CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY

STATISTICS COLLOQUIUM

Abstract

Studying the field reliability of manufactured products is important for several reasons: field performance is the ultimate test of the quality of a product, and reliability and durability are important dimensions of quality; field reliability has economic implications in terms of warranties, customer satisfaction, safety, parts inventories, and so on; field performance data is useful for designers and manufacturers seeking to improve their products.

Sources of information on field reliability include followup studies of selected units, warranty and failure reports, and surveys or cross- sectional samples. This talk will discuss some of the statistical methods which have been found useful in dealing with field data, and give some guidelines for the collection and analysis of data. Examples involving automobiles and appliances will be discussed, but the methods apply quite broadly.