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| In this
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Issue
1, March 2001 |
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Reliability HotWire is a service of
ReliaSoft Corporation
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Welcome! |
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Welcome to the premiere
issue of Reliability HotWire, your source of information and tips
on how best to improve your reliability practices and get the most out of
ReliaSoft’s tools for reliability and life data analysis.
Reliability HotWire brings practical hints regarding reliability
engineering and life data analysis to the novice and seasoned practitioner
alike. In addition, Reliability HotWire will present tips on how
to get the best use out of ReliaSoft’s life data analysis software tools,
such as Weibull++, ALTA, and BlockSim.
As always, your feedback is appreciated. ReliaSoft is able to provide
the most user-friendly reliability software packages and support because
we listen to our customers. This applies to our newsletters and
publications as well. We welcome any suggestions or comments you may have
about
Reliability HotWire and we can be reached by e-mail at
HotWire@ReliaSoft.com
or by standard mail at 1450 S. Eastside Loop, Tucson, AZ 85710-6703, USA.
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Hot Topics |
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Which
Analysis Settings Should I Use?
When
analyzing reliability data, the analyst is faced with a number of options
on how to carry out the analysis. These choices can sometimes seem
confusing: Regression or maximum likelihood analysis? Fisher matrix
bounds or likelihood ratio bounds? Median ranks or Kaplan-Meier
estimates? While there are no hard and fast rules regarding the use
of these analysis options, some of these options work better for
particular data types than others.
To read
more, see
http://weibull.com/hotwire/issue1/hottopics1.htm
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Reliability Basics |
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The purpose of this section is to offer background and advice to the novice
reliability engineer.
Characterizing Your Product's Reliability
As awareness of product reliability increases, the responsibility for
insuring that reliability requirements are met spreads further across
engineering organizations. As a result, engineers and managers who have
had little experience with life data analysis or applied statistics may
find themselves responsible for calculating and reporting on a product's
reliability. This section offers background on elementary concepts of
reliability and life data analysis that will hopefully prove to be of use
to the novice analyst. We will begin our discussion with an overview of
how to characterize your product's reliability.
To read more, see
http://weibull.com/hotwire/issue1/relbasics1.htm
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Tool Tips |
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The Tool Tips
section addresses helpful hints and frequently asked questions about
ReliaSoft software products.
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Why doesn't the calculated MLE line track the data points on my
probability plot in Weibull++?
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I have installed Weibull++ or ALTA with no problems, but when I
attempt to open a Folio, I get an error message.
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In BlockSim, how can I simultaneously change the values of more
than one block in the RBD?
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Can I share plots from ReliaSoft applications with colleagues who
do not have the applications installed on their computers?
To read more, see
http://weibull.com/hotwire/issue1/tooltips1.htm
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Hot News |
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 Weibull++
Version 6 Released - The latest and greatest version of
Weibull++, the premiere reliability and life data analysis package,
is now available. You can download a free evaluation copy from
http://www.reliasoft.com/Weibull/evaluate.htm. This version has
all of the features and usability you have come to expect from
ReliaSoft products, with a host of great new features. These
include: the generalized-gamma distribution, likelihood ratio
bounds, competing failure modes, warranty analysis, ANOVA, a
redesigned Report Work Center, and a whole lot more! Weibull++ 5
users can upgrade to Version 6 for $295. For details on the updated
version of Weibull++, see
http://www.reliasoft.com/Weibull. |
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Reliability
Books Online
- The latest version of ReliaSoft's Life Data Analysis textbook is
now available online at
www.Weibull.com in a searchable HTML format. Check it out at
http://reliawiki.org/index.php/Life_Data_Analysis_Reference. |
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ReliaSoft
at RAMS - Once again, the ReliaSoft team made a big
splash at the annual Reliability and Maintainability Symposium,
which was held in Philadelphia from January 22 - 25. ReliaSoft
personnel presented papers on the following topics:
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Determination &
Interpretation of Activation Energy Using Accelerated-Test Data
(Paper)
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System
Reliability Analysis: The Advantages of Using Analytic Methods
to Analyze Non-Repairable Systems (Paper)
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Warranty
Calculations for Missiles with Only Current-Status Data, Using
Bayesian Methods (Paper)
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Reliability
Leadership (Paper)
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Understanding
Accelerated Life-Testing Analysis (Tutorial)
Details and
copies of these and other papers presented by ReliaSoft personnel at
previous RAMS gatherings can be found at
http://www.weibull.com/knowledge/papers.htm.
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Next
Seminar in Tucson, April 2-6 - The next ReliaSoft "Master
the Subject, Master the Tools" seminar will be held in Tucson from
April 2-6, 2001 at the Sheraton Tucson Hotel and Suites. Topics for
this five-day seminar include Life Data Analysis, Accelerated Life
Testing, and System Reliability, Maintainability and Availability.
For more information on course content and how to register, see
http://www.reliasoft.com/seminars. |
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ReliaSoft's
sales group has moved to Tucson - We are happy to
announce that our Corporate Sales group (formerly in Minneapolis,
MN) has moved to our recently expanded Corporate R and D facilities
in Tucson, AZ, giving us a closer integration between sales and
product development staff. We expect this integration to translate
into even better products and services. During this transition, the
phone and fax numbers used in Minneapolis have been changed. As of
February 9, 2001 please use the following numbers:
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Reliability
consulting now available through ReliaSoft Professional Services
--- ReliaSoft Professional Services now offers expert consulting
help. For more information see
http://www.reliasoft.com/consulting/index.htm. |
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From The Edge |
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Every
quarter, ReliaSoft publishes Reliability Edge, a printed journal
that includes articles and information related to the field of reliability
engineering.
Articles of interest in the current edition include:
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Life Data Classifications - Knowing how to distinguish between
different types of life data is vital to being able to properly
analyze such data. For a graphical example of the different types of
life data and how they differ, see
http://www.reliasoft.com/newsletter/2Q2000/classification.htm.
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The Limitations of Using MTTF as a Reliability Specification
- The mean life or MTTF (mean time to failure) is a popular measure of
the life or reliability of a product. Its seeming simplicity and ease
of understanding have made this a popular reliability metric,
particularly for engineers and managers with little or no background
in reliability and statistics. However, the MTTF metric may not be
giving you the information necessary for making an informed decision
about a product's reliability. To read more about the limitations of
the MTTF as a reliability metric and suitable alternatives, see
http://www.reliasoft.com/newsletter/2Q2000/mttf.htm.
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Using Reliability Importance Measures - Reliability
importance is a measure of the contribution of an individual component
to the overall reliability of a system. The reliability importance
measurements can then be used to determine the allocation of resources
for system reliability improvement. This information is useful in
minimizing the development costs of increased reliability. For more
information on the formulation and use of reliability importance
measures, see
http://www.reliasoft.com/newsletter/2Q2000/importance.htm.
Look for these articles in the next edition:
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Predicting Warranty Returns
- A Simple Demonstration of Accelerated Life Testing Analysis
- Exploring Reliability Analysis Using Simulation
- A High Value of Beta is Not Necessarily a Cause for Concern
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Copyright © 2001
ReliaSoft Corporation, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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