Reliability Midterm preparation.

1. Write a motivational speech on reliability (like assignment 02): maximum 2 pages. (Check Ass)
2. Compare 1E-9 / FH in aerospace industry with 1E-6 / 15 years in automotive industry.
3. Some MTTF, MTBF, MDT, MUT, availability exercise (like assignment 04)
4. Define Reliability and provide details on each of the terms involved
RELIABILITY DEFINITION: The ability of an item to perform its required function under stated conditions
for a specified period of time.
 Item: It embeds components utilized or studied, manufacturing process “E.G: hand solder”
 The probability generally is translated into the reliability target (e.g. x% surviving at time t, PPM
under warranty, cost of operating over a specified time period, etc.) R(t) btwn 0 to 1.
 Required function: When defining the function one has to have a clear definition of the failure
mode. The units function reliability is a combination of individual reliabilities
 Stated conditions: These include: environmental conditions, maintenance conditions, usage
conditions, storage and moving conditions, possibly others
 Specified period of time: Function of operating conditions e.g: operating hours, calender time,
cycles, km etc.).
5. Explain, using your own words, the meaning of the following graph and fill in the blanks.

6. Define the 4 elements of RAMS

This is an Engineering Integrity methodology which means: The design for Reliability; Availability;
maintainability and Safety.
7. List and Provide Details on failure types:
 Active Failure: This type of failure is evident and immediately observable at moment of
occurrence and results in immediate deterioration in the system or the system deterioration is
not observable but failure is indicated by the monitoring system.
  Dormant (latent) Failure: It is not immediately observable at moment of occurrence and
produces no immediate observable effect on the system performance, “This failure isn’t
indicated by monitoring system”.
 Independent failure: The occurrence of a failure does not affect the probability of the second
one.
 Common failure mode: IS an event having a single external cause with multiple failure effects,
which are not a consequence of each other.
 Cascading failures: this is a single event, not necessarily hazardous in itself, but can precipitate a
series of other failures.

8. What is the difference between reliability and quality?

Defining quality to be "conformance to requirements at the start of use".
From an operating point of view: Reliability is the quality degradation overtime.
9. List common barriers in implementing reliability
 I qualify m product, this means it is reliable
 We deliver the best product and no improvement is necessary
 Schedule is a top priority, reliability is against the program.
 My product isn’t worth the investment of reliability
 Experience is more valuable than reliability
 Reliability is a No that goes against the product specs.

10. Cost per time unit (km, miles, flight hour, calendar hour, cycles) exercise like example in class
Reliability cannot predict the exact time to failure of a unit. It always deals with a population. Reliability
provides units to measure the performance of the population.
 11. List units used by management to measure reliability
Reliability is not performed for the sake of reliability and is a mean to achieve other targets.
Safety, Catastrophes, Image (Media Impact), Availability, Dispatch Interruption rate, Media Interruption
rate, Warranty, Scheduled Maintenance cost, Life Cycle Cost, marketing, Aftermarket, Liability, “Money;
USD, CAD, EUR,YEN” etc.
12. What is the typical break-down of a system for reliability?
A typical breakdown of a system in reliability represents the link starting from the functional level, going
down to technical functions ensuring the upper function and linking these technical functions to the
physical piece- part or component involved

13. . Define the risk and provide some practical units to measure the risk.
Risk can be defined as intentional interaction with uncertainty (is a measure of unpredictable or
uncontrollable outcome of an event).
The risk is a measure of a danger which puts together the measure of occurrence of the unwanted event
and the measure of the consequences of this event.
Units to measure Risk: Severity and Probability of Occurrence (Not Sure)
Units to measure Risk : Safety; media impact; availability; mission interruption; scheduled maintenance
cost; lifecycle cost; aftermarket; warranty; marketing; liability; program cost; company’s reputation.

