Results of a pilot-survey about reliability-task effectiveness

Seventy electronic manufacturers (with at least 100 employees) in the northwest USA were contacted in 1990 September with the intent of measuring their perception of reliability-task effectiveness. There were 17 competent respondents; they rated the effectiveness of 26 reliability tasks; the highest rating (from top to third) were for development testing, failure reporting and corrective action, durability analysis, and durability testing. Interestingly, some US Mil-Std-785 reliability tools such as reliability qualification testing, sneak-circuit analysis, and reliability prediction received the lowest ratings. Many respondents thought reliability prediction was ineffective for improving product reliability, although the majority of respondents do use Mil-Hdbk-217. Since the response rate was so low, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions. Both a larger sample size and a virtual 100% response rate are needed for future studies. Other question-areas, especially about corporate culture, are desirable