1

Introduction

1.1 RELIABILITY HISTORY

The history of the reliability discipline goes back to the early 1930s when probability concepts were applied to electric power generation related problems [1-3]. During World War II, Germans applied the basic reliability concepts to improve reliability of their V1 and V2 rockets. In 1947, Aeronautical Radio, Inc. and Cornell University conducted a reliability study of over 100,000 electronic tubes. In 1950, an ad hoc committee on reliability was established by the United States Department of Defense and in 1952 it was transformed to a permanent body: Advisory Group on the Reliability of Electronic Equipment (AGREE) [4]. In 1951, Weibull published a statistical function that subsequently became known as the Weibull distribution [5]. In 1952, exponential distribution received a distinct edge after the publication of a paper, presenting failure data and the results of various goodness-of-t tests for competing failure distribution, by Davis [6]. In 1954, a National Symposium on Reliability and Quality Control was held for the rst time in the United States and in the following year, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) formed an organization called the Reliability and Quality Control Society. During the following two years, three important documents concerning reliability appeared: 1956: a book entitled Reliability Factors for Ground Electronic Equipment [7], 1957: AGREE report [8], 1957: rst military reliability specication: MIL-R-25717 (USAF): Reliability Assurance Program for Electronic Equipment [9]. In 1962, the Air Force Institute of Technology of the United States Air Force (USAF), Dayton, Ohio, started the rst masters degree program in system reliability engineering. Nonetheless, ever since the inception of the reliability eld many individuals have contributed to it and hundreds of publications on the topic have appeared [10,11]. This chapter discusses various introductory aspects of the reliability discipline.

1.2 NEED OF RELIABILITY IN PRODUCT DESIGN

There have been many factors responsible for the consideration of reliability in product design including product complexity, insertion of reliability related-clauses in design specications, competition, awareness of cost effectiveness, public demand, and the past system failures. Some of these factors are described below in detail. Even if we consider the increase in the product complexity with respect to parts alone, there has been a phenomenal growth of some products. For example, today a

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typical Boeing 747 jumbo jet airplane is made up of approximately 4.5 million parts, including fasteners. Even for relatively simpler products, there has been a signicant increase in complexity with respect to parts. For example, in 1935 a farm tractor was made up of 1200 critical parts and in 1990 the number increased to around 2900. With respect to cost effectiveness, many studies have indicated that the most effective for prot contribution is the involvement of reliability professionals with product designers. In fact, according to some experts, if it would cost $1 to rectify a design defect prior to the initial drafting release, the cost would increase to $10 after the nal release, $100 at the prototype stage, $1000 at the pre-production stage, and $10,000 at the production stage. Nonetheless, various studies have revealed that design-related problems are generally the greatest causes for product failures. For example, a study performed by the U.S. Navy concerning electronic equipment failure causes attributed 43% of the failures to design, 30% to operation and maintenance, 20% to manufacturing, and 7% to miscellaneous factors [12]. Well-publicized system failures such as those listed below may have also contributed to more serious consideration of reliability in product design [13-15]: Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster: This debacle occurred in 1986, in which all crew members lost their lives. The main reason for this disaster was design defects. Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor Explosion: This disaster also occurred in 1986, in the former Soviet Union, in which 31 lives were lost. This debacle was also the result of design defects. Point Pleasant Bridge Disaster: This bridge located on the West Virginia/Ohio border collapsed in 1967. The disaster resulted in the loss of 46 lives and its basic cause was the metal fatigue of a critical eye bar.

1.3 RELIABILITY IN THE PRODUCT DESIGN PROCESS

Reliability of the design, to a large extent, is determined by the reliability tasks performed during the product design. These reliability tasks include: establishing reliability requirements denition, using reliability design standards/guides/checklists, allocating reliability, predicting reliability, reliability modeling, monitoring subcontractor/supplier reliability activities, performing failure modes effects and criticality analysis, monitoring reliability growth, assessing software reliability, environmental stress screening, preparing critical items list, and performing electronic parts/circuits tolerance analysis [16]. Reliability tasks such as those listed above, if performed effectively, will contribute tremendously to the product design.

