ABSTRACT
The history of the reliability …eld may be traced back to the early 1930s, when probability concepts were applied to problems associated with electric power generation. However, its real beginning is generally regarded as World War II, when German scientists applied basic reliability concepts to improve the performance of their V1 and V2 rockets [1-3]. Today, the reliability …eld has become a well-developed discipline and has branched out into many specialized areas, including mechanical reliability, power system reliability, software reliability, and human reliability and error [1, 4]. Additional information on the history of the reliability …eld is available in Dhillon [4].
