Contingency and Risk Planning Abstract Greg and Fred discuss various situations where contingency and risk planning may be required. Key Points Join Greg and Fred as they discuss contingency and risk ‘what if’ planning. Topics include: When should a contingency and risk plan be developed. How to develop a contingency plan. What are the critical […]
Do you know if a fault tree is better than a reliability block diagram? Do you need to model system reliability ... and need to pick one approach? Never heard of these modeling methodologies? Listen to this podcast!
A lot of people 'know' what a 'k out of n' system is. But do you know if it mimics are series or parallel system when young? How does the answer change when it is old? If you don't know the answer ... listen to this podcast and see if you can learn something to help your system reliability performance!
FMEA Detection – Useful? Abstract Carl and Fred discuss a reader question about assessing risk related to detection, as part of FMEA procedure, specifically its usefulness and application. Key Points Join Carl and Fred as they discuss FMEA detection in FMEA. Topics include: What is FMEA detection? How is FMEA detection assessed in FMEA? What […]
Reliability Goals and Requirements Abstract Carl and Fred discuss the importance of well-written reliability requirements and whether they should be goals or actual requirements. Key Points Join Carl and Fred as they discuss reliability goals and requirements. Topics include: Project goals or metrics are not sufficient What to do if reliability is difficult to measure […]
Redundancy Risk Balance Abstract Greg and Fred discuss what is redundancy and why it’s a critical business tool. Key Points Join Greg and Fred as they discuss process and product redundancy in a world that wants to reduce friction and be lean. Topics include: What is redundancy? Why redundancy is important in a lean world? […]
Risk and Reliability Lenses Abstract Greg and Fred discuss risk and reliability lenses for solving today’s dynamic problems. Key Points Join Greg and Fred as they discuss the intersection of risk and reliability lenses under uncertainty. Fred says: “Reliability is the critical lens to understanding and addressing today’s engineering problems”. Greg, a one-trick pony, says: […]
It is useful to understand how you get to where you are today to help you get to where you want to go tomorrow. The same applies to reliability. World War II in particular played an instrumental role in creating what has since come to be known as reliability engineering. And some lessons are still relevant today.
Why do we make assumptions? Because they give us information for free. This is often really useful, especially if you have a fair amount of experience or expertise on a particular topic or area. But we often like making assumptions that make our life easy. And this is really bad.
Regulation Reducing Safety Abstract Greg and Fred discuss conformity assessment and what should and can you do to comply with a regulatory requirement. Key Points Join Greg and Fred as they discuss safety regulations and compliance to standards. Topics include: What is conformity assessment? Why is conformity assessment important? How can you demonstrate compliance? What […]
Improving Information Abstract Greg and Fred discuss how to improve your ability to get the right information to solve the right problems. Key Points Join Fred and Greg as they discuss how to focus on the right information if you’re doing an analysis, surveillance, or audit. Topics include: Do you ask the right questions to […]
You might have heard of Monte Carlo simulation. This might sound advanced, or challenging, or beyond your skills. It's not! In fact, Monte Carlo simulation can do a really good job of modeling really, really complex things really easily. Want to learn more? Listen to this podcast.
We are often pestered into 'measuring' reliability before we start 'improving' reliability. Measuring can be important ... but it is only important if it will help you make a decision. So, start with understanding the decision you are trying to inform.
