Fundamentals of Supplier Reliability

By Fred Schenkelberg

February 10, 2026 / 9am Pacific Time

Many products include items designed and manufactured by another company. Few is any make their own screws or capacitors found in their product. We rely on our suppliers to create items we can incorporate into our product offerings.

When a supplied item fails, say a power supply, the customer notices the product is not working, your product, not necessarily the faulty power supply. Your brand takes the hit and pays the price of the failure.

Let’s explore how to work with suppliers to ensure the supplied items will meet or exceed your reliability expectations. It’s not as simple as requiring a set of tests or warranty contracts; it is the relationship you build with the supplier and understanding the supplier’s reliability, maturity, and capability.

How to Model Switching Systems Perfectly

By Chris Jackson

February 24, 2026 /8am Pacific Time

And how does it help me?

Switching systems can be great. The idea is that we can use redundant components to extend the life of a system … and protect the ‘standby’ component from harm until the ‘primary’ component fails. To do this, we need a switch. This often means that we get better reliability than a ‘parallel system’ where both redundant components start wearing out from day one. By protecting the standby component with a switch, reliability can be greatly extended. However, the analysis of a switching system can be challenging. The switch can fail, and the standby component has different reliability characteristics in ‘standby’ and ‘operational’ modes. Many textbooks model switching systems using very basic assumptions to simplify the analysis. But … these assumptions are so inaccurate for most real-world systems that they estimate reliability to be worse than that of a parallel system! This webinar shows you how to model switching (and other complex) systems using Monte Carlo Simulation in Excel … to come up with a ‘perfect’ model to ensure that all that hard work that goes into designing a switching system is not missed by the subsequent analysis!

Using Finite Element Analysis with Electronic Equipment: Thermal Cycling, Heat Transfer and Vibration Analysis

By Steve Carlson

February 4, 2026 / 8:30-Noon Pacific Time

$350

This webinar expands on David Steinberg’s techniques and incorporates finite element analysis to determine electronic component junction temperatures and fatigue life due to random vibration and thermal cycling. This webinar is intended for beginners who have not yet had a course in finite element theory. The emphasis is on the engineering reasons to complete a valid finite element analysis. For completeness, it has been necessary to select specific software to illustrate the various stages. Most commercial solid modeling and finite element analysis systems are very similar, and the overlap in their capabilities is probably 90% or more. Solidworks has been selected due to its rapid learning curve and ability to perform most common finite element analysis for electronic hardware. Students will learn the stages of finite element analysis and work multiple examples with Solidworks Simulation and Cosmos/M Geostar. We will Incorporate Professor Steinberg’s methods with FEA techniques to perform heat transfer, random vibration, and thermal cycling analyses.

Break Up with Breakdowns: 
Adopting Preventative Maintenance for Fleets

By Eliseo Garcia and Miji Hendrix

February 5, 2026 / 10am Pacific Time

Most fleet teams know what good maintenance looks like. But knowing and doing are different things. Breakdowns still happen. Emergency repairs eat the budget. Preventive schedules fall behind. The cycle keeps repeating.

It does not have to be this way. Reliable fleets are not built on perfect systems or expensive tools. They are built on practical habits that catch problems early and keep assets running.

In this webinar, we will talk with a fleet maintenance leader about what actually works in the real world. You will hear how to spot failure before it happens, how to make preventive maintenance stick, and how to use the data you already have to make better decisions.

Human Error, Human Performance and Human Factors

By Aaron Cross

February 6, 2026 / 8am Pacific Time

How many errors does your organization want? What is the error rate in your organization? What is it in other industries? There are radically different schools of thought on what human error is and how human performance is improved. This webinar clears up some of the confusion and addresses the myths around human error. We’ll review different types of errors and cover the topic of human factors. We’ll also share what some organizations have done to reduce human error and explain some basic steps you can apply in your organization.

New Low Pressure Partial Discharge and Electrical Fatigue Capability

By Dhaval Vankhade, Martin Wickham and Meenakshy Ramankutty

February 10, 2026 / 6:30-7:30am Pacific Time

Ensuring long-term reliability in high-voltage systems requires a deep understanding of how environmental stressors impact insulation and material performance. This webinar explores cutting-edge research and testing methodologies designed to address these challenges. Our experts will examine how low-pressure environments influence partial discharge (PD) inception and contribute to electrical fatigue, providing critical insights for aerospace and other harsh-condition applications. Attendees will learn about the capabilities of a new multi-channel system engineered for accelerated ageing tests, enabling faster and more comprehensive reliability assessments. Additionally, we will share findings on material and coating performance under extreme conditions and outline plans for advanced testing strategies and design improvements aimed at enhancing high-voltage system durability.  

