Your Reliability Engineering Professional Development Site
There are two basic approaches when addressing product reliability: Reactive or Proactive. Neither is right or wrong.
The reactive approach has the limitation of responding to failures that occur during prototyping, production and customer use.
The proactive approach focuses on preventing product design, assembly, and use issues before they have the opportunity to create a product failure.
Recently I participated in an ASQ CRE focus group with a few of our peers. The ASQ facilitator prompted each of use to answer a few questions. Then she asked each of us to contribute to a “Start, Stop, Change” exercise focused on the CRE exam.
It appears ASQ is starting another round of reviews and possible updates to the CRE Body of Knowledge and exam process. That is good. [Read more…]
Most agree that improving products 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?
Years ago my boss asked me what value I provided the organization. Working as a reliability professional, I thought that my value was obvious. He asked me to show the value.
It was harder than I thought.
In a recent discussion in the Linkedin group ASQ Reliability Division, John Pagendarm replied with his recipe for CRE exam preparation. With John’s permission, I’m posting here.
Statistical process control (SPC) is not a control chart alone.
SPC is a set of tools and a thought process to identify, measure, monitor and improve important elements of product development and production. I’ve seen very good and very bad implementations of SPC. [Read more…]
… Or, reliable learning. One of the best things about reliability engineering is the never ending opportunity to learn. We work with materials, assembly processes, and people creating and maintaining products, machines, and systems. Other engineering disciplines tend to focus on one aspect of a design or process – mechanical engineers make allowances for the circuit board location and heat transfer requirements, yet do not word on the circuits themselves. Electrical engineers just the opposite, they focus on electronics and power and attempt to fit within the constants imposed by industrial designers. Maybe architects are close to the breadth of reliability engineering as they contribute the aesthetic and functional elements of a design, and consider the maintenance and longevity of the building. Yet, they are not involved with the actual aging and maintenance. [Read more…]
Test yourself with the third five questions from an ASQ sample exam. If you have other ways to sort out these questions, please comment and let us learn and compare approaches. [Read more…]
If you have other ways to sort out these questions, please comment and let us learn and compare approaches. [Read more…]
ASQ has posted sample exams for the past 10 or so years for the certifications. The CRE one is from 2009 and has questions used on previous exams. You can find a copy here or here.
This post has the first 5 questions with the answers explained. This is how I think or work through the problem to select an answer. Please comment if you have a different approach, especially if it would save time. [Read more…]
This is a two part series where I outline the basic elements of creating and supporting a reliability program.
Do you let events happen to you, or do events follow your designs and expectations? Are you a spectator or actor? Do you wonder about your product’s future or do you control your product’s future? Are you reactive or proactive?
Every reliability and maintenance program is a system. Every program has inputs, such as product testing results and field returns. Every reliability program has outputs, such as product design and production. In the most basic terms, a reliability program includes product specifications for functionality including expected durability. The program includes some form of design, verification, production and field performance. Given this basic lifecycle description, it is possible for two types of approaches to executing the product lifecycle. [Read more…]
Taken in entirety from http://prdweb.asq.org/certification/control/reliability-engineer/bok on April 6th, 2016.
Reprinted with permission from American Society for Quality ©2008 ASQ, www.asq.org. No further distribution allowed without permission.
The topics in this Body of Knowledge include additional detail in the form of subtext explanations and the cognitive level at which the questions will be written. This information will provide useful guidance for both the Examination Development Committee and the candidates preparing to take the exam. The subtext is not intended to limit the subject matter or be all-inclusive of what might be covered in an exam. It is intended to clarify the type of content to be included in the exam. The descriptor in parentheses at the end of each entry refers to the highest cognitive level at which the topic will be tested. A more comprehensive description of cognitive levels is provided at the end of this document. [Read more…]
