ABSTRACT
An accurate prediction of the reliability of a new product, before it is manufactured or marketed, is obviously highly desirable. Reliability prediction can also be valuable as part of the study and design processes, for comparing options and for highlighting critical reliability features of designs. There are various methods of system reliability prediction. The simplest and most common is the decomposition method, whereby a system of series and parallel (i.e. redundant) units are systematically combined until only one unit remains. The governing parameter for maintained systems is availability, which is the result one gets from the combination of reliability and maintainability of the system. In practise, maintainability is probably the most neglected of the reliability engineering parameters. A discussion on the role of failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) and failure modes and effects criticality analysis (FMECA) on determining system reliability is also provided.
