All Your Failures Could Be Caused by Maintenance

podcast episode with speaker Chris Jackson

Stating that it is possible (or even more extraordinarily … probable) that all your failures could be caused by maintenance, as opposed to being remedied by maintenance. Most engineers cannot bring themselves to believe this … even when the statistics prove it. This is not a new claim. The fact that maintenance, as a bare minimum, temporarily increases failure rates was identified by British biologist C.H. Waddington during World War II, when he found that failure rates in aircraft in Bomber Command decreased after maintenance.  From a statistical perspective, this is a clear ‘fingerprint’ of failures that are entirely dependent on maintenance. The longer the time since an aircraft was last serviced, the more reliable it was – until it was re-serviced, when the failure rate went through the roof. The same things happen today, and the statistics don’t lie. This (from one perspective) is great news, as all you need to do to improve the reliability of your assets is to do less maintenance. This is also (from another perspective) terrible news, as it shows how strong the psychology of so-called objective engineers can be when it comes to maintenance. If you think your assets are being serviced too often … check out this webinar to be convinced (or otherwise)!
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Reliability Engineering and Listening

podcast episode with speaker Fred Schenkelberg

There is an old saying that includes something about two ears and one mouth. It suggests listening twice as much as speaking. Or, to listen more. We listen in one way or another, yet it’s not a skill taught specifically to engineers. Yet, it is a vital skill to have as a reliability engineer.

Let’s examine the different ways one can listen, when it’s useful, and how to become a much better listener. To do our job as reliability engineers, we need not only to hear what is expected of us, but also to fully understand requests, outcome criteria, priorities, and much more. Improving your ability to listen will accelerate your ability to add value with what you focus on and accomplish.

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Capacitors and Failures

podcast episode with speaker Fred Schenkelberg

Capacitors are likely the most common electronic component. They have many uses, many shapes, sizes, and constructions. Yet, just because they are common and rather inexpensive, they can fail. Sometimes a capacitor failure is completely unnoticed; other times it can be catastrophic.

Let’s explore common types of capacitors, MLCC and Electrolytic, their basic construction, and how they may fail. Understanding these components will assist you in designing for reliability and failure analysis activities.

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Reliability Management and Leadership

podcast episode with speaker Fred Schenkelberg

Did you know that you do not need to be a manager to be a leader. And, many managers are not very good leaders. What does it take to manage and/or lead a reliability improvement effort in an organization. If your organization already produces very reliable products, how do you keep it that way? Likewise, if you recognize the reliability performance could be better, what should you do.

Let’s talk about the difference between management and leadership, and how you can play an effective role as both a manager and a leader focused on improving reliability outcomes. Where to start, how to build a team, and how to get results.

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Using AI to Detect and Assess Imminent Failure

podcast episode with guest speaker Alexander Bell

Complex systems, such as automobiles, contain many moving parts that can lead to failure from a variety of causes and failure modes. AI can utilize system data recorded over time to automatically alert us to imminent failure and identify root causes.

Decision Trees are a relatively simple and popular AI tool, that can quickly learn and assess key variables and their interactions which contribute to an outcome such as system failure. They are fast to create, easy to interpret and can help us identify failure modes.

In this webinar, we will look at the basics of decision tree modelling and consider a simple demonstration of its application to assess imminent failure in automobiles. [Read more…]

How to Model Switching Systems Perfectly

podcast episode with speaker Chris Jackson

Switching systems can be great. The idea is that we can use redundant components to extend the life of a system … and protect the ‘standby’ component from harm until the ‘primary’ component fails. To do this, we need a switch. This often means that we get better reliability than a ‘parallel system’ where both redundant components start wearing out from day one. By protecting the standby component with a switch, reliability can be greatly extended. However, the analysis of a switching system can be challenging. The switch can fail, and the standby component has different reliability characteristics in ‘standby’ and ‘operational’ modes. Many textbooks model switching systems using very basic assumptions to simplify the analysis. But … these assumptions are so inaccurate for most real-world systems that they estimate reliability to be worse than that of a parallel system! This webinar shows you how to model switching (and other complex) systems using Monte Carlo Simulation in Excel … to come up with a ‘perfect’ model to ensure that all that hard work that goes into designing a switching system is not missed by the subsequent analysis! [Read more…]

Fundamentals of Supplier Reliability

podcast episode with speaker Fred Schenkelberg

Many products include items designed and manufactured by another company. Few is any make their own screws or capacitors found in their product. We rely on our suppliers to create items we can incorporate into our product offerings.

When a supplied item fails, say a power supply, the customer notices the product is not working, your product, not necessarily the faulty power supply. Your brand takes the hit and pays the price of the failure.

Let’s explore how to work with suppliers to ensure the supplied items will meet or exceed your reliability expectations. It’s not as simple as requiring a set of tests or warranty contracts; it is the relationship you build with the supplier and understanding the supplier’s reliability, maturity, and capability.

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10 Reasons to do FMEAS with AI

podcast episode with speaker Chris Jackson

Amazing products are 90 % identical to mediocre products. It is that last 10 % where failures, forgotten features, overlooked interfaces, and all manner of other things reside. FMEAs and FMECAs are tremendously powerful tools (when done right) at finding the ‘vital few’ things you can address in your first and early design iterations that make everything else that follows a breeze. FMEAs and FMECAs are also awful (when done wrong), as they waste everyone’s time, create no meaningful design guidance, and are just forced upon the tragic few. Then there is AI … which promises to do it all for us! This is not the case. Beyond what standard ‘ISO/IEC 23894:2023 – AI and Risk Management’ says you can and can’t do, AI can only help you get on top of that 90 %. That 90 % is absolutely essential – but at best, AI can quickly get you to mediocre. It is the human brain that takes care of the rest. This webinar gives you 10 reasons why you should do FMEAs and FMECAs properly – and use AI to accelerate getting on top of that 90 % so you can focus on that amazing new product.
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Fundamentals of Product Warranty

podcast episode with speaker Fred Schenkelberg

A product warranty is a form of guarantee that if the product doesn’t work, it will be repaired or replaced. Yet, is this just marketing or is it smart business? Warranties are seemingly automatic with the purchase of an item, yet why do so many stores offer an ‘extended warranty’?

Let’s explore what warranties are and are not, plus why they even exist. How are the terms of a warranty set, and by whom? Also, analyzing warranty data is one way to learn how well a product is doing in the field.

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Fundamentals of Reliability Maturity

podcast episode with speaker Fred Schenkelberg

An organization working to create a reliable product or system is made up of people. This is important, as a group of people working together quickly forms a culture. Culture is the idea that there is a set of norms concerning how we do what we do.

Let’s explore how a group’s culture affects its ability to create a reliable product or system. It’s part how we talk about reliability, what tasks, and tests we do. Yet, it’s more about how we each make decisions.

We will also explore the five stages of reliability maturity and how you can determine your organization’s stage. Plus, a few notes on how to improve the reliability culture.

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