Chapter 15
Reliability Management
Introduction
In this chapter we provide both motivation and guidance in outlining the importance of reliability and the techniques to assure optimal design program success. If the reliability of a product is considered one of its key performance characteristics, activities to assess and improve the system or product reliability must receive the time and resources necessary to assure success. These activities help to minimize the risk of program delays and overruns due to design issues, test anomalies and mishaps, and field failures. Reliability activities early in the design process and employed continuously throughout the product life cycle must be considered crucial to minimize or eliminate the chance of program failure.
A Case for the Importance of Reliability to Management
The following are excerpted comments from the Nobel laureate physicist Richard Feynman from his notes regarding the Challenger shuttle catastrophe [1]:
From Introduction: It appears that there are enormous differences of opinion as to the probability of failure with loss of vehicle and human life. The estimates range from roughly 1 in 100 to 1 in 100, 000 … . Since 1 part in 100,000 would imply that one could put a Shuttle up each day for 300 years expecting to lose only one, we could properly ask, “What is the cause of management's fantastic faith in the machinery?”
From Conclusion: … If a reasonable launch schedule is to be maintained, engineering often ...
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