COURSE # MRO-231
ACHIEVING PRODUCT RELIABILITY –
PRACTICAL CONCEPTS, TECHNIQUES & TOOLS FOR DESIGNERS
August 20-22, 2008, in Washington, DC.
…an enlightening, practical look at product reliability at the product designer level…
Although the importance of product reliability cannot be underestimated, it is often taken for granted. After all, who would aim at producing an unreliable product? For years now, the ‘science’ of reliability has been practiced rigorously by the defense and space industries. Today, however, we hear more and more about the correlation between product reliability and product sales in the commercial and consumer markets as well. It can rarely be more evident than in the tales of the automotive industry. Yet, what ‘reliable’ means is often open to interpretation.
This two-day intensive course is intended to provide the product designers with the concepts, definitions, methodologies and a ‘top level’ understanding of the interaction among design, manufacturing, and reliability. Upon completion, the participant will be able to understand better the reliability specifications, perform elementary calculations, and critically evaluate reliability reports. It combines lecture with team and individual learning exercises to bring a true working knowledge of the concepts presented.
Applications and benefits:
You will benefit by enhancing your understanding of the:
- Reliability Foundation and Measures for different disciplines (electronics, mechanical, medical, etc.)
- Difference and relationship between Quality and Reliability
- Influence of design on reliability and method for determining whether a product is reliable
- Life Curve - What, why, and importance
- Economic benefit of investment in reliability
- Physics of failure
- Accelerated Testing - What, why, and how to perform (thermal, voltage, humidity, vibration)
- Demonstration of provided software tools
- Failure Reporting Analysis and Corrective Action System (FRACAS) and why it is important in improving reliability
- Reliability Standards and References
Who should attend:
Reliable products are not the sole responsibility of reliability engineers. In fact, it is the collective responsibility of every individual involved in product development and manufacturing. Reliability is better accomplished when the objectives are well defined, rather than open to interpretation. This class firmly sets the reliability criteria and provides the necessary know-how for designers, managers, program managers, system analysts, engineers and technicians, users and product manufacturers. There are no prerequisites for this course; however, some background in engineering or sciences is helpful.
Course Outline:
- Why is reliability a science?
- Basic theory of reliability
- How does reliability apply to different (i.e., your) products?
- Reliability measures in different disciplines (electronics, mechanical, medical, etc)
- How does one find out if a product is reliable?
- Difference and relationship between quality and reliability
- Common perceptions about reliability
- Why common sense does not always make sense
- Influence of design on reliability
- Life Curve
- What, why, and importance
- Overview of math tools used
- Concept of Sampling - reliability testing and measurement are based on samples
- Physics of failure
- How failure mechanisms relate to reliability
- Share images of real failures and mechanisms
- Arrhenius Equation - Basis of accelerated testing
- Difference between Arrhenius and mechanical mechanisms
- Accelerated Testing
- What, why, and how to perform (thermal, voltage, humidity, vibration)
- Calculation of failure rates
- Using accelerated testing
- Multiple failure mechanisms
- Software tools
- Simple Excel software to assist with calculations
- How to verify a failure rate via accelerated testing
- Picking sample sizes, stresses, test duration, etc
- Analyzing reliability data
- Does it make sense and what does the data really mean (reference real life examples)?
- Overview of Stress Screening
- How to use accelerated testing to weed out products with latent defects
- Failure Reporting Analysis and Corrective Action System (FRACAS) and why it is important in improving reliability
- How to use failure data to make improvements that save $$, improve quality, reliability, yield, and cycle time
- Reliability Standards and References
- Advanced concepts
- Detailed physics of failure
- Mechanisms inherent in different technologies
- Technology and part qualification
- System reliability predictions
Text: Practical Reliability Engineering, by Patrick D.T. O'Connor, 2002
- In addition, participants will be provided with freeware developed by the course instructor.
About the Instructor
Dr. Andrew Kostic is a recognized authority in product reliability, quality, and failure analysis. Andrew has been involved with all phases of the product life cycle in computer, aerospace, and medical industries. His classes have been taught around the world and are highly valued for their practicality. He has held senior technical positions at Unisys and IBM, and is currently a Fellow Engineer at the Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems Division Product Integrity Department.
Details:
Course: MRO-231 Duration: 2 Days FEE: $1,299 CEUs: 1.44
Please direct any additional inquiries regarding this course to Anita Hellstrom, Program Coordinator, by e-mail, FAX: (240) 371-4488 or TELEPHONE: (301) 871-9608.
Call toll free 1-800-683-7267 from anywhere in the Continental U.S. or CANADA.
Last modified May 29, 2008.