Join us to discover:

• how these innovations are shaping the future of electrical reliability in demanding environments
• how low-pressure environments affect PD inception and electrical fatigue
• the capability of a new multi-channel system for accelerated ageing test
• insights into material and coating performance under harsh conditions
• plans for advanced testing methodologies and design improvements for high-voltage reliability.

The Enemies Of System Thinking

By David Auda

February 12, 2026 / 9am Pacific Time

Incident Reporting & Investigation: Root Cause Analysis for Workplace Safety

By Sheldon Primus

February 12, 2026 / 10am Pacific Time

$150

This webinar will focus on effective incident investigation strategies that help companies reduce workplace accidents and regulatory violations. Participants will learn how to:

• Distinguish between accidents & incidents and why it matters
• Identify hazards & contributing factors leading to workplace injuries
• Develop a structured incident investigation plan
• Use predictive reporting tools like Near Miss & Good Catch programs
• Apply root cause analysis techniques for comprehensive incident investigations
• Understand OSHA’s recordkeeping rules for compliance & safety metrics

By the end of this session, participants will be able to enhance workplace safety programs, reduce legal risks, and improve hazard identification.

Supplier Qualification and Control following the QMSR

By Edwin Waldbusser

February 12, 2026 / 10am Pacific Time

$150

This webinar will first describe the FDA QMSR and its requirements that apply to supplier selection. Then we will discuss a QMSR compliant program for supplier selection based on the author’s experience in qualifying over 40 suppliers and CMO’s. We will explain the process from an initial informal telephone contact to the qualification audit. Decision factors, such as supplier size, will be discussed. Quality Agreements will be discussed. Management, according to the QMSR, must be involved in the process. We will discuss management responsibilities.

How to Prevent Motor Bearing Damage Caused by VFDs and PWMs

By David Duch, Admir Karabegovic, and Gary Cohen

February 12, 2026 / 11am Pacific Time

Variable frequency drives (VFDs) and pulse width modulation (PWM) drives improve efficiency and process flexibility, and they also introduce common mode voltage that can lead to electrical discharges through the motor bearings. These discharges can cause arcing, fluting, pitting, and burnt grease, which reduce bearing life and compromise overall equipment reliability.

This session provides a clear, data-driven understanding of how shaft voltage develops — including the distinction between common mode voltage and circulating currents — and how different mitigation strategies function. Drawing on both lab data and field case examples, the session will explore factors influencing mitigation strategy effectiveness, including contamination, maintenance requirements, magnitude of the frequency, surface finish, overall grounding scheme, and more.

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

By Narendra (NK) Shrivastava

February 12, 2026 / 12pm Pacific Time

$150

Attendees will explore critical thinking principles and workplace application. With a focus on practicality, the webinar will equip participants with essential problem-solving techniques, guiding them through each step from problem identification to decision evaluation.

The course is ideal for project managers who want to develop/expand their leadership capability to fast-track their careers and anyone who wants to develop their critical thinking skills.

How to Solve Complacency

By Aaron Cross (pre-recorded)

February 13, 2026 / 8am Pacific Time

“Complacency.” It’s a term we hear over and over as the explanation for problems in the workplace. In fact, a 2021 survey of more than 300 safety professionals ranked “Complacency” tied at #1 for the most pressing issue in workplace safety. However, what exactly is complacency and how do you address it? Using a healthcare-related example, we will challenge your mental model of this vague term and show that while complacency cannot be eliminated entirely, it is something that can be managed. Three questions that we will address are: What is complacency? How does complacency contribute to an incident? What can be done about it?

2026 Edition: Conducting Out-of-Specification (OOS) Investigations

By Charles H Paul

February 13, 2026 /10am Pacific Time

$150

Conducting Out-of-Specification (OOS) Investigations is a focused, 60-minute webinar designed to help quality, laboratory, and manufacturing teams properly investigate test results that fall outside approved specifications.

Participants will learn how to distinguish between true product failures and laboratory errors, ensuring that decisions are based on evidence rather than assumptions. The session provides a clear roadmap for executing investigations in a phased manner, beginning in the laboratory and expanding into manufacturing only when needed. This approach not only supports compliance but also saves time, labor, and resources.

