Module 13

Reliability

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 Key Dimensions of Quality
• Performance – primary operating characteristics
• Features – “bells and whistles”
• Reliability – probability of operating for specific time
and conditions of use
• Conformance – degree to which characteristics match
standards
• Durability – amount of use before deterioration or
replacement
• Serviceability – speed, courtesy, and competence of
repair
• Aesthetics – look, feel, sound, taste, smell

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Key Dimensions of Service Quality
• Reliability – ability to provide what was promised
• Assurance – knowledge and courtesy of
employees and ability to convey trust
• Tangibles – physical facilities and appearance of
personnel
• Empathy – degree of caring and individual
attention
• Responsiveness – willingness to help customers
and provide prompt service

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 Reliability
• Generally defined as the ability of a
product or service to perform as expected
over time
• Formally defined as the probability that a
product, piece of equipment, or system
performs its intended function for a stated
period of time under specified operating
conditions
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 Maintainability
• The probability that a system or product
can be retained in, or one that has failed
can be restored to, operating condition in a
specified amount of time.

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Examples

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 Types of Failures
• Functional failure – failure that occurs at
the start of product life due to
manufacturing or material detects
• Reliability failure – failure after some
period of use

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 Types of Reliability
• Inherent reliability – predicted by
product design
• Achieved reliability – observed during
use

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 Reliability Measurement
• Failure rate () – number of failures per
unit time (e.g. # of operating hours)
• Alternative measures
– Mean time to failure
– Mean time between failures (1/

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Cumulative Failure Rate Curve

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Average Failure Rate

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 Failure Rate Curve
(Bathtub Curve)

“Infant
mortality
period”

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 Reliability Function

• Probability density function of failures

f(t) = e-t for t > 0
• Probability of failure from (0, T)
F(T) = 1 – e-T
• Reliability function
R(T) = 1 – F(T) = e-T

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 Reliability Function (Example)

• So an item having a reliability of 0.97

over 100 hours of normal use, determine
the failure rate ():
Reliability function: R(T) = e-T
0.97 = e-100ln 0.97 = -100
-ln 0.97)/100  0.0304/100
= 0.0003 failure rate (per hour)
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 Series Systems

1 2 n

RS = R1 R2 ... Rn

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 Series Systems (Example)

So a two component series system with failure rates

of 0.001 and 0.004 per hour:

Rs(T) = e-(0.004+0.001)T  e-0.005T

The probability of survival for 100 hours would be:

Rs(100) = e-0.005(100)  e-0.5  0.6065 or 60.65%

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 Parallel Systems

RS = 1 - (1 - R1)*(1 - R2)...*(1 - Rn)

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 Series-Parallel Systems
C
RA RB RC RD
A B D
C
RC

• Convert to equivalent series system

RA RB RD
A B C’ D

RC’ = 1 – (1-RC)(1-RC)
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 Reliability Engineering
• Standardization (Certified Components)
• Redundancy (Series systems vs. Parallel)
• Physics of failure (Weathering)
• Reliability testing
– Accelerated life testing
• Burn-in
– Component Stress Testing
– Infant Mortality Periods
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 Exam Review
• Demming’s 14 Points (Modules 3, 4)
• Juran’s Principles (Modules 3, 9/10)
• Definitions of Quality (Module 1)
• Key Dimensions of Quality (Module 4)
– Manufacturing & Service
• Continuous Improvement (Module 1, 2)
• Quality in Services (Module 2, 4, 13)
• Customer Needs (Module 4)
• Leadership (Mission/Vision) (Module 5)
• Process Management (Scope, Principles) (Module 7)
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 Exam Review
• Performance Measures (COQ and ROQ) (Module 8)
• Capability Studies (Module 9/10)
– Variation
– Six Sigma
• Sampling & Measurement (R&R) (Module 11)
• Control Charts (Module 12)
– How to read & interpret
• Reliability & Maintainability (Module 13)
• Total Quality Management (Modules 1)

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 Reliability Management
• Define customer performance requirements
• Determine important economic factors and
relationship with reliability requirements
• Define the environment and conditions of
product use
• Select components, designs, and vendors that
meet reliability and cost criteria
• Determine reliability requirements for machines
and equipment
• Analyze field reliability for improvement
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 Configuration Management
1. Establish approved baseline configurations
(designs)
2. Maintain control over all changes in the
baseline programs (change control)
3. Provide traceability of baselines and changes
(configuration accounting)

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 Maintainability

• Maintainability is the totality of design

factors that allows maintenance to be
accomplished easily
• Preventive maintenance reduces the risk
of failure
• Corrective maintenance is the response
to failures

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 Design Issues
• Access of parts for repair
• Modular construction and
standardization
• Diagnostic repair procedures and expert
systems

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 Availability
• Operational availability
MTBF MTBM = mean time between
AO  maintenance
MTBM  MDT
MDT = mean down time
• Inherent availability
MTBF = mean time between
MTBF failures
AO 
MTBF  MTR MTR = mean time to repair

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