Major causes of equipment unreliability

Defect statistics on guided weapons and other equipment clearly indicate that the more unusual components and the `special to project¿ innovations show the highest failure rates. Electromechanical components are examples and such failures are emphasized in guided weapons as the total running time may be a few hours with only a few minutes in flight. This paper shows that since the design and shape of most electrical/electronic components is primarily to facilitate their functions and ease of production, a large variety of shapes and sizes for different types of components is a major problem in equipment design. It is suggested that improved customer/vendor relations and national standardization of new styles of components might help to ease the situation.