Consulting Reliability Engineering services

Many government purchasing  contracts for Military hardware require a MIL-HDBK-217F prediction  report for inclusion with the submitted proposal. We are fully ITAR  compliant and will put the necessary documentation in place before work  proceeds. We also hold certification under the United States/Canada Joint Certification Program (JCP).

Underwriter’s Laboratories (UL) requires Computational  Investigation and Demonstrated methods which prescribe using  MIL-HDBK-217F Parts Stress Method to determine the failure rate of  electronic equipment.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)  require a good faith Regulatory Due Diligence effort to determine the  Reliability of Medical devices. A MIL-HDBK-217F or Telcordia SR-332  prediction report is an excellent low cost way of satisfying this  requirement. 

• MIL-HDBK-217F
• Bellcore TR-332, Issue 6
• Telcordia SR-332, Issue 1
• Telcordia SR-332, Issue 2
• Telcordia SR-332, Issue 3
• NSWC-94/L07  
• NSWC-94/L11  
• IEEE Gold Book 
• FIDES
• Siemens SN 2950
• IEC TR 62380

Derating  is a technique employed in electrical and electronic devices, where the  devices are operated at less than their rated maximum specifications.  This is done in order to reduce the rate at which they deteriorate over  time and the reliability and life expectancy are improved. Therefore,  derating is a practical means of reducing failures and is supported by  much literature including multiple standards as well as suppliers of  components.  

Conceptually  if a component or system is operated under its design limit, it will be  more reliable than if it is operated at or above the design limit.  While a component may be specified to operate at high voltage and high  temperature, applying those conditions simultaneously would probably be  worse than applying either one or the other independently. Derating  increases the margin of safety between part design limits and applied  stresses, thereby providing extra protection for the part. Also given  that reactions are known to proceed at higher speeds at higher  temperatures (Arrhenius), we would expect reduced degradation, and hence  extended life, by running a component at lower than its maximum  temperature. 

• RAC  Reliability Engineering toolkit, The "Reliability Toolkit" series  originated in 1988 when the Rome Air Development Center (RADC), the  DoD's Center of Expertise in Reliability and Maintainability for more  that 40 years.
  
• MIL-STD-975, published by NASA, focuses on  selection of parts used in the design and construction of space flight  hardware as well as mission-essential ground support equipment.
  
• MIL-STD-1547,  published by the Department of Defense, is targeted to aid in the  design, development and fabrication of electronic systems with long life  and/or high reliability requirements while operating under the extreme  conditions of space and launch vehicles.
  
• AS4613, published by the  U.S. Navy, sets forth derating requirements for the reliable  application of electronic and electromechanical parts.
  
• NAVSEA  TE000-AB-GTP-010, published by the U.S. Navy, contains derating  requirements and part selection and application information on the ten  most commonly used electrical and electronic parts.
• ECSS-Q-30-11A,  prepared and maintained under the authority of the Space Components  Steering Board in partnership with the European Space Agency, contains  derating requirements applicable to electronic, electrical and  electromechanical components.
  
• MSFC-STD-3012, prepared by NASA's  Marshall Space Flight Center, sets requirements for electrical,  electronic and electromechanical parts selection, management and control  for space flight and mission-essential ground support equipment for Marshall Space Flight Center programs. 

 A  crucial element in monitoring reliability is the collection of field  reliability performance data. Robust field data collection systems and  periodic analysis are vital parts of a Failure Reporting, Analysis and  Corrective Action System (FRACAS) system.

Field data collection data should include:

• Failure technical info (part no. s/n)
  
• Operation time or mileage
  
• Description/Symptoms
  
• Environment conditions
  
• Repaired items
  
• Root cause
  

Field  data collected as part of FRACAS can be used to improve product  reliability, safety, quality and allows calculation of the following:

• Real field MTBF or failure rate vs. predicted MTBF or failure rate
  
• Trend Analysis of failure rate vs. time in the field
  
• Trend Analysis of failure rate vs. manufacturing vintage
  
• Optimize field spares levels and parts mix
  
• Allows the implementation of enhanced maintenance policies such as Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM)