Speaking Of Reliability: Friends Discussing Reliability Engineering Topics | Warranty | Plant Maintenance

Have you ever heard of the Tu-144 or the 'Russian Concorde?' Probably not. And there is a good reason for this. The Tu-144, designed and manufactured by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s, barely worked. It was the first commercial airliner to travel at Mach 2.0. But its wing fell off mid-air at the 1973 Paris Air Show. The Tu-144 was as more of a geopolitical statement than it was a product of engineering. It was initiated at the height of the Cold War in direct response to the Anglo-French Concorde. But while the Anglo-French Concorde logged more than 5 000 hours of flight testing before commissioning, the Tu-144 had less than 800. So if you want to learn about what happens when an organization only values things that aren't related to reliability, listen to this podcast.

How reliable does a device need to be? Often this is the wrong question to ask. We should be asking what does the customer want? If your device fails often, but our customer is non the wiser ... does it matter? Does it matter if three delivery drones fail to deliver your package ... but the fourth one got through and delivered on time? The customer is happy - even if the warehouse team is not. The point is, we are often dealing with groups of systems that work as part of a fleet or a network. It is the function of the fleet or network that matters. And not the individual device in many cases. So how do we set and meet our reliability goals? Listen to this podcast to join the conversation.

How Reliable Does Your Product Need to Be Abstract Kirk and Fred discussing the relation of costs versus how much reliability is needed for the design and production of electronics systems Key Points Join Kirk and Fred as they discuss the challenge of knowing shipping, use and expectations of the consumer for meeting the markets [...]

Quantifying Life in Solid State Electronics Abstract Kirk and Fred discussing the issue of quantifying the amount of life there is in solid state electronics with no moving parts. Key Points Join Kirk and Fred as they discuss the life of semiconductors and passive components, and the need and relevance of models that are based [...]

Finding Your Nemesis Abstract Adam and Fred discussing how to identify opposing forces on the team and finding common ground to move on together Key Points Join Adam and Fred as they discuss identifying opposing forces on the team and finding common ground to move on together Topics include: Who are the passionate members of the [...]

The Value of Reliability Data Abstract Adam and Fred discussing the challenges of acquiring reliability data and it’s value to a program Key Points Join Adam and Fred as they discuss the challenges of acquiring reliability data and it’s value to a program Topics include: Can the value of reliability data be clearly communicated to program [...]

Many organizations use the MTBF to measure reliability of their products. The problem is, the MTBF is not a reliability metric. You cannot use the MTBF by itself to work out the reliability of a product is over a certain period of time. You learn nothing about the hazard rate - which helps you understand what likely sources of unreliability are. This podcast discusses why the MTBF is used extensively today, why it shouldn't be, and what the MTBF actually means (perhaps to the horror of many managers and product developers who are listening ...)

Is There a Short Reliability Design Problem? Abstract Kirk and Fred discussing the issue of long term reliability, intrinsic wear-out, and the rapid improvement of new features and benefits that motivate retirement of older devices such as in smartphones. Key Points Join Kirk and Fred as they discuss designed life and the rapid technological obsolescence [...]

The Death of Military Handbook 217 Abstract Kirk and Fred discussing the long, ever-impending death of the outdated reliability prediction handbook and its progeny. Key Points Join Kirk and Fred as they discuss Craig Hillman’s recent article on the prediction handbooks, and why they are misleading. Topics include: The many difficult assumptions about making predictions [...]

Deeper Dive into Failure Mechanisms Abstract Carl and Fred discussing the importance of understanding and applying failure mechanisms in achieving high reliability. Key Points Join Carl and Fred as they discuss the application of failure mechanisms in design for reliability. Topics include: What are failure mechanisms? How are failure mechanisms different than from failure modes and causes? [...]