Reliability: Modeling, Prediction, and Optimization

CHAPTER 12

Reliability Management

12.1 INTRODUCTION

As indicated in Chapter 1, buyers of products (or systems) can be grouped into three categories:

1. Individuals (buyers of consumer durables and nondurables)
2. Businesses (buyers of commercial and industrial products as well as durables and non-durables)
3. Governments agencies (buyers of advanced high-tech, defense products as well as all of the previous types of products)

The reasons for buying a product are different for each group. Individual buyers purchase products to derive some satisfaction or pleasure (e.g., a stereo system to listen to music) or benefits (e.g., a washing machine to wash clothes or refrigerator to store food to prevent spoilage) or both (e.g., a new car). Businesses buy products to produce other products and/or services. An important goal in this context is making a profit and achieving other business goals such as market share, growth, etc. Finally, governments buy high-tech defense products to ensure national security and protection from unfriendly governments.

As discussed in Parts A–C, all products are unreliable in the sense that they deteriorate over time and ultimately fail. As a result, the performance of the product is affected and this in turn has a significant impact on the buyer. For individual buyers, it is usually the loss of satisfaction or benefits, but in some cases there is also an associated economic loss (e.g., the contents of a freezer spoiling due to failure of the compressor). The cost ...