that mean?
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SOR 780 Influencing Change
Influencing Change
Abstract
Chris and Fred discuss what it means (as a reliability engineer) to try and change something … even though the organization that thinks they are open to change really isn’t. What can we do?
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Confidence in Reliability
Confidence in Reliability
podcast episode with speaker Chris Jackson
Reliability is a measure of your product or system. Confidence is a measure of you. But we often forget this. We often subject our new product, system, or service to test after test until it reaches this thing called ‘required statistical confidence.’ But this is often an illusion, which is great! Because if statistical confidence is often not ‘real’ confidence, then we don’t always have to resort to statistics to get confidence. In fact, those of us who exclusively rely on statistics are usually those who lack confidence in the product, system or service and need a security blanket to make them feel OK. This webinar talks about confidence from the perspective of the ‘process owner.’ The design team lead. The CTO. The junior engineer. And how you can get a much healthier version of confidence through the way we design and produce our ‘things’ so that when it comes time to test … we are (justifiably) supremely confident that we will absolutely dominate whatever statistical testing hurdle can be thrown our way. And this sometimes means we don’t need to deal with statistics at all!
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SOR 770 Who Makes Something Reliable?
Who Makes Something Reliable?
Abstract
Chris and Fred discuss the seemingly never resolved question on ‘who’ is responsible for making something reliable? Is it the supplier? The designers? The manufacturers? Aliens?
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Basic Mathematical Symbols and Stuff
Basic Mathematical Symbols and Stuff
podcast episode with speaker Chris Jackson
OK … we have all been there. We have all sat in some statistical presentation or read a document containing mathematical symbols and statistical hieroglyphics we don’t understand. And we pretend we do understand so that we don’t embarrass ourselves. The people we don’t want to embarrass ourselves in front of usually also pretend to understand those symbols and hieroglyphics. This webinar is a light (re)introduction to common mathematical symbols used in many engineering scenarios … including reliability. [Read more…]
SOR 769 Confidence from Understanding
Confidence from Understanding
Abstract
Chris and Fred discuss what this term ‘confidence’ means … especially when it comes to statistics (and reliability)
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SOR 764 Regression Metrics
Regression Metrics
Abstract
Chris and Fred discuss ‘regression metrics’ … or numbers that software packages spit out at us to suggest if a statistical model is ‘good’ or not. But if this is the only thing you (as an engineer) rely on to understand your system … you are already in trouble!
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SOR 763 Technology Only Goes So Far
Technology Only Goes So Far
Abstract
Chris and Fred discuss the limits of ‘technology solutions’ … especially when it comes to reliability – mainly because there is always a human being involved!
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