RELIABILITY; WHAT'S RIGHT FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

Abstract In today's high-tech world, we heavily depend on electronics for our health, safety, mobility and economic welfare. When they fail, the results can be as minor as consumer annoyance to as severe as loss of life. Not to mention a significant financial penalty to the producer in the form of warranty cost. In the electronics industry, especially in the consumer electronics segment, warranty expense cost can be 1% - 2% of the total revenue1. As an example, for a $1B company, this can impact the bottom line by $10M–$20M. For this reason, reducing warranty cost through increased product reliability is not only necessary for survival but also smart. However, achieving product reliability in today's environment with limited development resources and demand for reducing product development cycle time creates a special challenge. In addition, many small to medium size organizations struggle to understand the basic concepts behind reliability engineering, often confusing it with quality. This paper presents a lean approach to developing and implementing a reliability program that is simple, flexible and woven into a product development program.