In this issue:

Issue 89, July 2008
*Hot Topics
*Reliability Basics
*Tool Tips
*Hot News
*Contribute to HotWire

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Hot Topics
Modeling a Complex Maintenance Scenario in BlockSim
Many organizations use BlockSim to model and simulate repairable systems in order to obtain estimates of reliability, availability, number of spares required, maintenance cost, throughput and other related metrics for a given mission time. The numerous features available in BlockSims reliability block diagrams and phase diagrams make it the software of choice for advanced system analysis. However, at times the reliability analyst may come across scenarios that at first seem beyond BlockSims modeling capabilities. This article discusses one such scenario and gives the solution to implement it in BlockSim.

To read more, see http://www.weibull.com/hotwire/issue89/hottopics89.htm  Read more...
Reliability Basics

Maintenance Policies in BlockSim
BlockSim includes a number of maintenance policies to model corrective, preventive and inspection activities on repairable systems so that the operation and maintenance of systems can be simulated as accurately as possible. This article discusses two of these policies: "Corrective maintenance upon inspection" and "Maintenance of an item upon the maintenance of another group item." The implementation of these policies in BlockSim is illustrated using simple examples. These policies also can be combined to model other complex maintenance procedures, such as the scenario described in this month's Hot Topics article.

To read more, see http://www.weibull.com/hotwire/issue89/relbasics89.htm  Read more...

Tool Tips
  • How can I compare data sets in Weibull++ 7?
  • How can I obtain a picture of my Xfmea/RCM++ System or FMEA Hierarchy that can be inserted into other documents?

To read more, see http://www.weibull.com/hotwire/issue89/tooltips89.htm  Read more...
Hot News
* Special Congratulations to Award Recipients - At the 2008 International Applied Reliability Symposium, North America, we had the privilege of presenting the following awards:

2008 Reliability Leadership Award -  presented to two companies, Seagate Technology and Delphi Thermal, in order to recognize their efforts in the area of Design for Reliability (DFR). Both companies understood the need for knowledgeable engineers to drive the DFR process and implemented corporate-wide training programs to accomplish this goal.

2008 ARS Excellent Presentation Awards - presented to individuals for the presentations they gave at ARS, based on votes from their peers attending the event:

  * Gold ($1000): Stephanie Hahn, Cessna Aircraft Company, "Program Managing for Reliability During Development of Cessna Citation Mustang"
  * Silver ($750): Jerry Roslund, GLR Consulting, "Using the Weibull Function to Validate Product Life"
  * Bronze ($500): Harland MacKenzie, Dana Corporation, "The Pitfalls of Accelerated Life Testing"

Details and some pictures related to the awards presented this year are available online at: http://www.ARSymposium.org/2008/ars2008_awards.htm.
* Call for Presenters - ARS Europe - The committee is currently soliciting presenters for the 2009 ARS, Europe, which will be held in Barcelona, Spain on March 25 - 27, 2009. If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity and the potential to win your own Excellent Presentation Award and prize money, please review the detailed instructions and milestones posted at http://www.ARSymposium.org/europe/presenters/index.htm.
* ARS, North America 2008 Proceedings - If you were unable to attend ARS this year, you may be pleased to learn that the Proceedings are now available for purchase online at http://www.ARSymposium.org/archive.htm for only $145 plus any applicable shipping charges. Physical shipments include four spiral bound books and one CD-ROM.
* Master the Subject, Master the Tools - The MSMT Reliability Foundation Series is a five-day training course that consists of three sessions. The first session covers reliability and life data analysis and serves as the cornerstone for all subsequent MSMT courses. The next two sessions provide introductions to quantitative accelerated life testing (QALT) data analysis and system reliability/maintainability analysis.

Detailed course outlines for each session are available online at:

http://www.ReliaSoft.com/seminars/Session1.htm - RS 401 Reliability and Life Data Analysis
http://www.ReliaSoft.com/seminars/Session2.htm - RS 402 Introduction To Accelerated Life Testing Analysis
http://www.ReliaSoft.com/seminars/Session3.htm - RS 403 Introduction to System Reliability/Maintainability Analysis

The next available MSMT course will be held at the Holiday Inn on the Bay in San Diego, California from August 25-29, 2008. To register online, please visit https://Store.ReliaSoft.com.
   
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Contribute to HotWire
Contributions Welcomed
As always, your feedback and contributions are 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 contributions you may have for Reliability HotWire. If you have a topic or article that you think would be useful to the readers of Reliability HotWire, feel free to contact us. 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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