Does HALT Lead to Product Over-Design?
Misunderstanding the HALT process Every once in a while I see a comment that by following the HALT methodology you will “over design” a product. Many question at what point or operational limit do you...
View ArticleNo Evidence of Correlation: Field failures and Traditional Reliability...
Historically Reliability Engineering of Electronics has been dominated by the belief that 1) The life or percentage of complex hardware failures that occurs over time can be estimated, predicted, or...
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Why the Drain in the Bathtub Curve Matters
Most reliability engineers are familiar with the life cycle bathtub curve, the shape of the hazard rate or risks of failure of a electronic product over time. A typical electronic’s life cycle bathtub...
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For Maximum Test Value, Take it to the Limit!
When we go to an automobile race such as the Indianapolis 500, watching those cars circle the track can get fairly boring. What is secretly unspoken is that everyone observing the race is watching for...
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What will Advance Reliability Engineering?
In all aspects of engineering we only make improvements and innovation in technology by building on previous knowledge. Yet in the field of reliability engineering (and in particular electronics...
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Reliability Paradigm Shift From Time to Stress Metrics
Traditional electronics reliability engineering began during the period of infancy in solid state electronic hardware. The first comprehensive guide to Failure Prediction Methodology (FPM) premiered in...
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Why Parametric Variation Can Lead to Failures and HALT Can Help
Many reliability engineers have discovered HALT will quickly find the weaknesses and reliability risks in electronic and electromechanical systems from the capability of thermal cycling and vibration...
View ArticleWhy HALT is a methodology, not equipment
It is easy to understand why the term HALT (Highly Accelerated Life Test) is so tightly couple to the equipment called “HALT chambers” systems. Many do not think they can do HALT processes without a...
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Why success with HALT begins long before doing HALT
HALT is a BIG change Implementing a new reliability development paradigm in a company which is using traditional, standards-based testing can be a perilous journey. It is especially true with...
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Electronics Failure Prediction Methodology does not work
“When the number of factors coming into play in a phenomenological complex is too large, scientific method in most cases fails. One need only think of the weather, in which case the prediction even...
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Eliminating early life failures
Finding and eliminating early life failures MTBF for electronics life entitlement measurements is a meaningless term. It says nothing about the distribution of failures or the cause of failures and is...
View ArticleRequired Case History for Reliability Engineers
One for the (Reliability) Books The GM Ignition switch failure case history should be required reading for all reliability engineers. It is rare to have insight into any internal company history of...
View ArticleYou May Often be Exceeding Operating Specifications!
HALT (Highly Accelerated Life Test) requires exceeding specifications One aspect of HALT, (a test to find weaknesses and reliability risks empirically), is the difficulty for many engineers that are...
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When Smart TV Content Delivery Fails, Who is to Blame?
A Crisis in the Home IT department If you are the head of your home IT department, you may relate to this tale Last night my wonderful wife Stacy was riddled with angst over the disruption of her binge...
View ArticleExposing a Reliability Conflict of Interest
Why does DoD equipment have a conflict of interest with reliability? I posted an article recently by Bloomberg on the Defense Department’s recent disclosure of the escalating support cost of the F-35...
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What do you mean that my phone is obsolete?
Reliability engineers have traditionally been asked to answer a common question during development of a new device or system, and that is “How long will it last?”. It is the eternal question in...
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