Speaking Of Reliability: Friends Discussing Reliability Engineering Topics | Warranty | Plant Maintenance

Shorter Lifespan of Newer Appliances Abstract Carl and Fred discuss an article from the Wall Street Journal describing how newer appliances tend to have more complexity and shorter lifespans, and what can be done to reverse the trend. Key Points Join Carl and Fred as they discuss the factors that influence reliability in large, complex […]

Value of Design FMEA Abstract Carl and Fred discuss an interesting question from a listener about modeling the money value of Design FMEAs. Key Points Join Carl and Fred as they discuss whether it is possible to predict the cost savings due to design changes driven by Design FMEA. Topics include: The challenge of predicting […]

Lots of organizations really struggle with projecting returns. Big time. They often say the only data they have is the number of things sold in a month, versus the number of products returned. Really? So you have no idea which customer is returning the product? No idea when that customer purchased that product ... even just to confirm it was returned in the warranty period? Most organizations actually have the data ... it's all about sharing it.

The 2017 Atlanta Airport Blackout was caused by an electrical fire that took out the main power supply cables, ... and the backup power cables that were located in the same tunnel. This simply can't happen when organizations take reliability seriously. So if you want to learn how 'not' to do something like this ... listen to this podcast!

Customer Support Abstract Dianna and Fred discuss the challenges as a customer when calling for customer support. Key Points Join Dianna and Fred as they discuss customer support. Topics include: why current contact methods make it seem that customers are not a priority. the missing link: the problem the customer is facing. how changing the […]

Getting Questions Answered Abstract Dianna and Fred discuss the challenges in asking others reliability questions and getting questions answered. Key Points Join Dianna and Fred as they discuss getting questions answered about reliability. Topics include: places to ask questions being able to say “failure” ways to look at asking questions to help you ask yours […]

Moose Lodge Syndrome Abstract Greg and Fred discuss how institutions can and should adapt, but often don’t.  The result is that even most Fortune 500 companies have a 10 year half life. Key Points Join Greg and Fred as they discuss the inability of organizations to change and pivot.  ‘Moose Lodge Syndrome’ is a metaphor […]

Check Your (Decision Making) Bias Abstract Greg and Fred discuss how bias is a part of all of us.  Our challenge is that bias impacts our decision making from simple rules of thumb to complex decisions. Key Points Join Greg and Fred as they discuss heuristic and complex decision making.   Topics include: What are decision […]

The 'hazard rate' and 'failure rate' are terms that are often used by reliability engineers. Sometimes they are used in ways that make them seem as if they are the same thing. But are they? If you don't know ... then listen to this podcast!

Field data is often too simple. For example, we might only have usage or times to failure in terms of calendar time where we know the date our product was installed, and the date when it failed. But what if our product isn't being used the whole time? ... or being used at different rates? ... and it is this time and rate that affects failure? What do we do?