The PPEPP-project helps companies select and apply reliability tools to analyse, simulate and tests in a fast and cost-effective way so that their product achieves the right reliability.

By Susanne Otto

How do I incorporate reliability into product development from the start of the development process? Which key tools should I choose to get the most bang for the buck? This and a whole host of other issues are addressed in FORCE Technology's latest performance contract project regarding product reliability. The research project is called PPEPP (Proaktivt Paradigme for Elektroniske Produkters Pålidelighed - Proactive Paradigm for Electronic Products’ Reliability).

Reliability strategy reduces time-to-market

PPEPP is about developing a paradigm (i.e. a way of thinking or a system of thoughts and contexts) which translates into significant technical, resource and economic preconditions for a new product for an optimised reliability strategy and process. The paradigm selects and prioritises the relevant reliability tools in the form of analyses, simulations and tests that ensure the fastest and most cost-effective way of ensuring that the product achieves the right reliability. The paradigm integrates into the development models used by companies, thus incorporating reliability early in the development process and becoming part of the project plan.

By applying the results of the project, companies will be able to develop products with the correct reliability in the shortest possible time depending on their circumstances. This ensures safe market introduction, reduced time-to-market and savings on resources related to unexpected failures.

Use tools effectively

The project builds on the range of tools such as lifecycle estimation, module-level error analysis methods, and Root Cause Analysis developed in collaboration with Danish companies in the previous project ‘Reliable product development based on Physics of Failure’.

Learning and collaborating with the industry has proven, however, that a tool does not do the job on its own. You also need to be able to choose the right tools for the various tasks and, above all, you must be able to use the tools effectively. Therefore, this project aims – based on a system mindset – to develop new services and methods for the application of new reliability tools systematically and effectively adapted to product and customer requirements.

The development of the new services is largely based on acquired international knowledge and cases. A comprehensive case is being worked on, with the establishment of coherent strategy on reliability and the optimisation of the use of reliability tools through the development process, as well as cases related to criteria for selecting conformal coating and software tools, as well as, scaling between intelligent testing of components, modules, and systems.

Sharing of the results

The first results from the research project were presented at a conference on 13th November 2019, where internationally recognised experts also delivered presentations on product reliability.