TABLE OF CONTENTS This chapter is a revised case study which has been used by the author on Reliability courses for over 25 years. It is not intended to represent any actual company or product.
The section entitled Syndicate Study suggests a number of areas for thought and discussion. When discussing the contract clauses, two syndicates can assume the two roles of producer and customer, respectively. After separate discussion, the two syndicates can renegotiate the contract under the guidance of a course tutor. This approach has proved both stimulating and effective. It is worth bearing in mind, when criticising the contract clauses, that although the case study is fictional, the clauses were drawn from actual examples.
The Communications Division of Electrosystems Ltd has an annual turnover of 30 million as follows:
| Line communications | Radio systems | New products | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | 20 million | 4 million | 0.5 million |
| Export | 2 million | 2 million | 1.5 million |
Line communications products include voice and data communications over copper and fibre cable. Radio systems include vhf and uhf voice systems for both onshore and offshore applications. The New Products Department handles major developments and any new communications projects.
An overseas enquiry for a remote meteorological telemetry system had been received. It involved a requirement to scan a number of weather recording instruments and to transmit the information to a terminal station. Each observation would involve an instrument providing an analogue signal to a unit which would poll the instruments once a minute. The...
