Assessment of organizational reliability capability

A reliability capability assessment process can assist OEMs and system integrators in assessing prospective suppliers for their ability to design and manufacture reliable products before they are delivered for use, and on an ongoing basis, help a company in identifying shortcomings in its reliability program, which can be rectified by subsequent improvement actions. The assessment can also help to establish reliability management practices for use by designers, suppliers, customers, and independent authorities. The assessment method may be used to evaluate the reliability capability of all types of electronics-related industries that perform activities influencing the reliability of a product. It can produce increased customer satisfaction, provide competitive opportunities, and shorten the product development cycle. In summary, a reliability capability assessment can be used for: 1) specifying or planning reliability practices if product development is implemented internally; 2) evaluating reliability practices to determine the extent to which a supplier is capable of providing a product that meets the reliability requirements/needs; and 3) improving reliability practices if the current reliability practices have been evaluated and improvement is desired or required