Reliability Engineering: A Perspective

The most important attribute of performance is reliability and this is defined as the probability of failure free operation over a specified duration of time under a given set of conditions, which depend on location and the kind of application the item is put to. In designing for reliability, the objective must be to maximize inherent and operational reliability such that occurrences of failures are considerably reduced. Component or system reliability goals can be achieved through design and testing. Failures and consequently accidents can be avoided if their causes of can be traced and taken care of during the design process.