Topics Covered

Reliability, Reliability Function and Reliability Engineering. Product Characteristics Curve. Classification of Hazards. Codes of Practice. Company Safety Statement. TQM

Define Reliability

The reliability of a product is the probability of its performing its intended function over its specific life.

Reliability
If N articles are operated under normal conditions for a period of time t, out of which p articles fail during this period, the reliability of the articles for time t is given by, R (t) = N-p / N

For example, if 100 items were tested and two of them failed ,then R(t)= 100-2/100 =0.98

A reliability of 0.98 means that there is a 98% chance that the article will function normally when operated.

Factors affecting reliability of a product are

Complexity of a Product. Manufacturing Process.

Component Reliability. Environmental conditions. Operation and Maintenance.

Reliability and failure of a Product.

When a product is unable to perform the function for which it is meant, it is said to have failed. Types of Failure Partial Failure Complete Failure

Failure rate can be defined as the probability of failure in a unit time of an item which is still working.

Failure rate ( )= No. of failures Total unit operating hours

Failure Rate. E.g. Ten pieces of an article were subjected to a life test and first 5 pieces failed at intervals shown below. The test was terminated after the fifth piece failed Item no Time of occurrence of failure 1 2 3 4 5 25 hr 45hr 70hr 92hr 128hr The failure rate ( )= No. of items which failed Total test hrs. of all items. The 1st item ran for 25hrs, 2nd for 45hrs, 3rd for 70hrs and 4th for 92 hrs.All the remaining six items were run for 128 hrs.
Total test hrs. of all items=(25+45+70+92+6*128) =1000

Thus

()=5/1000 =0.005 per hr.

The failure rate of 0.005 means that if it remains constant , five items out of Every 1000 being operated are likely to fail every hr.

Mean Time To Failure (MTTF) concept:

MTTF is reciprocal of the Failure rate. MTTF ( )= 1 / ( ) If the constant failure rate of a device is 0.005 per hr, then the device can be expected to fail on the average of 5 times in every 1000 hrs. In other words, the MTTF =1000/ 5 =200 hr.

CALCULATION OF RELIABILITY FUNCTION

Reliability for any duration of time or number of cycles of operation can be easily calculated by using the following formula:

Where R(t) is the reliability for the duration t. is the failure rate e is base for Natural Logarithms, which has a value of 2.72

E.g. if the constant failure rate of a particular item is 0.005 per hr, its reliability for a 100 hr life can be determined as ? Data :Failure rate=0.005per hr, Specified life(t)=100 hr. Formula :-

Calculation:R (t)= e power (-0.005*100) =e power (-0.5) =0.606 This means there is a probability of 0.606 that the item will not fail during the first 100 hrs of its operation.

Product Life Characteristic Curve

Reliability engineering

Reliability engineering is a relatively new discipline concerned with the design , manufacture and assurance of product having high reliability.

Some of the common methods of Reliability engineering are

Standardization Redundancy Physics of failure De-rating Practice Reliability Testing FMEA

What is a Hazard?
A hazard, in general, refers to anything with the potential to cause harm in terms of human injury or ill-health, damage to property, damage to the environment or a combination of these, e.g. chemical substances, machinery or methods of work, whereas risk means the likelihood, great or small, that an undesired event will occur due to the realization of a hazard

Types of Hazards

Physical hazards

Ergonomic hazards

Biological hazards
Psychological hazards
Chemical hazard

Codes of Practice

Codes of practice state ways to manage exposure to risks.If a code of practice exists for a risk at a workplace, one must: do what the code says; OR adopt another way that identifies and manages exposure to the risk; AND take reasonable precautions and exercise due care

What is a Safety Statement?

The safety statement represents a commitment to the safety and health. It states how the employer will ensure their (employees and other people who might be at the workplace) safety and health It state the resources necessary to maintain and review safety and health laws and standards.

What should be covered in a Safety Statement? How often should the Safety Statement be reviewed?

What should the employer do after the Safety Statement has been reviewed?

TQM is the management approach of an organization, centered on quality, based on the participation of all its members and aiming at long term success through customer satisfaction, and with benefits to all members of the organization and the society.

Total Quality Management

The integration of all processes and functions of the firm in the task of ensuring a products quality throughout its life cycle. Measurement of Success:
100% Customer Satisfaction

Method of Achievement:
Continuous Improvement

TQM has three basic views

It is TOTAL involving all departments / groups in an organization at all levels.
It relates to QUALITY in the broader sense of organizational excellence, and does not just refer to product quality.

It is a MANAGEMENT function and is not just confined to a technical discipline.

Implementing TQM
Define the mission Identify the system output Identify customers Determine customer requirements Develop a customer specification that details customer requirements and expectations. Determine the actions required to fulfill customer requirements and expectations