Lifespan of an FMEA Abstract Carl and Fred discuss a reader question about what is called a “living FMEA.” Is this a good idea? How is it done? Key Points Join Carl and Fred as they discuss whether to update FMEAs with test and field information on an ongoing basis. Topics include: An updated FMEA […]
RCM and FMEAs Abstract Carl and Fred discuss a reader question on FMEAs that involve maintenance. Specifically, can a Design FMEA have causes that are maintenance related? Key Points Join Carl and Fred as they discuss Reliability Centered Maintenance, and the role that FMEA plays in doing RCM projects. Topics include: RCM includes an FMEA […]
Details and Plans Abstract Greg and Fred discuss why and how the triple constraints of a project: schedule, cost, and scope variances result in risks that can result in project failure. Key Points Join Greg and Fred as they discuss schedule risk, cost risk, and scope risk. Topics include: What are schedule, cost, and scope risks? […]
Plug and Pray Abstract Greg and Fred discuss why engineers plug numbers into a formula not really knowing why or what they are doing. At best, this is called ‘plug and play.’ At worst, this is called ‘plug and pray’ the formula works. Key Points Join Greg and Fred as they discuss the challenges of […]
Bad History Challenge Abstract Kirk and Fred discuss how to deal with those who have said that they tried using the HALT methodology with a past project but did not find any benefit from it. Key Points Join Kirk and Fred as they discuss the situation where a we are trying to introduce a new […]
Cycles or Time Abstract Kirk and Fred discuss whether we should use time or number of cycles or total time a product has been available for use. Key Points Join Kirk and Fred as they discuss a question from a listener on whether it’s better to use time or cycles as a reliability metric. Topics […]
Always complaining about your organization not being aware of reliability engineering? The reality is, we make ourselves aware of what we want to be aware of. So the trick is to motivate people. The most 'aware' person in the world won't use that awareness if he or she has no motivation to do it.
Ever heard of MIL-HDBK 217F? It is a document that contains lots of failure rate estimates for classes of electronic components ... compiled in 1991. Based on data provided by a small number of companies. With the gaps filled in by military data dating decades before that. And some people want to base reliability estimates on applying these failure rates to the smartphones, guided weapons navigation systems and other sophisticated electronics of today? Madness.
Using DFR Tools Abstract Kirk and Fred discuss using Design for Reliability (DFR) for reliability development of a new product. Key Points Join Kirk and Fred as they discuss the use of DFx, being design for tests, design for manufacturing and design for reliability and the basics of good designs. Topics include: There are many […]
Using Outside Labs Abstract Kirk and Fred discuss the use and tradeoffs of using external environmental testing and failure analysis labs versus having in-house equipment Key Points Join Kirk and Fred as they discuss the advantages and drawbacks of a independent test and or failure analysis lab, versus stetting up an internal lab. Topics include: […]
Dealing with Data Abstract Philip and Fred discuss the first basic steps when confronted with a pile of data. What do you do with a stack of data – can you make any sense of this – please? Can you believe the analysis results? Designing systems to capture the data you need, not the data […]
We often focus on the components and subsystems of our product when it comes to system reliability modeling. But what about consumables? The batteries, lubricants, gaskets and other things that we are going to routinely replace to keep our product going. Do we need to think about these when it comes to system reliability analysis? Hint ... yes you do.
Assumptions and Analysis Abstract Philip and Fred discuss a fundamental element of all statistical analysis. Key Points Join Philip and Fred as they discuss Topics include: Every analysis or model has assumptions – understand them first Check the assumptions Assumptions are not true because we wish they were Enjoy an episode of Speaking of Reliability. […]
Why is Reliability a Process? Abstract Carl and Fred discuss the process of reliability, which also happens to be the name of their new book. They answer the question “why is reliability a process”? and discuss what happens if reliability is only approached as a series of methods. Key Points Join Carl and Fred as […]
How Root is the Cause? Abstract Carl and Fred discuss the broad subject of identifying root causes and how deep to go. It’s not as simple as getting to the “root.” Key Points Join Carl and Fred as they share experiences in root cause analysis and how it is applied in various reliability engineering methods. […]
Environmental Testing Abstract Kirk and Fred discuss the question of using a standard series of environmental test for reliability development. Key Points Join Kirk and Fred as they discuss standard environmental test suites such as MIL-STD 810 which describe many environmental tests that can be applied depending on the end-use conditions. Topics include: Many of […]
A HALT Plan Question Abstract Kirk and Fred discuss a test plan sent to Kirk and how this plan misses the point of accelerated testing. Key Points Join Kirk and Fred as they discuss the fact that many of are labeled by the book titles they have written and yet we know many other important […]
