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A Monitoring Plan for Detecting Product Degradation from the Reliability Requirement

Richard R. Prairie and William Zimmer University of New Mexico Albuąuerąue, New Mexico

Abstract

Part of the evaluation process that occurs during production of many complex components is performance testing of fabricated units as they are being produced. The results of these tests are used to monitor the ąuality and reliability of the product and contribute to the data base for reliability assessment. This paper presents an approach for designing plans for the evaluation, relative to a reliability reąuirement, of continuously produced product where the testing may be either destructiye or non-destructive.

The philosophy of the plans is to initially test a string of consecutive units at the beginning of production to show that the design and manufacturing processes conform with the required reliability. Once the product has passed the initial testing, the sampling phases are implemented. Product failure in the initial phase or the first sampling phase causes the inspection to revert to the initial phase restart. If a failure occurs during the second sampling phase the estimated failure ratę, based on the accrued data, is checked for concordance

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