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Fred Schenkelberg — Thought Leader

Author of CRE Preparation Notes, Musings", NoMTBF, multiple books & ebooks>, co-host on Speaking of Reliability>/a>, and speaker in the Accendo Reliability Webinar Series.


This author's archive lists contributions of articles and episodes.

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The “What” & “Why” of Weibull Analysis

The “What” & “Why” of Weibull Analysis

How to conduct a Weibull analysis and the questions the analysis will generate.

Part 2 of 7

Every failure is part of a puzzle. The equipment we are maintaining is trying to communicate with the use of each and every failure.

Often the message is not obvious.

There is the immediate failure. And, if we’re paying attention we can sort out the root cause of the failure along with replacing or repairing the damaged parts. Sometimes though the damage is caused by another issue with the system. [Read more…]

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Identifying Parts Obsolescence Early

Identifying Parts Obsolescence Early

One aspect of creating a new product or system is the sourcing of parts, components, and materials.

Gone are the days of your organization providing every element of the final product. Henry Ford’s supply chain for early Ford automobiles includes their own forests, rubber plantations, and iron ore mines. [Gelderman, 1981]

We increasingly rely on the supply chain to create the necessary parts for the design’s functionality. Then to continue to supply those same parts for decades, in some cases. [Read more…]

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How Do You Select Reliability Tasks to Accomplish?

How Do You Select Reliability Tasks to Accomplish?

As reliability engineers, we have a large number of tools available.

From project planning, system modeling, data analysis, test planning, to risk identification and defect discovery, we have techniques, procedures, algorithms to help us identify and solve reliability problems.

We also may ways to apply an individual reliability task.

We could do an exploratory drop test to see what happens if anything. Or, we could conduct a full characterization study of the force signature of drops onto different surfaces and faces from a range of heights. Or something in-between.

We have options and thus need to make choices. [Read more…]

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Basic Description of a Fault Tree Analysis

Basic Description of a Fault Tree Analysis

A fault tree analysis (FTA) is a logical, graphical diagram that starts with an unwanted, undesirable, or anomalous state of a system.

The diagram then lays out the many possible faults and combination of faults within the subsystems, components, assemblies, software, and parts comprising the system which may lead to the top level unwanted fault condition. [Read more…]

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Material Selection and Reliability

Material Selection and Reliability

Physical products are made up of materials.

The materials including metals, polymers, adhesives, and many others experience loads and stresses during assembly, transport, storage, and use.

Selecting the right materials such that they both meet the needs of the customer and are sufficiently reliable relies on understanding how the material will respond to the applied stresses over time.

As with parts selection, one way to determine if a material is suitable for your application and end use is to monitor the material’s performance over time in your products. The trouble is it also transfers the risk of failure (the unknown risk of failure) to the customer.

In many cases this is unacceptable. [Read more…]

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Field Data Analysis First Look

Field Data Analysis First Look

Field data analysis starts with the collection of data.

In a previous article, we used a Nevada chart to gather the counts per month of field failure data. The chart also provides the necessary data to account for how many units have not failed as of yet.

The Nevada chart on its own is just a table of numbers and does not reveal patterns of the changing nature of failure rates over time. Are we experiencing early life failures or wear-out related failures?

We need to conduct some data analysis to learn what message the data contains. [Read more…]

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Reliability Management & Risk

Reliability Management & Risk

What is reliability management? Reliability Engineering? Would a product design or an organization benefit with a focus on reliability management and engineering? What is the value of a focus on reliability?

Any organization, that develops and produces products, has resource limits. It may be talent, capabilities, time, funding, or some combination of these.

Yet, the goal to create a product that meets customer expectations includes the concept of product reliability. The product should provide the expected functions over time, without failure. This expected product reliability occurs, even if the design requirements and advertising do not explicitly mention product reliability. [Read more…]

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10 Ways to Find Reliability Value

10 Ways to Find Reliability Value

Most everyone agrees that improving a product or process reliability is a good thing. It’s good for customers, factories, and our business. And sometimes it’s difficult to answer the question,

‘What is the value of that reliability activity?’

What if your boss asks you what value you provide to the organization? Your answer may to harder to compose than you think.

How would you quantify your skills, experience, and knowledge and your role within the complex formal and informal working environments? [Read more…]

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DFX as an Approach

DFX as an Approach

When products were crafted one at a time, the design and manufacturing process was often done by the same person. The craftsman would design and build a chest of drawers or carriage.

Some trades would employ apprentices to learn the craft, which included design. Larger projects may include an architect or lead designer along with a team of engineers.

Yet the shop or site for the railroad engineer or bridge was not far allowing close communication between the ironsmith and design team. [Read more…]

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5 Steps to Building a Reliability Culture

5 Steps to Building a Reliability Culture

Reliability is not the sole responsibility of the reliability engineer but results from nearly everyone in an organization making decisions that move toward the desired product reliability performance.

As a reliability professional, I often find it necessary to explore ways to leverage my knowledge of these areas to change the culture within an organization to create a sustainable program that achieves reliable products time and again. [Read more…]

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Descriptive Models of the Design Process

Descriptive Models of the Design Process

I’ve often said, “reliability occurs at the point of decision.”

At the point of design during the design process. At each and every decision.

The design team of engineers establishes the bulk of the reliability capability early in the design process. The team’s decisions about materials or shape, concerning inventions or outsourcing, about how and where to build the product, and many more decisions impact the final product’s reliability performance.

Reliability is designed into the product right from the start. [Read more…]