1.4 RELIABILITY SPECIALIZED AND APPLICATION AREAS

Ever since the inception of the reliability eld, the reliability discipline has branched into many specialized and application areas such as those listed below [10,11]:

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 Mechanical reliability. This is concerned with the reliability of mechanical items. Many textbooks and other publications have appeared on this topic. A comprehensive list of publications on mechanical reliability is given in Reference 17. Software reliability. This is an important emerging area of reliability as the use of computers is increasing at an alarming rate. Many books have been written on this topic alone. A comprehensive list of publications on software reliability may be found in References 10 and 18. Human reliability. In the past, many times systems have failed not due to technical faults but due to human error. The rst book on the topic appeared in 1986 [18]. A comprehensive list of publications on human reliability is given in Reference 19. Reliability optimization. This is concerned with the reliability optimization of engineering systems. So far, at least one book has been written on the topic and a list of publications on reliability optimization is given in References 20 and 21. Reliability growth. This is basically concerned with monitoring reliability growth of engineering systems during their design and development. A comprehensive list of publications on the topic is available in Reference 10. Structural reliability. This is concerned with the reliability of engineering structures, in particular civil engineering. A large number of publications including books have appeared on the subject [11]. Reliability general. This includes developments on reliability of a general nature. Usually, mathematicians and related professionals contribute to the area [10]. Power system reliability. This is a well-developed area and is basically concerned with the application of reliability principles to conventional power system related problems. Many books on the subject have appeared over the years including a vast number of other publications [22]. Robot reliability and safety. This is an emerging new area of the application of basic reliability and safety principles to robot associated problems. Over the years many publications on the subject have appeared including one textbook [23]. Life cycle costing. This is an important subject that is directly related to reliability. In particular, when estimating the ownership cost of the product, the knowledge regarding its failure rate is essential. In the past, many publications on life cycle costing have appeared including several books [24]. Maintainability. This is closely coupled to reliability and is concerned with the maintaining aspect of the product. Over the years, a vast number of publications on the subject have appeared including some books [10].

1.5 TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

There are many terms and denitions used in reliability engineering. Some of the frequently used terms and denitions are presented below [25-28].

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 Reliability. This is the probability that an item will carry out its assigned mission satisfactorily for the stated time period when used under the specied conditions. Failure. This is the inability of an item to function within the initially dened guidelines. Downtime. This is the time period during which the item is not in a condition to carry out its stated mission. Maintainability. This is the probability that a failed item will be repaired to its satisfactory working state. Redundancy. This is the existence of more than one means for accomplishing a dened function. Active redundancy. This is a type of redundancy when all redundant items are operating simultaneously. Availability. This is the probability that an item is available for application or use when needed. Mean time to failure (exponential distribution). This is the sum of the operating time of given items divided by the total number of failures. Useful life. This is the length of time an item operates within an acceptable level of failure rate. Mission time. This is the time during which the item is performing its specied mission. Human error. This is the failure to perform a given task (or the performance of a forbidden action) that could lead to disruption of scheduled operations or result in damage to property/equipment. Human reliability. This is the probability of completing a job/task successfully by humans at any required stage in the system operation within a dened minimum time limit (if the time requirement is specied).

1.6 RELIABILITY INFORMATION SOURCES

There are many different sources for obtaining reliability related information. They may be classied into various different categories. Three such categories are as follows: 1. Journals Quality and Reliability Engineering, published by John Wiley & Sons four times a year. IEEE Transactions on Reliability, jointly published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the American Society for Quality Control (ASQC) ve times a year. Microelectronics Reliability, published by Pergamon Press 12 times a year. Reliability, Quality, and Safety Engineering, published by the World Scientic Publishing Company four times a year. Quality and Reliability Management, published by MCB University Press several times a year.

