Читать книгу System Reliability Theory - Marvin Rausand - Страница 18

Several producers of technical items have struggled and even collapsed because of item flaws and failures. To build a reputation for reliability is a long‐term project, but it may take a short time to lose this reputation. The main drivers for high reliability are listed in Figure 1.2. Over the years, the reliability has improved for almost all types of items, but at the same time, customers expect a higher and higher reliability of the new items they buy. Current customers further expect that possible failures in the warranty period are rectified without any cost to the customer. To be attractive in the market, the suppliers have to offer a longer and longer warranty period.

Figure 1.2 Main drivers for high reliability.

If items have flaws that affect safety, safety regulations may require all the flawed items to be recalled for repair or modification. Such recalls are rather frequent in the car industry, but are also common in many other industries. In addition to excessive warranty costs and item recalls, flawed items lead to dissatisfied and nonreturning customers.