ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the reliability function or bathtub curve. It helps to understand how the sport of juggling can be used to teach the bathtub curve. The chapter explores where and how the bathtub curve shows up in real operations. It looks at the typical graph for an equipment lifecycle appropriately named and labeled as Infant Mortality. The chapter describes the useful time or constant breakdown frequency in equipment reliability or human performance. The equipment reliability function or bathtub curve is a natural function found in most of all processes—manufacturing, nonmanufacturing, and even in nature. Properly recognized, it can be one of the most effective ways to identify opportunities for improvement. Juggling can be utilized as a technique to better understand and improve the performance associated with wear-out. There are multiple ways to extend the wear-out cycle. In manufacturing processes, a designed experiment will commonly locate an opportunity for major improvement.
