ABSTRACT
Statisticians developed new and more elaborate equations for reliability measurement and probabilistic failure prediction; physicists, chemists, and materials scientists conducted laboratory experiments to describe structural behavior of products; and product designers and manufacturers concentrated on shipping product. The separation is never complete, though, and concurrent engineering must include both quality and reliability. The reliability categories include intent, and market. The market includes consumer market, industrial market, military and similar markets. There are three categories of intent: methods to measure and predict failures, methods to accommodate failures, and methods to prevent failures. Reliability has risen to the forefront of customer concerns. Numerous studies have shown that this is the product feature most desired by customers at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Much progress has been made in quality improvement in the recent past, and a similar improvement must be made in reliability in the near future.