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 Reliability Engineering and System Safety, published by Elsevier Science Publishers several times a year. Reliability Review, published by the Reliability Division of ASQC four times a year. 2. Conference Proceedings Proceedings of the Annual Reliability and Maintainability Symposium (U.S.) Proceedings of the Annual Reliability Engineering Conference for the Electric Power Industry (U.S.) Proceedings of the European Conference on Safety and Reliability (Europe) Proceedings of the Symposium on Reliability in Electronics (Hungary) Proceedings of the International Conference on Reliability, Maintainability, and Safety (China) Proceedings of the International Conference on Reliability and Exploitation of Computer Systems (Poland) 3. Agencies Reliability Analysis Center Rome Air Development Center (RADC) Grifs Air Force Base New York, NY 13441-5700 Government Industry Data Exchange Program (GIDEP) GIDEP Operations Center U.S. Department of Navy Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Corona, CA 91720 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Parts Reliability Information Center George C. Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL 35812 National Technical Information Center (NTIS) 5285 Port Royal Road Springeld, VA 22151 Defense Technical Information Center DTIC-FDAC 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Suite 0944 Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6218 American National Standards Institute (ANSI) 11 W. 42nd St. New York, NY 10036 Technical Services Department American Society for Quality Control 611 W. Wisconsin Ave., P.O. Box 3005 Milwaukee, WI 53201-3005

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 Space Documentation Service European Space Agency Via Galileo Galilei Frascati 00044, Italy System Reliability Service Safety and Reliability Directorate UKAEA Wigshaw Lane, Culcheth Warrington, WA3 4NE, U.K.

1.7 MILITARY AND OTHER RELIABILITY DOCUMENTS

Over the years many military and other documents concerning reliability have been developed. Such documents can serve as a useful tool in conducting practically inclined reliability studies and related tasks. Some of these documents are as follows: MIL-HDBK-338, Electronics Reliability Design Handbook, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. MIL-HDBK-251, Reliability/Design Thermal Applications, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. MIL-HDBK-217, Reliability Prediction of Electronic Equipment, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. MIL-STD-785, Reliability Program for Systems and Equipment, Development and Production, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. MIL-HDBK-189, Reliability Growth Management, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. MIL-STD-1556, Government Industry Data Exchange Program (GIDEP), Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. MIL-STD-756, Reliability Modeling and Prediction, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. MIL-STD-721, Denitions of Terms for Reliability and Maintainability, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. MIL-STD-52779, Software Quality Assurance Program Requirements, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. MIL-STD-2167, Defense System Software Development, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. MIL-STD-1629, Procedures for Performing a Failure Mode, Effects and Criticality Analysis, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. MIL-STD-2155, Failure Reporting, Analysis and Corrective Action System (FRACAS), Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. MIL-STD-790, Reliability Assurance Program for Electronic Parts Specications, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. ANSI/AIAA R-013, Recommended Practice for Software Reliability, American National Standards Institute, New York. MIL-STD-337, Design to Cost, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C.

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 MIL-STD-1908, Denitions of Human Factors Terms, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. MIL-STD-1472, Human Engineering Design Criteria for Military Systems, Equipment and Facilities, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. MIL-HDBK-H108, Sampling Procedures and Tables for Life and Reliability Testing (Based on Exponential Distribution), Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. MIL-STD-781, Reliability Design, Qualication and Production Acceptance Tests: Exponential Distribution, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. MIL-STD-2074, Failure Classication for Reliability Testing, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. MIL-STD-690, Failure Rate Sampling Plans and Procedures, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. SAE ARD 50010, Recommended Reliability, Maintainability, Supportability (RMS) Terms and Parameters, Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), Warrendale, PA. MIL-STD-472, Maintainability Prediction, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C.

