Reliability management and engineering in a commercial computer environment

The Tandem^TM Division of Compaq Computers has developed a highly effective reliability program for the commercial computer industry. The program diligently applies reliability principles throughout the design, manufacture and field use of our products. Our process establishes reliability goals that, in turn, drive change and improved product reliability. We have enhanced not only the reliability of the assemblies that we design, but also the reliability of those purchased from outside suppliers. We have developed an effective field reliability data collection and analysis process that allows us to measure the increase in reliability and identify potential future problems. We have impacted the design by providing analyses that optimize cost while achieving the high system availability that our customers expect. The evidence of the effectiveness of our efforts comes through the field data that shows decreased failure rates and sustained high levels of customer satisfaction