Your Reliability Engineering Professional Development Site
Find all articles across all article series listed in reverse chronological order.
A form of testing that reduces the time till results are known, ALT provides a means to estimate the failure rate over time of a product without resorting to normal use conditions and the associated duration.
For example, solar photovoltaic cells should operate for 25 years without failure. The product development time is less than a year for a new panel and the team wants to estimate the reliability of the cells over the 25-year duration. [Read more…]
At the start of class on reliability and maintenance engineering, one of the students asked,
“What is reliability engineering? What do you do?”
This made me think. What is it we do? How to you explain to someone our role?
I like to say, “We break things” with a big wink and a smile. And to some extent, as we explore what fails and how it fails. We most likely have to test our theories and break something. Or, when working with new product designs we employ tools to discover what will break. So, I suppose part of what we do is break things. Yet, that is not a complete answer. [Read more…]
When this posts I should be home from Nepal and mostly recovered. So, back to more details going forward. Take a look, work the problem, solve it, then show your work. Comment with why you chose your response and why you didn’t select one of the others. [Read more…]
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. In Maxims for Revolutionists (1903) by George Bernard Shaw
It is those that see the world as it should be that prompts change. I believe it is those resisting change to be unreasonable; I suppose it depends on your point of view. The idea or invention may be an inspiration or take diligent work, yet the real work is in changing the reasonable to a new way of viewing the world. Understanding everyone is not as unreasonable as yourself helps you prepare others for change. Challenging the resistance may label you as unreasonable. Be prepared and drive on, you are in good company. Fred Schenkelberg Reliability Quote of the Day, ISSN 2329-0099 http://www.fmsreliability.com/publishing/category/quotes/ where you can sign up for a daily quote sent to you via email —
I received a request from Quality Progress magazine to provide a quote and 100 words about the selection. The above is my submission. [Read more…]
When this posts I should be just getting home from Nepal (jet lag is no place to write posts). So, this post and the next couple are homework for you. Take a look, work the problem, solve it, then show your work. Comment with why you chose your response and why you didn’t select one of the others.
From question 19 of ASQ CRE 2009 sample exam. [Read more…]
Value for any business activity is a guiding principle to stay in business.
While not always about money, it is about value. We invest in product design and distribution, plant design and operation, to realize a benefit or return on the investment which makes the investment worth the effort and time. Same with our individual work- we endeavor to make a difference and realize not just a paycheck, (well some do). Increasing value is our responsibility as reliability professionals. [Read more…]
When this posts I should be near 17k ft altitude without electricity or internet – hoping for the best. So, this post and the next couple are homework for you. Take a look, work the problem, solve it, then show your work. Comment with why you choose your response and why you didn’t select one of the others.
Here is question 18 from the ASQ CRE 2009 sample exam. [Read more…]
A common issue with solder, other than its ability to compliantly attach electronic packages to circuit boards, is its ability to fail with normal use.
Over time the normal thermal cycling causes the packages to move relative to the circuit board and the solder moves to accommodate. Each cycle the solder accumulates damage. Over time the number of cycles accumulates as does the damage. Eventually, the solder cracks and create an intermittent connection or disrupts the electron flow completely (open).
I’m about to leave for Nepal for a month and much of it without internet. So, this post and the next couple are homework for you. Take a look, work the problem, solve it, then show your work. Comment with why you chose your response and why you didn’t select one of the others.
This is question 17 from the ASQ CRE 2009 sample exam. [Read more…]
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
In Maxims for Revolutionists (1903) by George Bernard Shaw
It is those that see the world as it should be that prompts change. I believe it is those resisting change to be unreasonable; I suppose it depends on your point of view. The idea or invention may be an inspiration or take diligent work, yet the real work is in changing the reasonable to a new way of viewing the world.
During a normal day, we unconsciously tie our shoes, brush our teeth and drive to work, mostly by routine and without too much conscious thinking about the tasks. Occasionally we answer the phone and have to think a little about the conversation. Or we design an experiment for the next project, thinking we can save time by using the same test as last time. Then we slip comfortably into a routine. Do we not think anymore?
Reliability engineering is thinking.
I’m about to leave on a long trip and much of it without internet. So, this post and the next couple are homework for you. Take a look, work the problem, solve it, then show your work. Comment with why you chose your response and why you didn’t select one of the others.
This is question 16 from the ASQ CRE 2009 sample exam. [Read more…]
Best Wishes for all those taking the CRE Exam Oct 4th.
… Or, reliable learning. One of the best things about reliability engineering is the never ending opportunity to learn. We work with materials, assembly processes, and people creating and maintaining products, machines, and systems. Other engineering disciplines tend to focus on one aspect of a design or process – mechanical engineers make allowances for the circuit board location and heat transfer requirements, yet do not word on the circuits themselves. Electrical engineers just the opposite, they focus on electronics and power and attempt to fit within the constants imposed by industrial designers. Maybe architects are close to the breadth of reliability engineering as they contribute the aesthetic and functional elements of a design, and consider the maintenance and longevity of the building. Yet, they are not involved with the actual aging and maintenance. [Read more…]
Recently a question came to me about the difference between hazard rate and failure rate. A lot of literature and reference use these two terms interchangeably. I have long thought there is a difference, and to check my understanding I asked a good friend and reliability engineering consultant Chet Haibel. He provides a slide set (below) that described the various functions we use working reliability statistics and he details out the functions when using the exponential distribution.