GOING GREEN

Today, the topic of Green is being discussed more and more.

Every day we hear about companies "going green". But what does this really mean?

"Going Green" has many implications, from the materials being used to the type of energy being used and the quantity being consumed. And each aspect of "Going Green" has reliability implications. In fact, any time we change material properties or design concepts, there are inherent reliability risks that need to be addressed.

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SEMINAR ON GREEN RELIABILITY

On May 8th, Ops A La Carte, the IEEE Reliability Chapter, and the ASQ Reliability Division hosted a FREE seminar/webinar on GREEN RELIABILITY - some of the current trends as well as some of the issues and concerns around reliability in this rapidly expanding market. We had over 200 people attend the event. See Green Webinar for more details on the topics of the seminar. You can download copies of the presentations here:

Presentation 1 - Green Reliability Webinar Intro by Mike Silverman

Presentation 2 - Green Agile Solutions by Dr. Cheemin Bo-Linn

Presentation 3 - End of Redundancy by Dr. Alan Wood

Presentation 4 - EDA Usage in Green Technology by Bryan Stallard

GREEN INDUSTRIES WE HAVE WORKED WITH

There are many different industries involved in Going Green. Here are a few we have worked with to date on Green Projects:

BEST RELIABILITY SERVICES FOR CLEAN-TECH

RELIABILITY ASSESSMENT

A Reliability Assessment is a systematic evaluation of a broad range of potential reliability activities and tools as currently employed. We then compare these against reliability goals and perform a Gap Analysis to determine how achievable the goals really are. With clean-tech, there will be new systems put in place, new technology challenges, and potentially higher goals.

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

When introducing a product into a new market, determining the current market players' reliability performance may lead to a competitive advantage. We can benchmark product reliability against competitors to determine this. Clean-tech companies are trying to displace incumbents so we need to benchmark against these existing industries.

ROHS CONVERSION/MATERIALS

Most industries have either converted or are in the process of converting to Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) either because of the RoHS mandate or because suppliers are only producing lead-free versions of the components. One of the biggest reliability risks is when materials change. This changes failure mechanisms, susceptibility to different stresses, time to failure models, etc. As regulations get tougher, more and more substances will be banned, leaving companies exposed and adding more risk. Given limited resources, teams may not have the time or expertise. We have the expertise to lead you.

FMEA/RISK ANALYSIS

We use Failure Modes Effects Analysis (FMEA), especially when new technologies are being used, to determine how they will behave under extreme conditions and how they will fail.

RELIABILITY MODELING

We use our modeling expertise when importance is placed on reliability performance. When trying to displace an incumbent technology, we must prove the reliability is as good or better.

THERMAL/DERATING ANALYSIS

Reducing power consumption is essential in this age of "green". However, with power reduction comes new risks and circuit optimization will be needed. We can use our special EDA circuit analysis tools to optimize designs.

PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE (PM)/WARRANTY

In the energy industries, high availability is essential, and we can help develop a good Preventive Maintenance strategy along with accurate warranty offerings.

HALT/HASS

Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT) / Highly Accelerated Stress Screening (HASS) are great for assuring high reliability especially with products in the energy sector going into extreme environments. We have our own HALT Lab to do the job!

RELIABILITY DEMONSTRATION TEST / ACCELERATED LIFE TEST

Demonstrating product reliability is key when making warranty offerings. We can determine key life-limiting failure mechanisms, essential for determining preventive maintenance.

Many New Reliability Services & Reliability Seminars added! Click here for details >