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| In this
issue: |
Issue 1,
March
2001 |
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Reliability HotWire
is a service of ReliaSoft
Corporation
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|
| Welcome! |
|
Welcome
to the premiere issue of Reliability HotWire, your source of information
and tips on how best to improve your reliability practices and get the
most out of ReliaSoft’s tools for reliability and life data analysis.
Reliability HotWire brings practical hints regarding reliability
engineering and life data analysis to the novice and seasoned practitioner
alike. In addition, Reliability HotWire will present tips on how
to get the best use out of ReliaSoft’s life data analysis software
tools, such as Weibull++, ALTA, and BlockSim.
As
always, your feedback is appreciated. ReliaSoft is able to provide the
most user-friendly reliability software packages and support because we
listen to
our customers. This applies to our newsletters and publications as well. We welcome any suggestions or comments you may have about
Reliability HotWire and we can be reached by e-mail at HotWire@ReliaSoft.com
or by standard mail at 1450 S. Eastside Loop, Tucson, AZ 85710-6703, USA.
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| Hot Topics |
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Which
Analysis Settings Should I Use?
When
analyzing reliability data, the analyst is faced with a number of options
on how to carry out the analysis. These choices can sometimes seem
confusing: Regression or maximum likelihood analysis? Fisher
matrix bounds or likelihood ratio bounds? Median ranks or
Kaplan-Meier estimates? While there are no hard and fast rules
regarding the use of these analysis options, some of these options work
better for particular data types than others.
To
read more, see http://weibull.com/hotwire/issue1/hottopics1.htm
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| Reliability
Basics |
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| The
purpose of this section is to offer background and advice to the novice
reliability engineer.
Characterizing
Your Product's Reliability
As awareness of product reliability increases,
the responsibility for insuring that reliability requirements are met
spreads further across engineering organizations. As a result,
engineers and managers who have had little experience with life data
analysis or applied statistics may find themselves responsible for
calculating and reporting on a product's reliability. This section
offers background on elementary concepts of reliability and life data
analysis that will hopefully prove to be of use to the novice analyst. We will begin our discussion with an overview of how to characterize your
product's reliability.
To
read more, see http://weibull.com/hotwire/issue1/relbasics1.htm
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| Tool
Tips |
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The
Tool Tips section addresses helpful hints and frequently asked questions
about ReliaSoft software products.
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Why
doesn't the calculated MLE line track the data points on my
probability plot in Weibull++?
-
I have
installed Weibull++ or ALTA with no problems, but when I attempt to
open a Folio, I get an error message.
-
In
BlockSim, how can I simultaneously change the values of more than one
block in the RBD?
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Can
I share plots from ReliaSoft applications with colleagues who do not
have the applications installed on their computers?
To
read more, see http://weibull.com/hotwire/issue1/tooltips1.htm
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| Hot
News |
|
 Weibull++
Version 6 Released - The latest and greatest version of
Weibull++, the premiere reliability and life data analysis package,
is now available. You can download a free evaluation copy from http://www.reliasoft.com/Weibull/evaluate.htm.
This version has all of the features and
usability you have come to expect from ReliaSoft products, with a
host of great new features. These include: the
generalized-gamma distribution, likelihood ratio bounds, competing
failure modes, warranty analysis, ANOVA, a redesigned Report Work
Center, and a whole lot more! Weibull++ 5 users can upgrade to
Version 6 for $295. For details on the updated version of
Weibull++, see http://www.reliasoft.com/Weibull. |
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Reliability
Books On-Line
- The latest version of ReliaSoft's Life Data Analysis textbook is
now available on-line at www.Weibull.com
in a searchable HTML format. Check it out at http://www.weibull.com/lifedatawebcontents.htm. |
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ReliaSoft
at RAMS - Once again, the ReliaSoft team made a big
splash at the annual Reliability and Maintainability Symposium,
which was held in Philadelphia from January 22 - 25. ReliaSoft
personnel presented papers on the following topics:
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Determination
& Interpretation of Activation Energy Using Accelerated-Test
Data (Paper)
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System
Reliability Analysis: The Advantages of Using Analytic Methods
to Analyze Non-Repairable Systems (Paper)
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Warranty
Calculations for Missiles with Only Current-Status Data, Using
Bayesian Methods (Paper)
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Reliability
Leadership (Paper)
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Understanding
Accelerated Life-Testing Analysis (Tutorial)
Details
and copies of these and other papers presented by ReliaSoft
personnel at previous RAMS gatherings can be found at http://www.weibull.com/knowledge/papers.htm.
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|
Next
Seminar in Tucson, April 2-6 - The next ReliaSoft "Master the Subject, Master the Tools" seminar will be held in
Tucson from April 2-6, 2001 at the Sheraton Tucson Hotel and Suites. Topics for this five-day seminar include Life Data
Analysis, Accelerated Life Testing, and System Reliability,
Maintainability and Availability. For more information on
course content and how to register, see http://www.reliasoft.com/seminars. |
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ReliaSoft's
sales group has moved to Tucson - We are happy to announce
that our Corporate Sales group (formerly in Minneapolis, MN) has
moved to our recently expanded Corporate R and D facilities in
Tucson, AZ, giving us a closer integration between sales and product
development staff. We expect this integration to translate into even
better products and services. During this transition, the phone
and fax numbers used in Minneapolis have been changed. As of
February 9, 2001 please use the following numbers:
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|
Reliability
consulting now available through ReliaSoft Professional Services
--- ReliaSoft Professional Services now offers expert consulting
help. For more information see http://www.reliasoft.com/rsps/index.htm. |
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| From
The Edge |
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Every
quarter, ReliaSoft publishes Reliability Edge, a printed journal
that includes articles and information related to the field of reliability
engineering.
Articles of interest in the current edition include:
-
Life
Data Classifications - Knowing how to distinguish between different
types of life data is vital to being able to properly analyze such
data. For a graphical example of the different types of life
data and how they differ, see http://www.reliasoft.com/newsletter/2Q2000/classification.htm.
-
The
Limitations of Using MTTF as a Reliability Specification - The mean
life or MTTF (mean time to failure) is a popular measure of the life
or reliability of a product. Its seeming simplicity and ease of
understanding have made this a popular reliability metric,
particularly for engineers and managers with little or no background
in reliability and statistics. However, the MTTF metric may not
be giving you the information necessary for making an informed
decision about a product's reliability. To read more about the
limitations of the MTTF as a reliability metric and suitable
alternatives, see http://www.reliasoft.com/newsletter/2Q2000/mttf.htm.
-
Using
Reliability Importance Measures - Reliability importance is a measure
of the contribution of an individual component to the overall
reliability of a system. The reliability importance measurements
can then be used to determine the allocation of resources for system
reliability improvement. This information is useful in
minimizing the development costs of increased reliability. For
more information on the formulation and use of reliability importance
measures, see http://www.reliasoft.com/newsletter/2Q2000/importance.htm.
Look for
these articles in the next edition:
-
Predicting Warranty Returns
- A Simple
Demonstration of Accelerated Life Testing Analysis
- Exploring
Reliability Analysis Using Simulation
- A High
Value of Beta is Not Necessarily a Cause for Concern
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Copyright © 2001 ReliaSoft
Corporation, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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