14. Define the 3 types of reliability encountered by a product during its life. Explain the progression
of the reliability during the life of the program.
 Design Reliability: Is the predicted reliability of a product at the end of its development phase.
Based on field experience from testing similar products and types under nominal environmental
and operational conditions.
 Inherent Reliability: This is the reliability of a product associated with variations format he
original design reliability as a result of variation in quality during the production process.
Variations result from some components not conforming to design specs and / assembly errors.
 Field / operational reliability: This is also known as the actual reliability of a product upon sale to
the end user. Measured as a result from failures and malfunctions
 15. Explain using your own words the diagram below

16. Define B10 and provide details on its use as a reliability metric to compare various products.
B10 is the time that a devices will operate prior to 10% of a sample of those devices would fail.
 17. Explain the reliability in series and its effect on the system. Provide a simple example.
Reliability in series of multiple systems drastically decreases the overall reliability of the entire system
A system consists of several components of which one or more must be working in order for the system
to function. Components of a system may be connected in series, which implies that if one component
fails, then the entire system fails. In this case, reliability of the entire system is considered, and not
necessarily the reliability of an individual component. If, in the example of the control-panel system,
where each warning light had a reliability of 0.90, then the reliability of thewarning system would be:
RSystem = RComponent 1×RComponent 2 = 0.90×0.90= 0.81.
The system reliability in a series configuration is less than the reliabilities of each component. This
systems reliability makes use of a probability law called the law of multiplication.

18. Explain the reliability in parallel and its effect on the system. Provide a simple example.
 19. Define the failure rate. Explain the difference between failure rate and reliability (not the
Formula).
The failure rate function, also called the instantaneous failure rate or the hazard rate, is denoted by λ(t).
It represents the probability of failure per unit time, t, given that the component has already survived to
time t.
Data obtained from failure rates are used to determine the shape of the bathtub curve, including
locating boundaries between stages. If the failure rate decreases with time, then the product exhibits
infant mortality or early life failures. These types of failures are typically caused by mechanisms like
design errors, poor quality control or material defects. If the failure rate is constant with time, then the
product exhibits a random or memoryless failure rate behavior.
While the unreliability and reliability functions yield probabilities at a given time from which reliability
metrics can be calculated, the value of the failure rate at a given time is not generally used for the
calculation of reliability metrics.
20. Define the 3 phases of the life of a product as described by the failure rate evolution. Provide
details on each phase.
 21. Describe the life of the software from a failure rate point of view.

There are two major differences between hardware and software curves. One difference is that in the
last phase, software does not have an increasing failure rate as hardware does. In this phase, software is
approaching obsolescence; there are no motivation for any upgrades or changes to the software.
Therefore, the failure rate will not change. The second difference is that in the useful-life phase,
software will experience a drastic increase in failure rate each time an upgrade is made. The failure rate
levels off gradually, partly because of the defects found and fixed after the upgrades. Software
Reliability is the probability of failure-free software operation for a specified period of time in a specified
environment.
 22. Draw the removal break-down diagram. Provide details on each term.

23. Explain the difference between the MTBF computed over the life of the product (sum of all the
operating times cumulated by product divided by number of events) versus the 12-month
moving average MTBF (sum of all the operating times cumulated over the last 12 months
divided by the number of events encountered). Highlight the individual usage of each.

MTBF is the mean time between failures for repairable objects with exponential failure rate distribution
and constant failure rate. = (No of Equip * Time period) / No of failures during that time.

24. Explain the difference between the MTBF computed over the life of the product (sum of all the
operating times cumulated by product divided by number of events) versus the warranty period
and/or fiscal year.

25. FMEA (Bottom Up Approach)

FMEA
• definition
• when to perform
• types of FMEA
• process: how to build
• members involved
• expected results

Definition - when to perform - types of FMEA - basic steps to follow - process: how to build - members
involved - expected results.
• Basic steps to follow
 List the key process steps in the first column
 List the potential failure mode for each process step
 List the effects of this failure mode
 Rate how severe this effect
 Identify the causes of the failure mode/effect
 Identify the controls in place to detect the issue
 Multiply the severity, occurrence, and detection numbers
 Sort by RPN number and identify most critical issues
 Assign specific actions with responsible persons
 Once actions have been completed, re-score the occurrence and detection.

