Reliability and Maintenance

Abstract

There is frequently considerable confusion in peoples’ minds on the difference in practice between Quality and Reliability; interpretation is not made easier by the fact that ‘reliability’ is often tacked on, so to speak, to the word ‘quality’. Let it be said at once that, without effective quality control, no product will be reliable; on the other hand, the finest quality control, applied to a product whose design is inadequate or which is wrongly applied under service conditions, will not ensure reliability. Thus the simplest definitions, on which this chapter is based, are:

• Reliability — The product should look right, work right and should last for the specified life.

• Quality Control — A system to ensure that the product, through all stages of manufacture, conforms to the specification.