Lessons in System Reliability
 
Welcome to Lessons in System Reliability, a series of reliability engineering articles based on a popular guide, the System Reliability Toolkit-V: New Approaches and Practical Applications!
 
The important topics included in these short publications are shared here from the popular 900+ page System Reliability Toolkit-V by Quanterion Solutions. Please give us a call if you need help in any reliability engineering need (315-732-0097).

View the Lessons in System Reliability Articles

Topic 1.1: Industry Trends Influencing Reliability Needs and Topic 1.2: Customer Expectations

A major prerequisite to determining system reliability requirements is possessing a good understanding of the overall environment; i.e., the geographical location where the system will be deployed and operated, the culture of the operating agency (organization), the availability of appropriate technologies/tools, the system acquisition process, the corporate or political structure, etc. Additionally, it should be recognized that the world is highly dynamic, and the need for agility and flexibility in system design predominates. Although perceptions as to current challenges may differ depending on personal experiences and observations, there are a number of trends that appear to be significant, and they are covered in this first article.

View the full article on Industry Trends Influencing Reliability Needs and Topic 1.2: Customer Expectations.

Topic 1.4: Availability and Operational Readiness

The concepts of availability and operational readiness are obviously related. Important to note, however, is that while the inherent design characteristics of a product totally determine inherent availability, other factors influence operational availability and operational readiness. The maintainability engineer directly influences the design of the product. But, together with the reliability engineer, the maintainability engineer also can affect other factors by providing logistics planners with the information needed to identify required personnel, spares, and other resources. This information includes the identification of maintenance tasks, repair/fix procedures, and needed support equipment.

View the full article on Availability and Operational Readiness.

Topic 1.5.2: Reliability Return on Investment (ROI)

The key point from this topic is the importance of understanding and appreciating the interactions between the RMQSI disciplines (as well as others, like manufacturing) to get a true representation of ROI, Operating Cost (OC) and Total Life Cycle Cost (TLCC). Any ROI calculation based only on reliability investment that does not consider the corresponding cost impact of these other performance parameters is not meaningful or accurate. To be most effective, RMQSI processes and analyses must be initiated very early in the product/system design and development process and continue throughout its entire life cycle in order to generate the largest ROI and optimize OC and TLCC.

View the full article on Reliability Return on Investment (ROI).

Topic 1.8: Warranties

Warranties exist in both the government and commercial marketplace and are very similar in nature. They identify the item that is warranted, the length of the warranty, what is covered by the warranty, acceptable use conditions of the warranted item, and the warrantor’s liability.

Four basic principles apply to both government and commercial warranties:

  • Warranties are not free
  • Warranted items fail
  • Warranties do not ensure the quality of performance
  • Warranties define the level of quality or performance for which a warrantor is willing to accept liability

View the full article on Warranties.

Topic 2.1: The Systems Engineering Process

This section defines the systems engineering tasks that are generally applicable throughout the system life cycle of any program, involving new development, upgrade, modification, resolution of deficiencies, or development and exploitation of technology.

Read the article for a walkthrough of the systems engineering process from inputs to functional analysis/allocation to outputs and other key steps in the system lifecycle.

View the full article on the Systems Engineering Process.

 
 
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