Design and Assurance For Reliability

Abstract

It is primarily the design of an item which establishes its potential reliability and maintainability. It is a fact of life that the transition from drawings to hardware always results in achieved levels lower than this original design reliability. It is therefore necessary to design to specified levels of reliability and maintainability higher than the field requirements and to follow up with assurance activities aimed at minimising the failures which arise during manufacture and use. Figure 1.1 illustrates the concept of a reliability level fixed by the ‘drawings’ and a lower field level due to the many failure possibilities arising from manufacture and subsequent use. This chapter outlines the activities and techniques which can be applied in design, to develop equipment to meet the R and M objectives and to minimise failures in manufacture and use.