What are ‘Cut Sets’?

podcast episode with speaker Chris Jackson

Reliability engineers are often taught about ‘cut sets.’ But we rarely use them. Many reliability engineers don’t know what they are. But they are also in lots of textbooks as if they are really important. So what are they? The good news is that they are pretty simple to understand. The bad news is that they can be difficult to find. Mercifully, they are mainly used by computers who do the hard work of calculating system reliability for us. So knowing what ‘cut sets’ are can be really informative … even if you don’t use them every day.
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Confidence is a Measure of You (not our product)

podcast episode with speaker Chris Jackson

We like to think that we make decisions based on the information we have available to us. We don’t. We instead make decisions based on emotions. And the most dominant emotion we rely upon when making a decision is confidence. You can have all the information in the world, but if you don’t understand it, don’t trust it, or otherwise don’t believe in it, then you won’t have the confidence to make the right decision. And we often try and generate ‘false’ confidence by having lots of clauses in contracts, schedule lots of tests, and demand people comply with standards. But the confidence these things create is a façade that quickly gets broken down when our products don’t meet our expectations. Want to understand the only way you should be generating confidence when it comes to reliability engineering? Join us for this webinar! [Read more…]

Fundamentals of Allocation

podcast episode with speaker Fred Schenkelberg

The dividing up of a reliability goal is one way to specify reliability goals for specific key elements of your product. Yet, that is not the only purpose of allocation. It can and should be a key practice to get your team working toward a common goal in a unified and collaborative manner.

Let’s discuss a couple of easy ways to accomplish reliability allocation or apportionment, then examine a valuable way to use this tool to improve the chances of achieving your overall reliability goal.

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Alternatives to a Long ALT

podcast episode with speaker Fred Schenkelberg

Life testing a product or component, at times, involves months and months of testing. Even accelerated life testing can take a long time, given the limitation on our ability to cause the proper acceleration for meaningful results. So, what is one to do if waiting 3 months for test results is unacceptable?

Let’s explore a few alternatives along with the pros and cons. We examine using our knowledge and the knowledge of others to streamline the testing or avoid it altogether. We also need to consider why we need to estimate life in the first place. Sometimes, estimating the life of something is not all that useful or valuable. [Read more…]

Fundamentals of Ongoing Reliability  Testing

podcast episode with speaker Fred Schenkelberg

Ongoing Reliability Testing (ORT) is a class of product testing that aims to identify potential field reliability issues after product launch and before customers experience failures. Typically, done using a rotation of samples directly from production and using expected use conditions/stresses, the testing balances many factors to be of value.

ORT works well to monitor an ongoing production process subject to variation. If that variation impacts reliable performance, then a well-designed and implemented ORT should identify the issue.

Let’s explore the range of considerations when designing an ORT to optimize the ORT’s ability to identify field problems efficiently. We will also discuss the various tradeoffs that impact sample size, the use of accelerating stresses, and more.

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Fundamentals of Early Field Results

podcast episode with speaker Fred Schenkelberg

At least one group called this the ‘Delta Phase.’ It is the period shortly after launching a product and provides a unique opportunity to reduce future field failures and improve customer satisfaction dramatically. The idea is to aggressively identify and resolve any field issues identified by your customers.

There are a couple of ways to implement the Delta Phase with your product launch. Yet, it requires creating a team from the design/development team that has the authority and capability to implement design changes quickly.

Let’s explore the concept of a delta phase and how to implement it in your organization. Plus, let’s examine a few situations that make significant short and long-term reductions in the field failure rate.

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What’s Wrong with Using ‘FITs’ to Measure Electronic Component Reliability?

podcast episode with speaker Chris Jackson

Every industry has its own way of characterizing reliability metrics. For example, the ball bearing industry uses the metric ‘B_10’ to represent the time by which they expect 10 % of all ball bearings of a specific type to fail. Electronic component manufacturers use the term ‘Failures in Time’ of ‘FITs’ to describe the reliability of their products. But what is a FIT? And how can you use it to measure reliability? Did you know that many electronic manufacturers advertise ‘FIT values’ that imply a mean time to failure of over 1 000 years? If you are involved in electronic component reliability, then join us for this webinar!
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Fundamentals of System Effectiveness

podcast episode with speaker Fred Schenkelberg

System or Operational Effectiveness is comprised of three elements. An early definition included capability, reliability, and availability. Another early definition included availability, dependability, and capability. In essence, can the system do what it’s supposed to do? Is it ready when needed? And is it able to work without failure long enough?

