Speaking Of Reliability: Friends Discussing Reliability Engineering Topics | Warranty | Plant Maintenance

Reliability and Statistics Abstract Kirk and Fred discussing the use of statistics in reliability engineering,  where they are useful and where their use may not be the most efficient way to find and fix the cause of failure. Key Points Join Kirk and Fred as they discuss their different viewpoints on the use of statistics […]

Learning about Failures Abstract Kirk and Fred discussing the idea of listing of failure mechanisms and their different viewpoints on how we learn some of the common failure mechanisms Key Points Join Kirk and Fred as they discuss the challenge of listing potential failure mechanisms that usually occur when some mistake has been made in […]

Single Use Product Reliability Abstract Dianna and Fred discussing single use product reliability. For products that are used once and then disposed or recycled, do we need to consider and plan for their reliability? The short answer: yes! They talk about the things to consider with single use products. Key Points Join Dianna and Fred […]

Stresses and Mechanism Abstract Dianna and Fred discussing a listener question about understanding stresses and mechanism of failures of a new design. Key Points Join Dianna and Fred as they discuss a listener question: Is there a listing of all failure mechanisms and their stresses that I can reference? When I’m looking at a product […]

Identify Weak Points Abstract Kirk and Fred discussing how a good reliability development process is to identify the weaknesses to improve a product including a recent fence repair at Kirk’s house. Key Points Join Kirk and Fred as they discuss how a fence repair specialist identify a weakness in a fence and gate support structure […]

Confirmation Bias Abstract Kirk and Fred discussing the paths they took in Reliability Engineering, how our past experience shaped our view of the best methods for improving the reliability of systems, and how we learn new information on reliability issues. Key Points Join Kirk and Fred as they discuss their paths to their current frame […]

Failure to Adjust Abstract Greg and Fred discussing why people have a hard time adjusting and pivoting in times of uncertainty, much like what we all experience today. Key Points Join Greg and Fred as they discuss why people have a difficult time adjusting to change.  Personal change.   Change in weather.  Or, change in anything. […]

Supply Chain Tradeoffs Abstract Greg and Fred discussing the tradeoffs in reshoring.  Many companies are considering bringing design and manufacturing back to the US or host country. Key Points Join Greg and Fred as they discuss reshoring or bringing manufacturing back to the US.  The challenge is the US has lost much of its engineering […]

Accountability is important. Except when you are trying to find 'someone else' who is accountable. Finding someone to blame (so you can hypothetically sue) does not improve or fix the problem. In fact, the fastest and cheapest solutions to many of the problems us reliability engineers routinely face is a multi-disciplinary approach where everyone works together in order to solve the issue. This means we find the fastest, simplest and cheapest solutions. And no one is every blamed!

We can sometimes be frustrated by vendors or suppliers not giving us the reliability data we need to do our 'reliability stuff?' Can we glean something from their advertised warranty period? Can we somehow 'reverse engineer' the underlying warranty reliability if we make some assumptions about the cost of failure and profit margin?