What is Reliability?

Reliability in the broad sense is the science aimed at predicting, analyzing, preventing and mitigating failures over time.

Reliability is quality over time. A reliable, trouble-free product continues to satisfy its customers for a long period of time.

Reliability in the narrow sense is the probability that a device will operate successfully for a specific period of time and under specified conditions when used in the manner and for the purpose intended.

You cannot purchase the reliability separately and add to your product for decreasing your expenses in the field (warranty period).
The reliability assurance or improvement is an integrative process during development, production and field operation phases that must be implemented according to the internal standards for each designed product.
You should make appropriate investment during design and production for developing a reliable product that will result in saving more money during product warranty period.
Your warranty policy should be based on product reliability analysis.

Why is it important?
Both product's manufacturer and consumer have become much more demanding about product reliability nowadays than they were a few years ago.
Why? Because they know that they can get it!

Who Gains From Good Reliability?
Manufacturer - because his product has additional customer appeal, through higher quality, faster service, lower support cost. 
Customer - because the equipment that he buys is easier and less costly to support, has lower down-time and higher availability.

Reliability-related costs
Reliability-related costs are all those costs resulting from product field failures or perceived failures from the time of shipment over the whole product life cycle. They include warranty costs and the opportunity cost of lost customers. 
Improvements in reliability made by the supplier early in the equipment life cycle may result in total life cycle costs reduction thanks to significant decreasing of Maintenance and Inventory Costs.
Reliability related costs 

 

What must be done to have reliable products?
Check your problems and you will understand why you need us. 
The following are the major elements required to provide a highly reliable product:
• Your company's culture must incorporate proper understanding of reliability importance. This may require painful compromises in some areas.
• Quantitative assessments of Product Reliability must focus on identification and timely elimination of Design and Processing deficiencies that degrade product performance and operating life expectancy.
• Communication channels with your customers must be open and formalized to capture their detailed comments related to product failures.
• A well-conceived failure database of product field failure modes supported by analysis of their root causes is fundamental to corrective action and improvement.
• Reliability must be designed into products and be included in all aspects of business. The design and development engineering team should take the primary responsibility of your company's product reliability. Formal product development processes and good project management practices are required.
•  Your procurement group must drive supplier quality and reliability through partnering.
• Manufacturing has to use modern quality control methods to ensure that components and the whole systems are produced according to specification with negligible variation.


Get Free Demo Version >>

See also:

Reliability Analysis 
Reliability Prediction  
Reliability Services by ALD 
Reliability Prediction Software 
Reliability Analysis Software