Nancy and I share a passion for reliability. We also share a passion for maximizing performance of individuals. There is no way around the fact that how people operate effects how machines operate.
Jessica shares a personal story about the experience of receiving poor field service as a consumer. Together we brainstorm on how the company could have improved the experience.
In this episode I discuss the reliability anchoring methodology from the Reliability Culture tool kit. The anchoring tool ensures we are tracking if changes to a planed test will effect ROI in a manner that justifies cancelling or postponing that test.
In this episode my guest Dan Burrows, Director of Quality and Reliability at Solecta, discuss the difference between quality and reliability engineering. It's not as easy as you would think, and there is surely more than one answer.
" The target area is only two meters wide. It's a small thermal exhaust port, right below the main port. The shaft leads directly to the reactor system. " Do you know what that quote is from? If you do you are an awesome geek. if you don't I still think you will enjoy this episode about how reliability engineers think a little different from design engineers.
My guest Carl Carlson and I discuss FMEA's and how they are best incorporated into product development programs. Carl is a thought leader in FMEA and the author of "Effective FMEAs". He can be contacted at cscarlson3@gmail.com
Design Failure Mode Effects Analysis (DFMEA) is one of the most important tools in a reliability program. If implemented correctly it will significantly improve efficiency in the design process. Implemented incorrectly it can be a devastating detour in what could have been a great produce development program. Let's talk about both.
How do we go from a prototype to robust design? There are a few easy steps ranging from correctly assessing what drives robust performance to testing driven design change.
After reading a NASA guide on best practices for fastener retention (lock washers, nylock nuts, tapered threads, chemical bonding) I was surprised to find out that that the method used most in everyday life was effectively useless. Got me thinking, what else do we do in product design as a "best practice" only because we've always done it that way?
What is the most effective and fastest reliability program? It is simply the golden trinity of HALT, ALT, and RG. In thsi episode I dicsuss how to apply these tools with an extremely high ROI.
Perry and I discuss different types of risk and how to include them in program decisions. Perry Parendo is the founder of Perry's Solutions. He can be contacted at Perry@PerrysSolutions.com, or visit www.PerrysSolutions.com
In this episode my guest Bill Williams and I discuss the probability of one woman being hit twice in the stands while watching a baseball game.
Tim looney from North East Biomedical joins us to talk about best practices and common pitfalls in medical device design. Tim can be directly reached here .
Achilleas Dorotheou, of Parker Hannifin, shares with us the journey of transforming a team of bright young engineer into a mature team that creates highly reliable products.
In 1957 an unlikely event occurred, actually two events in sequence. The odds these two events would occur seem almost impossible, but reframing what happens makes it much more probable. There is an interesting lesson to extract from what occurred to Alice Roth on August 17th 1957 about the vantage point for statistics.
Products programs aim to grab maximum market share with a carefully crafted balance of product factors such as, technology, time to market, cost point, and reliability. Why do we so often not end up with a product that reflects that product factor balance? It's how the goals are transferred to the team. The Focus Rotation method is a tool to assist with making sure the full team holds the goal balance intended throughout the program.
Guest Ann Marie Neufelder from Mission Ready Software consulting joins me to discuss the most critical factors in developing highly reliable software. Ann Marie, with her team has created highly advanced models based on over 30 years of performance data. These models direct market leading companies in best development practices and the ability to predict reliability performance.
Rick and I discuss how software development and reliability has evolved over the past decades. It has gone from simple debugging, to "lint" and is now transitioning into AI.
A quick overview on how software reliability is different than electro-mechanical reliability.
There should be someone else in the room when making program decisions. It's the customer. This is how to do it. The Phantom's Contract.
In this episode I review the Anchoring Methodology. It is a method to ensure teams get the best ROI from reliability tools by creating specific points for tool outputs that connect with eh higher-level program objectives.
In this episode I discuss the tool Strategy Bounding. Strategy Bounding allows us to make quantitative decisions regarding balancing major program and product factors like time to market, cost point, reliability, new feature development
There are so many places to find inspiration for invention and improved design. This episode starts with a story about how one of the largest companies in the world today started by finding a solution to a problem in a separate industry. I then discuss a few simple ways to use innovation to improve products early in your development process.
The earliest documented customer complaint that has been discovered is from 1750 BC. It was very specific in the issue with the product and was written and delivered in a manner that indicated the customer was very upset. What can we learn from this dynamic of customer and merchant that has been a staple of business since the dawn of man?
I discuss the concept of "Time to Reliability." Time to Reliability is considered the total time from design concept up until the moment when a product is in the customer’s hands performing to the standard of its reliability goals. In a traditional design process, this is often not the same as "Time to Market." A low-reliability product release will require a "Recovery" phase after the initial release. This post-release phase demands engineering resources and great expenses to both the manufactu...
Guests Frank Bruno and Bill Kennedy, along with myself, discuss the benefits of patenting innovations that were specifically created to increase product safety. Not only can these patents provide the documentation necessary to defend against litigation, but they can also be sufficient in deterring litigation altogether. Frank A. Bruno is a partner at White and Williams in Philadelphia and chair of the Intellectual Property Practice Group. He is a technology lawyer who focuses on patent law. Will...
Bill Kennedy, from White and Williams law firm, joins me to talk about the benefits of patenting safety features. If litigation occurs from failures and consequently causes injury or property damage, the result all comes down to proving intent. If features were created specifically to enhance safety, why not patent them so that they are fully documented. This is a great foundation for building a defense case. More info on Bill at the White and Williams website ....
Why are we so passionate about reliability engineering? More specifically, why am I so passionate about it? Great question, in this episode I dive into my love for reliability engineering. As a preview, it all started at a cocktail reception. I had an interesting conversation with an executive who had no experience in product development. He asked about what I do for work and, as I described it, he saw how excited I was about reliability engineering. He even stopped me at one point just to expre...
Mark Wirth returns to continue our discussion (from episode 7) on how to apply the best problem-solving techniques to any situation. There were so many great topics up for discussion, we just couldn’t fit it all in one episode. More on Mark at solverellc.com
Mark Wirth, a problem-solving expert, and I have a great conversation about how a complex technique should be applied to an individual problem. It's a Goldilocks situation; not too much and not too little. But how can we know before we start? Mark describes four critical factors that can't be compromised. More on Mark at solverellc.com
