Capacitors and Failures

By Fred Schenkelberg

May 12, 2026 / 9am Pacific Time

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.

All Your Failures Could Be Caused by Maintenance

By Chris Jackson

May 26, 2026 /8am Pacific Time

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)!

Risk, Reliability & Root Cause Analysis

By Mark Galley

May 1, 2026 / 8am Pacific Time

This presentation, for both frontline and managers, clarifies the connection between risk, reliability and root cause analysis. These three topics can sometimes be vague theories rather than concrete disciplines. Companies inadvertently make problem-solving too complicated. Six-week quality programs that leave people confused, 300 puzzling “cause codes” and frustrating investigations are not just counterproductive, they can be detrimental. It can erode the effectiveness of an organization. Your problems are confusing enough; your problem-solving tools shouldn’t make it worse. Employees who are inundated with techniques, methods and software can lose track of the basics. All problem-solving efforts should be focused on your company’s goals with a bias toward principles.

How to Reduce Product Costs

By Michael Pfeifer

May 6, 2026 / 8am Pacific Time

Business leaders are always looking for ways to reduce product and manufacturing costs. Common approaches include global sourcing, lean manufacturing, and factory automation.

But there’s another approach that is often overlooked – materials engineering.

Common causes of high product costs include

• Materials costs are too high.
• Custom components that cost too much because they are a hassle to fabricate.
• High cost of scrap, rework, and extra inspection because of lingering manufacturing and supplier quality problems.

These problems are related to the materials used in a product.

Attend this webinar to learn about the materials engineering approach to reduce product costs. It’s a powerful approach that’s easier and less expensive to implement than other approaches. It often results in large ROI and sometimes can be transformative.

QMS 101: Quality Management System Guide

By John E Lincoln

May 7, 2026 / 10-11:30am Pacific Time

$199

ISO 9001 is an international standard for Quality Management Systems for all business or industrial systems and is used as such by companies worldwide.

This webinar will discuss the key parts of ISO 9001, especially how it applies to manufacturing. However, its principles can, and are, used in many different business activities, not just manufacturing. ISO 9001 is the underpinning for pharmaceutical manufacturing worldwide, with its principles incorporated in the US CGMPs (Good Manufacturing Practices) for pharma, 21 CFR 210 and -211 (actually the other way around), and in ICH Q7, GMPs for APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients).

Choosing the Right Maintenance Strategy: Preventive Maintenance vs. Predictive Maintenance – Pros and Cons

By Daniel Golub

May 7, 2026 / 11am Pacific Time

This session will explore how organizations can choose the most appropriate maintenance strategy to balance reliability, risk, and cost. It will compare preventive and predictive maintenance, while also recognizing the continued role of reactive maintenance in certain situations. Attendees will learn how each approach works, along with their advantages, limitations, and ideal use cases. Using real-world examples, the session highlights how different strategies impact asset performance and operations. Participants will gain a practical framework for applying the right mix of maintenance approaches to improve efficiency and reduce downtime.

Facilitating and Documenting a Root Cause Analysis (RCA)

By Mark Galley

May 8, 2026 / 8am Pacific Time

A problem in your business can be thought of as an “information knot.” Different people from different departments each know part of the problem. A facilitator collects and organizes all the details in an incident. They essentially untangle the knot to provide a complete explanation of what happened and why. Sometimes people think of a facilitator as the person who leads meetings, but a root cause analysis facilitator manages the entire investigation process. An effective facilitator provides clarity. A facilitation starts from the time an incident occurs and continues through the analysis and documentation, to the implementation of solutions and the communication of lessons learned. This webinar explains the basics of facilitation and the role it plays in understanding and preventing problems in your business.

Harmonic-Vibration Durability of Low Temperature Solders

By Jonathan Martin

May 12, 2026 / 8am Pacific Time

You Found the Fault… Now Prove It Won’t Come Back

By Terry Southall

May 12, 2026 / 8am Pacific Time

Condition monitoring programs are exceptionally good at identifying developing faults, yet many repaired machines return to alarm conditions months later.  Why?  Because diagnosis confirms what failed, not whether the machine was restored to a stress-free state. This webinar introduces the concept of post-repair verification and explains why many failures recur despite correct maintenance actions. We will explore how alignment verification bridges predictive maintenance and reliability improvement, and why precision measurement, particularly laser alignment, is not a repair activity but a confirmation that the root cause has been removed. Attendees will learn how verification prevents repeat failures and changes the role of condition monitoring from detection to prevention.

Quality Control and Calibration

By Michael Sivigny

May 12, 2026 / 9am Pacific Time

Free for members / $25 non-members

Defects occur quickly in SMT manufacturing, making prevention and accurate diagnostics essential. Many OEM calibrations fail to account for dynamic production conditions and critical offsets. Dynamically measuring print and placement force reveals hidden mechanical issues.
Optimized lines and regular measurement significantly improve efficiency and increase product yield. The following points will be discussed:

• Improve print quality and placement precision
• Quantify true machine capability vs. OEM specs
• Stabilize process performance by validating head forces, planarity, and nozzle behavior
• Unlock higher effective throughput
• Create predictable, repeatable output

Advanced Risk Mitigation using Design for Reliability (DfR)

By Dr. Julio Pulido

May 13, 2026 / 8:30-11:30am Pacific Time

$300

This training is designed for professionals who are implementing elements of a Design for Reliability (DfR) program within their organization. The session will focus on critical considerations when using risk mitigation tools such as DFMEA (Design Failure Modes and Effects Analysis) and DFMECA (Design Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis). Additionally, attendees will learn how to leverage Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) data to develop Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) and Reliability Block Diagrams (RBDs) for system reliability and availability assessments. The training will feature real-world Data Center applications, covering both testing and reliability modeling.

Translating Risk – Communicating Reliability And Safety Findings To Non-Technical Stakeholders

By Manju Maheve

May 14, 2026 / 9am Pacific Time

Aerospace systems generate vast amounts of reliability and safety analysis – FMEAs, FTAs, PHM results, Safety cases, hazards and risk metrices. Yet even the most rigorous analysis can fail to influence decisions if it is not communicated clearly to non-technical stakeholders such as program managers, certification authorities and customers. This session explores practical strategies for transforming complex engineering insights into clear, concise, decision-ready messages.