My first task at Apple Computer was to recommend the warranty duration for the Apple II computer. Apple didn’t have a warranty! So, I looked at competitors’ warranties and recommended the same, one year. I wish I had known Apple’s computers’ and service parts’ reliabilities before that recommendation; I would have used actuarial forecasts of warranty returns to compare alternative warranties. Apple’s hardware warranty is still one year. Is that equitable to Apple, its customers, and society?
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Less is More
Less is More – Efficiency in Project Management Plans
Guest Post by Malcolm Peart (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)
We’ve all seen it…a filing cabinet full of project management plans and procedures from the last job that people have tried to adapt and modify to meet the current project. Amazing that such a plethora can give the impression of effectiveness and, to a skeptic, surprising if they are relevant, read or assimilated. [Read more…]
Small Satellites, Emerging Technology and Big Opportunities (part four of seven) – Lets Learn about Reliability
Imagine you are not feeling well and you go to a doctor. When you sit down in the doctor’s office, he doesn’t even look at you. Instead, he has a book opened on the desk and starts reading it aloud. You sit there without being examined, listening to a list of medicines, activities, exercises and diet changes. The doctor then looks up and says that you need to do all of them. Take all the medicines. Change all your activities. Start doing all the exercises. And completely change your diet. [Read more…]
Top Engineers to Follow on LinkedIn
Although I’ve had a profile for about six years, I really only got engaged and active on LinkedIn a little over a year ago. And since then I’ve been compiling a list of the Top Engineers to Follow on LinkedIn.
With “marketers” and “influencers” in every corner of LinkedIn, I caught myself wondering, “Where are all my engineers at?”
And I have to tell you it felt pretty lonely.
Don’t get me wrong – there are some AMAZING, diverse, non-engineers that I’ve met and learned from via LinkedIn. [Read more…]
Supply Chain Risk Management: Putting the Pieces Together
Guest Post by Geary Sikich (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)
Introduction
It is mid-year 2014 as I write this article. We have recognized the need to better manage supply chain risks for the better part of a decade now. Yet, we still seem to be deluded into thinking that the modern supply chain is resilient to the point of invulnerability. Most organizations have a supply chain that is a mix of competencies, from manufacturing to professional advisory services. [Read more…]
Role of Reliability in an Organization
An effective product reliability process requires a strong team, at every level.
The team of employees within an organization that participate and impact product reliability is a vast and widespread group of people. They include members of the design team, design managers, quality and reliability engineers and managers, procurement engineers and managers, warranty managers, failure analysis specialists, members of the marketing and sales staff, members of the finance and manufacturing teams, and field service and call center staffs. [Read more…]