Weibull Engineering Intro Using Weibull Plotting Software

By Wes Fulton

February 18, 2026 / 8:30-11:30am Pacific Time

$300

WE is a major tool for continuous improvement. The Weibull model, developed originally by Waloddi Weibull starting about 1950, is the most widely used probability model for how failure mechanisms affect product lifetime, key for problem analysis, reliability monitoring, forecasting, and corrective action. Although Dr. Weibull is no longer with us, his methods and insights carry on in countless new applications today. WE extends Weibull methods to real life applications throughout all product phases (development, production, operation) plus there are many other uses such as for processes and for metrology. SuperSMITH® software is demonstrated although other commercial software for Weibull analysis is available in the marketplace.

This overview is designed to bring the novice up to a thorough understanding of WE capability. Topics include type of input data to acquire, how to make a Weibull plot, alternate fitting methods, alternate models, better solution for small data sets, failure analysis, failure forecasting, optimal preemptive parts replacement for parts that wear out, cost analysis, confidence, test planning, accelerated testing, and the importance of a Weibull database especially for Weibull slope values. Relevant questions at any time are welcome during the session.

Strategies to Accelerate Preventative Maintenance Optimization for Quick ROI!

By Yoann Urruty

February 18, 2026 / 11am Pacific Time

Discover how Preventive Maintenance Optimization (PMO) can help you implement detailed, objective, failure-mode-based tasks, improving reliability while limiting risks with better preventive maintenance operations. Gain actionable insights into the process, supported by real-world examples and proven methodologies

This presentation will cover:

1. Using Failure Modes to define the preferred asset strategies on specific components
2. Building Your asset strategies Library to accelerate the speed of deployment
3. Assigning new asset strategies to maintainable assets and components

Accelerated ROI:  How this process helped industrial plants gain uptime efficiently

Best Practices in Industrial Predictive and Preventive Maintenance

By Brian Kaiser and Amara Rozgus

February 19, 2026 / 11am Pacific Time

Unlock practical strategies to optimize your plant’s maintenance program with insights from industry veterans. This webcast covers proven best practices for mechanical and electrical equipment, with a spotlight on emerging technologies to help reduce downtime, improve safety, and maximize operational efficiency.

Effective maintenance strategies are essential for ensuring reliability, safety, and operational efficiency in industrial and manufacturing environments. This webcast provides a comprehensive overview of predictive and preventive maintenance approaches tailored to the needs of industrial plant managers, safety experts, control engineers, and maintenance professionals. Review real-world examples and case studies focusing on mechanical and electrical equipment commonly found in manufacturing facilities.

Attendees will gain practical insights into implementing maintenance programs that optimize asset performance while minimizing downtime and costs. The webcast balances foundational maintenance principles with emerging technologies, looking at items like industrial internet of things (IIoT) devices, condition monitoring sensors, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven analytics.

5 Ways to Prevent Blame in Your Investigations

By Mark Galley

February 20, 2026 / 8am Pacific Time

This webinar explains the benefits of establishing a prevention culture and covers the basic differences between prevention and blame. When a problem occurs in a company, it’s important to understand exactly how it happened. Organizations with a blame mentality typically have a difficult time getting details. People with first-hand information are less likely to share facts if they think it will result in disciplinary action. Organizations focused on prevention make it easier for employees to share what they know so that the analysis is accurate. Management may believe that a prevention focus undermines accountability, but it doesn’t have to.

Radiation-Induced Component Failure in X-Ray Solder Joint Inspection

By Michael Brinkley

February 26, 2026 / 10am Pacific Time

Free for members / $25 non-members

This user paper documents a failure mode analysis of X-ray sensitive components damaged during excessive MXI, the performed design of experiment (DOE) to quantify the absorbed dose in the damaged components, and additional research exploring how exposure to ionizing radiation during manual X-ray inspection can alter the performance and reliability of semiconductor devices.

Lastly, this paper provides details on the practical corrective actions that can be implemented in manufacturing environments to prevent damage to sensitive components during x-ray solder joint inspection.

Facilitating and Documenting a Root Cause Analysis (RCA)

By Mark Galley (pre-recorded)

February 27, 2026 / 8am Pacific Time

A problem in your business can be thought of as an “information knot.” Different people from different departments each know part of the problem. A facilitator collects and organizes all the details in an incident. They essentially untangle the knot to provide a complete explanation of what happened and why. Sometimes people think of a facilitator as the person who leads meetings, but a root cause analysis facilitator manages the entire investigation process. An effective facilitator provides clarity. A facilitation starts from the time an incident occurs and continues through the analysis and documentation, to the implementation of solutions and the communication of lessons learned. This webinar explains the basics of facilitation and the role it plays in understanding and preventing problems in your business.