 When to perform
FMEAs should always be done whenever failures would mean potential harm or injury to the
user of the end item being designed.
• Types of FMEA
 System – focuses on global system functions
 Design – focuses on components and subsystems
 Process – focuses on manufacturing and assembly processes
 Service – focuses on service functions
  Software – focuses on software functions

 Process: how to build (Members involved)

 A simple explanation of how to complete a process FMEA follows below:
 Form a cross-functional team of process owners and operations support personnel with a team
leader.
 Have the team leader define the scope, goals and timeline of completing the FMEA.
 As a group, complete a detailed process map.
 Transfer the process map for the steps of the FMEA process.
 Assign severity, occurrence and detection scores to each process step as a team.
 Based on the RPN value, identify required corrective actions for each process step.
 Complete a Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed (RACI) chart for the corrective
actions.
 Have the team leader on a periodic basis track the corrective action and update the FMEA.
 Have the team leader also track process changes, design changes, and other critical discoveries
that would qualify and update the FMEA.
 Ensure that the team leader schedules periodic meetings to review the FMEA (based on process
performance, a quarterly review may be an option).

 Expected results
The purpose of FMEA is the anticipation and mitigation of the negative effects of possible failures prior
to the time they occur

26. WHEN to use FMEA vs. FTA.

27. Which are the 4 types of risks of an RDP?

 Scenario A: Both the actual and the assessed reliabilities are below the target value and hence,
further development is needed. Note that if any of the constraints (e.g., development cost
and/or development time) are violated the development program might be terminated.

 Scenario B: The assessed reliability indicates that the target value is achieved, but in reality this
is not the case. If the actual reliability is well below the target value, then releasing the
production to the market can result in high warranty costs, customer dissatisfaction, and in the
worst case, a product recall.
  Scenario C: The actual reliability is greater than the target value, but the assessed reliability
indicates that this is not so. As a result, the development program is continued, incurring
additional costs that could have been avoided.

 Scenario D: In this case the assessed and actual reliabilities exceed the target value and the
termination of the program does not entail any risks.

28. Provide details on the DFR key activities flow

1. Identify 2. Design
Quantitatively define the reliability requirements for a - This is the stage where specific design activities begin,
product as well as the end-user environmental/usage such as circuit layout, mechanical drawing,
conditions. component/supplier selection, etc. Therefore, a better
Customer expectations and how to translate them into design picture begins emerging.
engineering metrics.
Develop specific environmental test requirements (e.g. - In this stage, a clearer picture about what the product is
converting the requirement of B_5 life at 280K miles for supposed to do starts developing.
a heavy duty truck into a test flow and test sample size) - More specific reliability requirements are defined
Identify technology limitations (e.g. battery, optics, - The more design/supplication change, the more
specific components, etc.) and the relevant validation reliability risks are introduced
strategies. - A program risks can be assessed.
Activities/Tools
Activities/tools  Reliability prediction (compare design alternatives,
 Goal setting identify preferred components and suppliers)
 Metrics  Cost trade-offs
 Gap analysis  Tolerance evaluation
 Benchmarking  Better understanding of customer specifications
 Reliability program plan  FMEA
 QFD (Quality function development)  FTA

3. Analyze 4. Verify
- Estimating the product’s reliability, often with a rough - Prototype Hardware build. Quantity all of the previous work
first cut estimate, early in the design phase. It is based on test results. By this stage, prototypes should be ready
important at this phase to address all the potential for testing and more detailed analysis.
- Iterative process where different types of tests are performed,
sources of product failure.
product weakness are uncovered, the results are analyzed and
- Close cooperation between reliability engineers and
design changes are made.
the design team can be very beneficial at this phase.
Activities / Tools
Activities/Tools  HALT.
 Finite element analysis, physics of failure  ALT
 Reliability prediction (reliability block diagrams)  Test to failure (Life data analysis)
  Engineering judgment, expert opinions, existing  Degradation analysis. Reliability growth process (if
data enough data is available).
 Warranty analysis of the existing products  DRBTR (Design Review Based on test Results)
 DRBFM or Change Point Analysis (if needed)
 Stress/strength analysis
 FMEA (updated)

