Implementation of the Product Reliability Program

The product reliability program was initiated to verify that the product being rushed into production is ready. That it has been through a process of analysis, testing and documentation aimed at assuring the success of the product meeting company's goals for reliability: that it will perform its functions successfully for a long time with high confidence, at a reasonable cost of ownership, and in an acceptable time to market. What is reliability, and why is it important? It differs from product quality, in that the quality program is aimed at building the best product that meets design, while reliability aims to see that the product quality is met throughout the life of the product (or some period of time). Reliability is defined as the probability that a product will operate for some period of time, under stated conditions and with a given level of confidence. Why is reliability important? If we are lacking in quality or reliability, we will have unacceptable DOAs (Dead On Arrivals) or product returns, which directly impact the bottom line (profits). Time to Market for a new design in a new market is of utmost importance, but if the products don't work, the reputation of the product and the company will suffer; consequences of this may far outweigh other financial or time to market achievements. Market pressures are forcing companies to produce products with higher reliability. How do we implement a reliability program ? This will depend upon the company organizational make-up, the level of experience of the employee's in reliability, and the market demands for reliability. It would of course help to have employees experienced in reliability, but if the company lacks such skill sets, outside consultants can be brought in to give some guidance. But these consultants need to be immersed into the company's product development process and tasked with the documentation of the reliability process and training for engineers and managers. Why is there resistance to a reliability program ? The company culture is probably built on a history of product development cycles, possibly from years previous when market demands for reliability were not nearly so demanding. Also, many of the tools in reliability are built on statistics and require some skills in understanding. Reliability tools also involve testing products at stress levels beyond the product specification, and the design engineers may find this difficult to accept. In this paper, we will examine reliability engineering tools and the reliability process, and how to introduce them to a company. We will look at what elements are needed in order to create a corporate culture that supports the reliability program implementation. We will discuss some strategies on how to generate support for this reliability program. We will discuss an example in which the product is highly customized, and sold in low volume. Each product sold is based on specific requirements from the customer, and is designed to fit into the specific application from that customer. A given product would not be sold to other customers.