Improving Product Reliability: Strategies and Implementation

✍ Scribed by Mark Levin, Ted Kalal

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 344
• Series: Quality and Reliability Engineering Series
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

If product reliability is falling short of customer expectations and warranty costs are out of control then changes are needed to the reliability process. Practical and easy to understand, Improving Product Reliability offers invaluable advice to designers, engineers, managers and CEOs who wish to develop better products but are unsure of what to do and how to go about it. This book presents a time-tested reliability process which has been refined over the years and can be readily transferable to any organization.Incorporating the whole product development and product life cycle process, this book: * explains why product reliability is a requirement for competing in the 21st century * covers reliability concepts and how to develop a practical reliability toolbox for your business * addresses why businesses are unsuccessful at improving product reliability and a strategy for implementation based on company size * describes a three step process for successful implementation of a reliability program * provides guidance in selecting and hiring: consultants, reliability engineers and establishing a reliability lab * presents tutorials to promote a deeper understanding of the more complex conceptsThis book can be understood and applied by designers, engineers, business managers, consultants and product development teams who must develop reliable products. Anyone involved in this work will appreciate the time-saving, cost-effective, and result oriented techniques described.

✦ Table of Contents

0470854499......Page 4
Contents......Page 10
About the Authors......Page 18
Series Foreword......Page 20
Foreword......Page 22
Preface......Page 24
List of Acronyms......Page 28
Acknowledgements......Page 30
PART I Reliability – It’s a Matter of Survival......Page 32
1 Competing in the Twenty-first Century......Page 34
1.2 Competing in the next decade – winners will compete on reliability......Page 35
1.3 Concurrent engineering......Page 36
1.4 Reducing the number of Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) at product release......Page 38
1.5 Time-to-market advantage......Page 39
1.6 Accelerating product development......Page 41
1.7 Identifying and managing risks......Page 42
Reference......Page 43
2.1 Lack of understanding......Page 44
2.2 Internal barriers......Page 46
2.3 Implementing change and change agents......Page 47
2.4 Building credibility......Page 49
2.5 Perceived external barriers......Page 50
2.6 It takes time to gain acceptance......Page 51
2.7 External barrier......Page 52
3.1 Why things fail......Page 55
3.3 Reliability – a twenty-first century paradigm shift......Page 58
References......Page 60
4.1 Hiring consultants......Page 61
4.2 Outsourcing reliability......Page 62
PART II Unraveling the Mystery......Page 64
5.1 Six phases of the product life cycle......Page 66
5.1.1 Mitigate risk......Page 68
5.2 The ICM process for a small company......Page 74
5.2.2 Warranty......Page 75
References......Page 76
6 Reliability Concepts......Page 78
6.1 The bathtub curve......Page 79
6.2.3 Mean Time To Failure (MTTF)......Page 81
6.2.5 Mean Time To Restore System (MTTRS)......Page 82
6.3 Warranty costs......Page 83
6.4 Availability......Page 84
6.4.4 Easy-to-Use service manuals......Page 86
6.4.8 Failure data tracking......Page 87
6.5 Reliability growth......Page 88
6.6 Reliability demonstration testing......Page 89
Reference......Page 93
7.1 The FMEA process......Page 95
7.1.1 The functional block diagram......Page 96
7.1.2 The fault tree analysis......Page 101
7.1.3 Failure modes and effects analysis spreadsheet......Page 104
7.1.4 Preparing for the FMEA......Page 109
7.1.5 Barriers to the FMEA process......Page 111
7.1.6 FMEA ground rules......Page 115
7.2 The HALT process......Page 116
7.2.1 Types of stresses applied in HALT......Page 120
7.2.2 The theory behind the HALT process......Page 121
7.2.3 HALT testing......Page 125
7.3 Highly Accelerated Stress Screening (HASS)......Page 128
7.3.2 Burn-in......Page 130
7.3.3 Environmental Stress Screening (ESS)......Page 132
7.3.5 The HASA process......Page 133
7.4 Summary of HALT, HASS, HASA and POF benefits......Page 134
7.5 HALT and HASS test chambers......Page 135
7.6 SPC tool......Page 136
7.7 FIFO tool......Page 137
References......Page 139
8.1 Lack of commitment to the reliability process......Page 144
8.2 Inability to embrace and mitigate technologies risk issues......Page 146
8.3 Choosing the wrong people for the job......Page 147
8.4 Inadequate funding......Page 148
