Fundamentals of Reliability Testing podcast episode Testing is expensive. Reliability testing is often complex. Let’s break down the basics of planning and conducting reliability testing that provides meaningful results cost-effectively and timely. Let’s do testing right. Reliability testing includes a broad category of product testing. Generally, it includes evaluations determining if an item functions as […]

Fundamentals of Human Factors podcast episode People use your product and assemble, move, and store it. If someone cannot interact with your product, with or without the manual, they may consider your product a failure. Designing in the ability for an individual to use your product properly is the art of considering human factors. Human […]

Fundamentals of Stress-Strength Analysis podcast episode If your product is stronger than the applied stress, it should work. The stress/strength relationship concept is well known, but did you know stress and strength change over time? Let’s use the best information and tools for this analysis. The key idea of stress/strength or derating for electrical engineers […]

10 Keys for Maximizing the Benefits of Your SPC Program podcast episode by Steven Wachs Statistical Process Control charts have been called the Voice of the Process. Progressive manufacturers utilize control charts to “listen” to their processes so that potentially harmful changes will be quickly detected and rectified. However, not all SPC programs deliver to […]

Process Capability, Tolerance, and Reliability podcast episode Product failures may occur due to material or component variability. The steel in a bracket is more brittle than optimal, or the capacitance is on the low side of an acceptable range. Designing a product with variation in mind enables the creation of a reliable product. If there […]

Stress screening does have a valuable purpose in specific circumstances. Let’s talk about when and why you may conduct stress screening.

Fundamentals of Environmental and Use Conditions podcast episode A complete reliability goal statement element involves a product’s environment and use conditions. The ability to define these clearly during the design process is not always easy, yet a valuable addition to your reliability program. The environment is the weather around your product, yet what about the […]

Fundamentals of Sample Size Determination podcast episode A common question about reliability testing is, “What is the sample size?” It is also a difficult question to answer well. The right sample size balances cost, accuracy, and variability. In some cases, we also consider the time to results. When planning reliability testing, an important task is […]

The Weibull distribution is a versatile tool to analyze time to failure data. Like any tool, it could be wielded well or not so well.

Fundamentals of Hazard Analysis podcast episode Some products and systems are just dangerous, inherently. Understanding inherent safety-related risks permits a team to design out or mitigate those risks. Hazard analysis is the systematic process of identifying and controlling safety risks. Let’s discuss hazard analysis’s basic definition(s), including the range of industries and standards involved. Plus, […]