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A practical guide to the techniques engineers need to understand and apply to reduce process design and operation defects and failures

Table of Contents

Part 1: Understanding Reliability Parameters and Costs
1. The History of Reliability and Safety Technology
2. Understanding Terms and Jargon
3. A Cost-Effective Approach to Quality, Reliability and Safety

Part 2: Interpreting Failure Rates
4. Realistic Failure Rates and Prediction Confidence
5. Interpreting Data and Demonstrating Reliability
6. Variable Failure Rates and Probability Plotting

Part 3: Predicting Reliability and Risk
7. Basic Reliability Prediction Theory
8. Methods of Modeling
9. Quantifying the Reliability Models
10. Risk Assessment (QRA)

Part 4: Achieving Reliability and Maintainability
11. Design and Assurance Techniques
12. Design Review, Test and Reliability Growth
13. Field Data Collection and Feedback
14. Factors Influencing Down Time
15. Predicting and Demonstrating Repair Times
16. Quantified Reliability Centered Maintenance
17. Systematic Failures, Especially Software

Part 5: Legal, Management and Safety Considerations
18. Project Management and Competence
19. Contract Clauses and Their Pitfalls
20. Product Liability and Safety Legislation
21. Major Incident Legislation
22. Integrity of Safety-Related Systems
23. A Case Study: The Datamet Project
24. A Case Study: Gas Detection System
25. A Case Study: Pressure Control System
26. Helicopter Incidents and Risk Assessment

Appendix 1: Glossary
Appendix 2: Percentage Points of the Chi-Square Distribution
Appendix 3: Microelectronic Failure Rates
Appendix 4: General Failure Rates
Appendix 5: Failure Mode Percentages
Appendix 6: Human Error Probabilities
Appendix 7: Fatality Rates
Appendix 8: Answers to Exercises
Appendix 9: Bibliography
Appendix 10: Scoring Criteria for BETAPLUS Common Cause Model
Appendix 11: Example of HAZOP
Appendix 12: HAZID Checklist
Appendix 13: Markov Analysis of Redundant Systems
Appendix 14: Calculating the GDF

About the Author

Dr. David J. Smith is the Proprietor of Technis Consultancy. He has written numerous books on Reliability and Safety over the last 40 years. His FARADIP database has become widely used, and his other software packages are also used throughout the profession. His PhD thesis was on the subject of reliability prediction and common cause failure. He contributed to the first drafting of IEC 61508 and chairs the IGEM panel which produces SR/15 (the gas industry safety related guidance). David is past President of the Safety and Reliability Society.