Getting Failure Feedback

Abstract

Kirk and Fred discuss the many required tests before market release and post market ongoing reliability testing and why testing is so necessary.

Key Points

Join Kirk and Fred as they discuss the reasons we have to do so many tests to get the feedback on failures sometimes long after the tests have no failures for long periods.
Topics include:

• Some companies have big investments in chambers and processes to perform “burn-in” testing, which may have a poor ROI, but they found a reliability issue months ago and that justifies it forever.
• Testing to find margins and improve them where it is possible (HALT) is the most cost-effective early testing and helps products withstand component and vendor variations. The test should always be compared to what failures are occurring in the field and if not relevant to the field should be eliminated.
• Field failures are the best and most valuable data on reliability issues, but getting failed parts back for failure analysis can be extremely difficult, and field service engineers are rewarded for quick repair and sending back failed parts is a low priority.
• Sometimes when a company has an issue with a particular component type, such as Al Electrolytic capacitors, which drives them to develop ongoing vendor highly focused test requirements for every vendor that makes that component type, and while no failures occur, the past fears require them to keep testing regardless of the fact that 100% pass.

Enjoy an episode of Speaking of Reliability. Where you can join friends as they discuss reliability topics. Join us as we discuss topics ranging from design for reliability techniques to field data analysis approaches.

Show Notes

Please click on this link to access a relatively new analysis of traditional reliability prediction methods article from the US ARMY and CALCE titled  “Reliability Prediction – Continued Reliance on a Misleading Approach”

You can now purchase the most recent recording of Kirk Gray’s Hobbs Engineering 8 (two 4 hour sessions) hour Webinar “Rapid and Robust Reliability Development 2022 HALT & HASS Methodologies Online Seminar” from this link.

For more information on the newest discovery testing methodology here is a link to the book “Next Generation HALT and HASS: Robust design of Electronics and Systems” written by Kirk Gray and John Paschkewitz.

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