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In this issue: |
Issue 13, March 2002 |
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Reliability HotWire is a service
of ReliaSoft Corporation
To subscribe or update your e-mail preferences, go to
http://www.weibull.com/hotwire/index.htm
To remove yourself from this e-mail list: Send an e-mail with the word
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HotWire@ReliaSoft.com
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Hot Topics |
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Using Reliability
Information Throughout the Organization
The information generated via a reliability engineering program or from
other life data analysis activities has a usefulness that extends beyond
the group that generated it. It should seem obvious that information
regarding the failure behavior of a product would be useful to groups in
an organization other than just reliability engineers. However, it is a
sad but true fact that some organizations use the reliability information
on their products for little more than a specification check. In this
article, we will take a look at how life data can be used in other parts
of a manufacturing or business organization.
To read more, see
http://www.weibull.com/hotwire/issue13/hottopics13.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.
Defining Distributions - Part 2: Deriving Reliability Functions
In last month's Reliability Basics, we took a look at the mathematical
function that is the basis for many useful reliability and life data
metrics, the probability density function, or pdf. The pdf
function is essentially a continuous form of a histogram, which is a bar
chart that characterizes the relative frequency of an occurrence. In this
month's article, we will look at how the pdf is used to derive
other frequently-used life data metrics.
To read more, see
http://www.weibull.com/hotwire/issue13/relbasics13.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.
To read more, see
http://www.weibull.com/hotwire/issue13/tooltips13.htm
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Hot News |
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MSG-3
Maintenance Program Creator in Beta Testing
- ReliaSoft's MPC 3, an MSG-3 compliant maintenance program creator,
is currently in the final stages beta testing. Developed with
Honeywell Aircraft Engines & Systems Group, this software package is
specifically designed for the aerospace industry. Current scheduled
release date is early April 2002. For more information, see
http://MPC.ReliaSoft.com.
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Next Seminar in Tucson, May 20 - 24 -
The next ReliaSoft "Master the Subject, Master the Tools"
seminar will be held in Tucson from May 20 - 24, 2002 at the
Sheraton Hotel and Suites. For more information on course content
and how to register, see
http://www.ReliaSoft.com/seminars/master.htm.
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ReliaSoft at MRO
- ReliaSoft will be participating in the Maintenance, Repair and
Overhaul (MRO) Conference and Exhibition, to be held April 9 - 11,
2002 at the Phoenix Civic Plaza and Convention Center in Phoenix,
Arizona. ReliaSoft will have a booth in the vendors area where you can
get information on ReliaSoft's products and services. For more
details, see
http://www.awgnet.com/conferences/mromain.htm. |
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Accelerated Testing Training
- ReliaSoft will again teach the RAC's Accelerated Testing Training
Course on March 12 - 14, 2002 in San Diego, CA. Topics for this course
include accelerated life testing and how it is applied, overview of
stress loading models and analysis, applicable stress-life
relationship models and predicting reliabilities, warranty times and
MTTFs (MTBFs) using accelerated life data. For more information on
course content and how to register, contact RAC at 1.888.RAC.USER or
+1.315.337.0900. |
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Reliability Training at GM Knowledge Center
- We are pleased to announce that once again ReliaSoft will be
providing training classes for GM employees at the General Motors
Knowledge Center in Warren, Michigan. The courses offered will cover
three diverse disciplines of reliability engineering and include life
data analysis, accelerated life test data analysis and system
reliability, maintainability and availability analysis. For more
information, visit the GMU Knowledge Center Web site at
http://www.gmulearning.com or contact ReliaSoft at +1.520.886.0410.
Class size is limited. GM suppliers should check with GM for class
availability. The remaining 2002 class schedule is as follows:
May 6 - 8, 2002 - Life Data Analysis
May 9, 2002 - System Reliability
August 5 - 7, 2002 - Life Data Analysis
August 8, 2002 - Accelerated Life Testing
October 14 - 16, 2002 - Life Data Analysis
October 17, 2002 - System Reliability
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From The Edge |
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In addition to the
monthly Reliability HotWire, 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:
- Analyzing Accelerated Test Data with Time-Varying Test and Use
Stress Profiles - Accelerated testing is becoming more widely used
in order to obtain life data in a relatively short amount of time. The
use of sophisticated tools, such as ReliaSoft’s ALTA PRO software,
allows the reliability engineer to design and analyze tests that would
have been impossible to do a few years ago. This is particularly true
if the test or use stress varies with time. In this article, we will
look at an analysis in which the test and the use stress levels have
different time-varying profiles. See
http://www.ReliaSoft.com/newsletter/4q2001/accel_profiles.htm.
- Competing Failure Modes Analysis - For many products, there
are multiple failure modes that can result in the failure of an
individual unit. When performing reliability analysis on this type of
product, you can take the view that each individual unit could fail
due to any one of the possible failure modes and, since an item cannot
fail more than one time in a non-repairable system, that there can
only be one failure mode for each failed unit. Competing failure modes
analysis, which segregates the analysis of failure modes and then
combines the results to provide an overall reliability model for the
product in question, can be used to analyze data of this type. This
article presents an overview of competing failure modes analysis and
an example to illustrate the techniques. See
http://www.ReliaSoft.com/newsletter/4q2001/modes.htm.
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Share Your Experience
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Reliability
Specification Experiences Wanted
Reliability specifications are a central component of most reliability
analyses. Despite their central importance, there is wide variation
within industry as to the format and meaning of reliability
specifications. In many cases, there are serious deficiencies in the
specifications on which manufacturers base important business decisions.
In a future issue of our printed newsletter, the
Reliability Edge, we will examine the reliability specifications
that are commonly used in industry today. We invite you to participate
by sharing non-confidential/non-proprietary information about the
reliability specifications that you work with in your day-to-day
efforts. Do you have experience with particularly effective reliability
specifications? Have you struggled to educate decision makers in your
organization about the inadequacies of the specifications that they have
adopted? Have you received specifications from a client that just do not
make sense?
Please send feedback to us at
ReliabilityEdge@ReliaSoft.com, or by standard mail at 1450 S.
Eastside Loop, Tucson, AZ 85710-6703, USA.
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Copyright © 2002
ReliaSoft Corporation, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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