Let’s examine system effectiveness and its factors or elements in more detail. Then, examine an example or two so you can apply this concept to your situation.

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What’s the Difference Between FMEA and FMECA?

podcast episode with speaker Chris Jackson

And the answer is not ‘the letter C.’ A FMEA is a group activity that follows a logical (and time-proven) structure to effectively ‘brainstorm’ what are called ‘corrective actions’ for existing or likely problems in design and manufacture of products. Production teams that comprise designers, engineers, technicians and manufacturers typically have a wealth of existing knowledge and understanding of the product being developed. But some people will tell you that an FMECA is not an FMEA. And many government agencies, in particular, demand FMECAs over FMEAs. Interested to understand the difference (if any) between FMEAs and FMECAs? … and How can you make an FMECA work for you? Join us at this webinar!
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Fundamentals of Reliability Goals

podcast episode with speaker Fred Schenkelberg

Goals, objectives, milestones, targets, whatever you call them, just have a clear one. Setting a reliability goal is easy. Get a few people together for a short discussion and in less then 10 minutes you can craft a meaningful reliability goal.

Let’s explore the elements that make up a reliability goal. Plus, the range of inputs you can use to define each element. Plus, some best practices when establishing goals.

Finally, simply setting a goal adds value to your organization – if it is a complete and practical goal. Estimating or measuring that value can be tricky, so let’s discuss a few ways you may quantify the value of a goal.

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Using Fault Trees to Conduct Root Cause Analysis (RCA)

podcast episode with speaker Chris Jackson

What is a ‘root cause’ of failure? It is something that you did (or didn’t) do that ultimately resulted in failure. It’s not corrosion (that’s a physical process that follows the laws of nature that you can’t change). It’s not a porous seal that allows moisture to enter your product to cause corrosion (that’s a defect or fault that you or your team made happen). Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is the process where we systematically work out what things we did or didn’t do that allowed failure to occur, and Fault Trees are often very helpful in finding this root causes. If you want to learn more about RCA or how fault trees can help RCA, join us for this webinar.
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Fundamentals of a Professional Development Plan

podcast episode with speaker Fred Schenkelberg

Professional development is not about pursuing a degree or title. It’s about what you can do with your knowledge. Of course, that is my opinion. Some seek credentials that may lead to a new position or opportunities. Some seek knowledge without intending to use it – education for education’s sake.

Whatever the motivation, we should approach learning meaningfully. Set objectives, do the homework, get feedback or coaching, and establish a routine to continue to hone your knowledge. Whether you want to learn something out of curiosity or master a topic to accomplish a task, you can plan to use your time efficiently.

Let’s explore how to improve your ability to learn and continue to learn throughout your career. As reliability engineers, there seems to be a never-ending list of concepts, failure mechanisms, novel materials, etc., that we can and should know about. With so many options for professional development, let’s examine a few principles and tips so you can learn and master what you desire to learn and master.

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What is the ‘3 Parameter’ Weibull Analysis

podcast episode with speaker Chris Jackson

Some of you might have heard of the Weibull distribution. It is an uncannily accurate way of describing many of the ways components fail. It can model things that wear-in where failure is caused by pre-existing damage and defects in a fraction of products. The Weibull distribution can also model things that wear-out we failure is caused once enough damage has accumulated. And some of you might have heard of the ‘3 Parameter Weibull distribution.’ But what makes this different and (sometimes) helpful? We are always wanting to improve the way we model things, including failure processes. So, to see if the ‘3 Parameter Weibull Distribution’ can help you … join this webinar!
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