1.8 PROBLEMS
1. Write an essay on the history of reliability. 2. Discuss the need for reliability in product design. 3. Discuss at least three well-publicized system failures and the reasons for their occurrence. 4. What are the reliability related tasks performed during the product design process? 5. Describe the following two specialized areas of reliability: Human reliability Software reliability 6. What are the differences between reliability and maintainability? 7. Dene the following terms: Failure rate Redundancy Failure 8. Describe the following two agencies for obtaining reliability related information: Reliability Analysis Center GIDEP 9. In your opinion, what are the ve U.S. military reliability related documents that are the most important during the design process? Give reasons for your selection. 10. Make comparisons between mechanical reliability and power system reliability.

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1.9 REFERENCES
1. Lyman, W.J., Fundamental consideration in preparing a master system plan, Electrical World, 101, 778-792, 1933. 2. Smith, S.A., Service reliability measured by probabilities of outage, Electrical World, 103, 371-374, 1934. 3. Dhillon, B.S., Power System Reliability, Safety and Management, Ann Arbor Science Publishers, Ann Arbor, MI, 1983. 4. Coppola, A., Reliability engineering of electronic equipment: a historical perspective, IEEE Trans. Reliability, 33, 29-35, 1984. 5. Weibull, W., A statistical distribution function of wide applicability, J. Appl. Mech., 18, 293-297, 1951. 6. Davis, D.J., An analysis of some failure data, J. Am. Statist. Assoc., 47, 113-150, 1952. 7. Henney, K., Ed., Reliability Factors for Ground Electronic Equipment, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1956. 8. AGREE Report, Advisory Group on Reliability of Electronic Equipment (AGREE), Reliability of Military Electronic Equipment, Ofce of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Research and Engineering), Department of Defense, Washington, D.C., 1957. 9. MIL-R-25717 (USAF), Reliability Assurance Program for Electronic Equipment, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. 10. Dhillon, B.S., Reliability and Quality Control: Bibliography on General and Specialized Areas, Beta Publishers, Gloucester, Ontario, 1992. 11. Dhillon, B.S., Reliability Engineering Application: Bibliography on Important Application Areas, Beta Publishers, Gloucester, Ontario, 1992. 12. Niebel, B.W., Engineering Maintenance Management, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1994. 13. Dhillon, B.S., Engineering Design: A Modern Approach, Richard D. Irwin, Chicago, IL, 1996. 14. Elsayed, E.A., Reliability Engineering, Addison Wesley Longman, Reading, MA, 1996. 15. Dhillon, B.S., Advanced Design Concepts for Engineers, Technomic Publishing Company, Lancaster, PA, 1998. 16. Reliability, Maintainability, and Supportability Guidebook, SAE G-11 RMS Committee Report, Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), Warrendale, PA, 1990. 17. Dhillon, B.S., Mechanical Reliability: Theory, Models and Applications, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Washington, D.C., 1988. 18. Dhillon, B.S., Reliability in Computer System Design, Ablex Publishing, Norwood, NJ, 1987. 19. Dhillon, B.S., Human Reliability with Human Factors, Pergamon Press, New York, 1986. 20. Tillman, F.A., Hwang, C.L., and Kuo, W., Optimization of Systems Reliability, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1980. 21. Tillman, F.A., Hwang, C.L., and Kuo, W., Optimization techniques for system reliability with redundancy: A review, IEEE Trans. Reliability, 26, 148-155, 1977. 22. Dhillon, B.S., Power System Reliability, Safety and Management, Ann Arbor Science, Ann Arbor, MI, 1983. 23. Dhillon, B.S., Robot Reliability and Safety, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1991. 24. Dhillon, B.S., Life Cycle Costing: Techniques, Models, and Applications, Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, New York, 1989.

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25. MIL-STD-721, Denitions of Effectiveness Terms for Reliability, Maintainability, Human Factors and Safety, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. 26. Omdahl, T.P., Ed., Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability (RAM) Dictionary, ASQC Quality Press, Milwaukee, WI, 1988. 27. Von Alven, Ed., Reliability Engineering, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1964. 28. Naresky, J.J., Reliability denitions, IEEE Trans. Reliability, 19, 198-200, 1970.

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