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Christopher Jackson — Thought Leader

Author of Reliability in Emerging Technology, multiple books, co-host on Speaking of Reliability, and speaker in the Accendo Reliability Webinar Series.


This author's archive lists contributions of articles and episodes.

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PDFs, CDFs, and other ‘Fs’ — What the hell are they?

PDFs, CDFs, and other ‘Fs’ — What the hell are they?

PDFs, CDFs, and other ‘Fs’
What the hell are they?

podcast episode with speaker Chris Jackson

Ok. They say there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. At the heart of statistics are these intimidating functions like ‘probability density functions’ and ‘cumulative distribution functions.’

They mean something – but are practically useless unless they help inform a decision. And we, as engineers, are supposed to know what these functions mean. But have you ever sat in a meeting or presentation where you realized some gaps in your knowledge? … or perhaps you felt like you were given too many charts but not enough help to make your decision?

If you want a really easy introduction or review of these functions – then check out this webinar!
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SOR 542 Setting Up to Report Monthly Failure Rates

SOR 542 Setting Up to Report Monthly Failure Rates

Setting Up to Report Monthly Failure Rates

Abstract

Chris and Fred discuss how we need to estimate monthly failure rates of a product. Like when bosses or directors want to know what the ‘failure’ or ‘return’ rate of a product is this month. But is this useful? How do we account for the number of products we have shipped? How old are the products when they fail? And how do we learn from these numbers? Can we even find a number? Listen to this podcast to learn more.
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3 Ways to do Reliability Allocation #3

3 Ways to do Reliability Allocation #3

This is our third article about the 3 ways to do reliability allocation. In the first article, we set the scene. We talked about the reliability design cycle that needs to be implemented to make sure what we do will actually work. Will actually matter. In the second article, we cover the six steps of reliability allocation. In this article, we go through the six steps of reliability allocation.

You should have already read these articles – and if you haven’t please do! Once we have our reliability design cycle up and running, there are six key steps to making reliability allocation happen. And this article is about the sixth step – doing something!

If you want to learn more about a straightforward approach to reliability allocation – read this!

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SOR 541 History of Reliability Part 3

SOR 541 History of Reliability Part 3

History of Reliability Part 3

Abstract

Chris and Fred continue the discussion on the history of reliability engineering. The discussion started with Chris and Adam (you can click here to listen to it) and kept going with Chris and Carl (and you can click here to listen to it). Between all of them, they came up with 8 reliability engineering epochs. Now it is Fred’s turn to work out what has been missed, and what all of this means what reliability engineering looks like in the future.
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SOR 539 History of Reliability Part 1

SOR 539 History of Reliability Part 1

History of Reliability Part 1

Abstract

Chris and Adam discuss the history of reliability engineering. Everyone (customer, manufacturer, builder) has different ideas of what reliability is. And this has changed throughout history. Perhaps we can learn something from what reliability engineering has also changed throughout history. As they say – those who don’t learn from history are destined to repeat it. This is the first of three podcasts that look at the history of reliability for this purpose: seeing what we can learn to help reliability engineering now and tomorrow.
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3 Ways to do Reliability Allocation #2

3 Ways to do Reliability Allocation #2

This is our second article about the 3 ways to do reliability allocation. In the first article, we set the scene. We talked about the reliability design cycle that needs to be implemented to make sure what we do will actually work. Will actually matter. In this article, we go through the six steps of reliability allocation. You need to do the preparation work first. But … we are all about keeping it simple. Making it exhaustive and complicated means you are wasting your time.

If you want to learn more about a straightforward approach to reliability allocation – read this!

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SOR 535 Did RAMS Deliver on this Year’s Theme?

SOR 535 Did RAMS Deliver on this Year’s Theme?

Did RAMS Deliver on this Year’s Theme?

Abstract

Chris and Joe Bell from G2OPs talk about systems engineering and how it relates to reliability engineering. Joe and his team focus on Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and was hoping to learn more about reliability and MBSE at the 2020 Reliability and Maintainability Symposium (RAMS). Was RAMS successful in helping out Joe? Listen to this podcast to learn more.
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3 Ways to do Reliability Allocation #1

3 Ways to do Reliability Allocation #1

If we have even a moderately complex product, we often need to break up our design team into smaller groups. Perhaps electronic, mechanical and hydraulic teams. Perhaps teams for specific functional components. And these teams need to work at least partially independently. So what do we do if we have a system reliability goal? What goals do we pass on to our smaller teams? This is where reliability allocation comes into play. Reliability allocation is often portrayed as a very complex, very involved and extremely exhaustive process. It should never be! In fact – the more exhaustive you make, the less likely it is to work.

If you want to learn more about a straightforward approach to reliability allocation – read this!

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SOR 527 What You Want

SOR 527 What You Want

SOR 527 What You Want

Abstract

Chris discusses … what you want. Pretty broad I know. But there are things we really want – things we dedicate our time, effort and attention to. And then there are things we say we want. And the human brain is actually specifically structure to pick up on different cues to work out if you are really interested in something (or not). So we can pretty easily work out if you say you want something – but don’t really want it to the extent you want other things. Why does this relate to reliability engineering? Click here to learn more.
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SOR 515 Reliability Security Blankets

SOR 515 Reliability Security Blankets

SOR 515 Reliability Security Blankets

Abstract

Chris discusses ‘reliability security blankets.’ You know what security blankets are – the things that parents offer young children to make them feel safe and comfortable. Not because these blankets actually offer warmth, comfort or safety – but rather because the children associate feelings of warmth and safety with that object because it is ‘always there’ when they are at home or go to be. A reliability security blanket does the same thing – it calms the leaders, managers, bosses, and directors of an organization. But – that is it! There is no reliability to be found. Want to learn more? Listen to this podcast!
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SOR 509 Reliability Engineering Report Writing

SOR 509 Reliability Engineering Report Writing

SOR 509 Reliability Engineering Report Writing

Abstract

Chris discusses reliability engineering report writing (yuck). Pretty boring topic. But not nearly as boring as some of the reliability engineering reports. I will (try to) make this as entertaining a podcast as possible. And I will explain the golden rule of engineering report writing – make it a ‘reverse thriller.’ Keen to learn more? Then please listen!
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