Bonus: Discussion with Arda Akman
Abstract
Adam and Fred sit down at RAMS with Arda to discuss his work and challenges as a reliability engineer.
How to Create an ALT Plan
How to Create an ALT Plan
We cheat time. As reliability engineers, we are asked to peer into the future and predict the time to failure for our products and systems.
So, how do you go about setting up an accelerated life test? Some options work and some that do not.
Fault Tolerance Basics
Fault tolerance is a system that is reliant to the failure of elements within the system. It also may be called a fail safe design.
A fault tolerant system may continue to operate just fine, after one of the power supplies fails, for example. Or it may operate in a reduced or degraded state.
Other systems may have a ‘limp home’ condition, allowing the system to save critical data or allowing you to drive to a safe place to change a flat tire. [Read more…]
Do Your KPIs Adversely Impact Reliability?
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are measurable values related to essential business objectives.
A KPI provides a means to monitor the performance of a specific function.
In larger organizations, with sales & marketing, research & development, operations, supply chain and other teams working to bring products to market, each department has a specific role. [Read more…]
Reliability as Part of Every Decision
Concurrent engineering is a common approach that pairs the development of the product design and it’s supporting manufacturing processes through the development process.
Design engineers may require the creation of new manufacturing processes to achieve specific material properties, component performance, or mechanical, electrical or software tolerances. [Read more…]
Reliability in Product and Process Development
A product or system’s actual reliability performance is a function of the design, assembly, and use.
Decisions made during design predominately create the inherent reliability capability performance.
The selected components, manufacturing, transportation and installation all can add variability and errors to the product, often reducing the actual reliability performance.
The use conditions and maintenance add another layer of variability, again reducing reliability capability. [Read more…]
How to Attend a Reliability Conference
Next week is RAMS – the Reliability and Maintainability Symposium. A multitrack 3.5-day conference with classes, tutorials, paper sessions, a small trade show, plus many of you – peers, colleagues, and friends in the reliability world.
The conference is hosted by 9 professional societies and organized by a group of about 50 or so volunteers from those societies (I was an active member of the RAMS management committee for many years). [Read more…]
System Engineering and Reliability
System engineering is a superset of the other engineering fields (mechanical, civil, electrical, software, etc.) as the system engineers work to bring all the various elements of a system together into a final and cohesive whole. [Read more…]
Is there a right number of reliability engineers?
None, actually.
Or, one really good reliability engineering professional.
Or, an entire staff of highly talented reliability engineers.
The number of reliability engineers on staff really doesn’t matter. The outcome of your product and system reliability is not contingent on headcount or office space or list of degrees. [Read more…]
2016 Status of Reliability Education
2016 Status of Reliability Education
Education options have exploded.
For the past 75 years, we read books, returned to campus, attended workshops, traveled to conferences, and participated in evening meetings. Today, we have more options from more sources for our professional development.
2015 Recommended References Survey Results
This is the first annual survey to find what you recommend for those preparing for the ASQ CRE exam.
See the full list of reliability references for the CRE exam, for reliability and maintenance engineers at Accendo Reliability. [Read more…]
Product Reliability Design Guidelines
Product Reliability Design
One way to capture and disseminate reliability engineering related information and advice is through internal documents. This of course only works if they are both useful and used.
Focus on gathering and providing essential and meaningful information that will improve the reliability of your product. Another element that makes these design guidelines valuable is if they save time. Engineers love to save time. [Read more…]
Software Defect Phase Containment
Software Defect Phase Containment
The software element of products continues to grow.
Likewise, the number of field failures due to software issues continues to grow. Writing code is relatively straight forward, and some may even say it’s fun.
The process of debugging, or finding and fixing software defects, is not fun. [Read more…]
Approaches to Assess Customer Reliability Needs
Approaches to Assess Customer Reliability Needs
Just asking a customer how reliable they want your product often provokes an honest answer. The customer, and you most likely, do not want any failures.
Failures are troublesome or in some cases dangerous.
You and your customers realize that not every unit produced will operate over a long and useful life. There is some chance that something will fail. The definition of ‘some’ is often vague. [Read more…]
Reliability Role in Safety and Liability
Reliability Role in Safety and Liability
The reliability engineer may have many roles within an organization.
You may be specialized and focused only on the analysis of field data. Or you may be a member of the organization’s strategic leadership team.
You might support one or more product development teams, or work with a team of reliability professionals supporting just one subsystem. [Read more…]