5. Validate 6. Control Assuring that the process remains unchanged and the
- Validations involves functional and environmental testing on variations remain within the tolerances
a system level with the purpose to become production ready.
- Making sure that the product is ready for high production Activities/ Tools
volume.  Control Chart and process capability studies (Cpk, Ppk,
etc.)
Activities/ Tools.  Human Reliability.
 Design Validation (Including Accelerated life testing  Continuous compliance.
and reliability demonstration).  Field return analysis (warranty) and forecasting.
 Process Validation.  IRT (ongoing reliability testing).
 Note: Often program schedule leaves not time for  Audits.
test to failure at this stage. Most of it should be done  Lessons learned for the next generation of products
at the previous stages. Validation phase is often done (important to close the cycle of the DFR).
via ‘test to success”

29. Define 4 questions for auditing the 1.2 – STATUS. Define people to survey (Stick only to the
management Aspect - Professor)
 30. Field experience: what are companies doing good and what are they weak at

31. Give 5 examples of reliability metrics for the Reliability program plan

32. List 3 reliability metrics and provide details on each

Different metrics can be discussed such as B_x (page 80 and 81) , MTTF (page 67), MTBF (page 67),
MTBUR (page 75), Failure Rate (page 88), Availability (page 82), Maintainability (page 85 and 86), and
Reliability (as metric) (page 57). All mentioned pages are in the first file (CAD01)
Failure Rate
MTTF
MTBF
B10
Reliability
TEOL
Thard life
33. Explain the difference between quantitative and qualitative FMEA
Qualitative FMEA involves the use of a numerical probability while Quantitative FMEA has no numerical
probability
Qualitative is more about probability from ( a to b) for RPN; while for Quantitative has the pro
34. Explain the difference between quantitative and qualitative FTA
35. Associate the following failure modes to the right distribution. There might be a practical
exercise on this, e.g.: A bearing in a specific context fails due to wear-out, associate the right
reliability distribution to its failure mode.
 36. Explain using your own words the use of the tool below (any of the provided tools).

In this reliability tool by inserting percentage of accepted failures and desired minimum time for
X% failures and then pushing the button RUN, we can see a table of different µ and sigma. All of
these µ and sigma’s can meet our requirement for the inserted information. By putting these
numbers in a figure, we can have a line and then for a given set of data, we can realize if they
are OK or NOT OK with respect to required criteria (which we inserted at first). If the point is
bottom of this line or on the line in figure, we can say that this item is OK and if not, the item
cannot meet our requirements.

37. Exercise example: A pump has 2 main failure modes: electric motor and shaft failure. Failure
times are listed in the table on the right.
Compare the performance of the electric motor against the shaft.
For the same operating times, the shaft shows only 4 failures while the electric motor shows 36
failures. By the classic formula of MTTF = (sum of operating time) / (number of failures), it is
expected to obtain a value 9 times less for the shafts than the value for the electric motors.

38. What are the most common methods used to choose the right distribution model for a
failure mode?
39. What is the use of a statistical model during the program?
 40. Explain what memoryless effect means for the exponential distribution (no formulas are
required)
It means the condition reliability function for the lifetime of a component that has survived to
time s is identical to that of a new component. This term is the so-called “used-as-good-as-new”
assumption. Because of this characteristic, MTTF = MTBF. Because of this, it is not important
what happened before and the current situation of the item is the only thing that matters.
41. Explain the process to set the maintenance interval in the risk-based maintenance
approach

42. Explain the practical meaning of BETA and ETA parameters for the Weibull distribution
used in reliability
 decreases sharply and monotonically for and is convex.

 For , decreases monotonically but less sharply than for and is

convex.

 For , decreases as increases. As wear-out sets in, the curve goes through an
inflection point and decreases sharply.
A change in the scale parameter has the same effect on the distribution as a change of the abscissa scale.
Increasing the value of while holding constant has the effect of stretching out the pdf. Since the area
under a pdf curve is a constant value of one, the "peak" of the pdf curve will also decrease with the increase
of , as indicated in the above figure.

 If is increased while and are kept the same, the distribution gets stretched out to the
right and its height decreases, while maintaining its shape and location.

 If is decreased while and are kept the same, the distribution gets pushed in towards the
left (i.e., towards its beginning or towards 0 or ), and its height increases.

 has the same units as , such as hours, miles, cycles, actuations, etc.

43. Explain the practical meaning of MIU and SIGMA parameters for the Normal distribution
used in reliability
44. Explain the use of MTBF in safety