8.5 Mil-Std 217/Telcordia – What they really do and why they don’t work......Page 154
8.6 Finding but not fixing problems......Page 155
8.8 Vibration testing too difficult to implement......Page 156
Reference......Page 157
9.1 Purchasing interface......Page 158
9.2 Identifying your critical suppliers......Page 159
9.3 Develop a thorough supplier audit process......Page 160
9.5 Develop a Materials Review Board (MRB)......Page 161
PART III Three Steps to Successful Implementation......Page 164
10.1 Staffing for reliability......Page 166
10.2 The reliability lab......Page 167
10.4 Liquid nitrogen requirements......Page 169
10.5 Air compressors requirements......Page 170
10.6 Selecting a reliability lab location......Page 171
10.7 Selecting a HALT test chamber......Page 172
10.7.2 Machine overall height......Page 174
10.7.6 Ease of operation......Page 176
10.7.11 Time from order to delivery......Page 177
10.7.13 Technical/Service support......Page 178
10.7.16 Customization......Page 181
11.1 Staffing for reliability......Page 182
11.2 Choosing the wrong people for the job......Page 187
12.1 Reliability is everyone’s job......Page 188
12.2 Formalizing the reliability process......Page 189
12.4 Rolling out the reliability process......Page 190
12.5 Developing a reliability culture......Page 196
12.6 Setting reliability goals......Page 197
12.7 Training......Page 198
12.8 Product life cycle defined......Page 200
12.10 Design phase......Page 201
12.11 Production phase......Page 202
12.13 Proactive and reactive reliability activities......Page 203
References......Page 205
PART IV Reliability Process for Product Development......Page 208
13 Product Concept Phase......Page 210
13.1 Establish the reliability organization......Page 211
13.3 Define the system reliability requirement......Page 212
13.4 Capture and apply lessons learned......Page 213
13.5 Risk mitigation......Page 215
13.5.1 Filling out the risk mitigation form......Page 218
13.5.2 Risk mitigation meeting......Page 220
14 Design Concept Phase......Page 222
14.1 Setting reliability requirements and budgets......Page 224
14.2 Define reliability design guidelines......Page 229
14.3.1 Identifying risk issues......Page 230
14.3.2 Reflecting back (capturing internal lessons learned)......Page 231
14.3.3 Looking forward (capturing new risk issues)......Page 232
14.4 Reliability capital budget and activity scheduling......Page 235
14.6 Reflection......Page 237
15.1 Product design phase......Page 238
15.2 Reliability estimates......Page 240
15.3 Implementing risk mitigation plans......Page 241
15.3.1 Mitigating risk issues captured reflecting back......Page 242
15.3.2 Mitigating risk issues captured looking forward......Page 244
15.4 Design For Reliability Guidelines (DFR)......Page 252
15.4.1 Derating guidelines......Page 255
15.5 Design FMEA......Page 257
15.6 Installing a failure reporting analysis and corrective action system......Page 258
15.7 HALT planning......Page 259
15.8 HALT test development......Page 261
References......Page 264
16 Design Validation Phase......Page 267
16.1 Design validation......Page 268
16.2 Using HALT to precipitate failures......Page 270
16.2.1 Starting the HALT Test......Page 273
16.2.4 Temperature step stress test......Page 275
16.2.6 Vibration step stress test......Page 277
16.2.7 Combinational temperature and vibration test......Page 278
16.2.9 Additional stress tests......Page 279
16.2.10 HALT validation test......Page 280
16.3 Proof Of Screen (POS)......Page 281
16.4 Operate FRACAS......Page 283
16.6 Closure of risk issues......Page 284
References......Page 285
17.1 Accelerating design maturity......Page 288
17.1.1 Product improvement tools......Page 291
17.2 Reliability growth......Page 294
17.3 Design and process FMEA......Page 297
17.3.1 Quality control tools......Page 298
References......Page 302
18 End of Life Phase......Page 305
18.1 Product termination......Page 306
Reference......Page 307
19.1 Design for ease of access......Page 308
19.2 Identify high replacement assemblies (FRUS)......Page 309
19.4 Preemptive servicing......Page 310
19.5 Servicing tools......Page 311
19.7 Availability or repair time turnaround......Page 312
Reference......Page 313
Reliability consultants......Page 314
Educational and Professional organizations......Page 317
Reliability training classes......Page 319
Environmental testing services......Page 320
HALT fixtures......Page 321
HALT test chambers......Page 322
Reliability web sites......Page 326
Reliability software......Page 327
Reliability seminars & conferences......Page 328
Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF)......Page 330
Estimating Field Failures......Page 335
Comparing Repairable to Nonrepairable Systems......Page 337
Index......Page 338