Software predicts product reliability and failure rates

Most products are built to specifications that include some measure of reliability. In the design stage, FEA does a good job of pinpointing the weak spots in parts and assemblies. But the real test comes from field trials when a select set of users get their hands on it. Even with results from a small sample, Weibull Easy can tell volumes about the product's durability. The software plots a Weibull curve through the data, performs several statistical analyses, and presents a range of statistical indicators. The software comes with a simple example showing how to input data, so the user manual is almost superfluous. For example, field or lab tests will provide data such as how many hours each prototype or production unit lasted. Even testing a dozen or fewer units, according to developer John Berner, can be quite telling. A Weibull data distribution is a curve fit of cumulative failures versus hours, cycles, or some other variable that serves as a measure of product or equipment life. Berner says the Weibull acts as a sort of chameleon distribution and takes the shape of the data rather than attempting to force fit the data to a standard distribution, such as exponential, binomial, or normal.Users would input data into a table like this: Unit 1, 140 hr, failure or not, comments, Unit 2, 200 hr, and so on. The unit of measure could be almost any reasonable value such as days, cycles, or trips. Then hit the Weibull button. The software returns the Weibull capability distribution which indicates the strength of the design in a graph of the percent failed versus hours to failure. This is curious information that gets better with another calculation. The marketing department should have information on the expected use of the product. For example, if broken into