Product Reliability

Currently, reliability issues are not addressed effectively in the development of new products, especially in the early stages of this process. Product reliability depends both on the technical decisions made in these early stages and also on the impact of commercial outcomes in the latter stages. By using an effective methodology for reliability performance and specification, one can make better decisions.

Product Reliability develops a framework which links reliability specifications and product performance in the context of new product development. In order to address the product performance necessary to achieve the accomplishment of business objectives, this book:

• considers how customer needs and business objectives can be translated into product development so that desired performance is matched or exceeded in reality;

• discusses the data requirements and the tools and techniques needed to build the models which play an important role in the decision-making process;

• provides a structured approach that is applicable to many kinds of products.

As an overview of reliability performance and specification in new product development, Product Reliability is suitable for managers responsible for new product development. The methodology for making decisions relating to reliability performance and specification will be of use to engineers involved in product design and development. This book can be used as a text for graduate courses on design, manufacturing, new product development and operations management and in various engineering disciplines.

D.N. Prabhakar Murthy obtained B.E. and M.E. degrees from Jabalpur University and the Indian Institute of Science in India and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University. He is currently Research Professor in the Division of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Queensland. He has held visiting appointments at several universities in the USA, Europe and Asia. His research interests include various aspects of new product development, operations management (lot sizing, quality, reliability, maintenance), and post-sale support (warranties, service contracts).

Marvin Rausand is Professor of Safety and Reliability Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). He has previously held the position of director of SINTEF Department of Safety and Reliability. Professor Rausand is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Technical Sciences, and of the Royal Norwegian Society of Letters and Science. He has run a wide range of short courses for industry on various topics in reliability assessment and risk analysis in Asia, Europe, South America, and the USA.

Trond Østerås obtained his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Product Design Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He has also worked as a consultant, carrying out risk analyses of offshore oil and gas processing facilities, and as a researcher on reliability and safety related projects at SINTEF.