Preface xv
 
1 Domain-Independent Methods for Reliability Improvement and Risk Reduction 1
 
1.1 The Domain-Specific Methods for Risk Reduction 1
 
1.2 The Statistical, Data-Driven Approach 3
 
1.3 The Physics-of-Failure Approach 4
 
1.4 Reliability Improvement and TRIZ 6
 
1.5 The Domain-Independent Methods for Reliability Improvement and Risk Reduction 6
 
2 Basic Concepts 9
 
2.1 Likelihood of Failure, Consequences from Failure, Potential Loss, and Risk of Failure 9
 
2.2 Drawbacks of the Expected Loss as a Measure of the Potential Loss from Failure 14
 
2.3 Potential Loss, Conditional Loss, and Risk of Failure 15
 
2.4 Improving Reliability and Reducing Risk 19
 
2.5 Resilience 21
 
3 Overview of Methods and Principles for Improving Reliability and Reducing Risk That Can Be Classified as Domain-Independent 23
 
3.1 Improving Reliability and Reducing Risk by Preventing Failure Modes 23
 
3.1.1 Techniques for Identifying and Assessing Failure Modes 23
 
3.1.2 Effective Risk Reduction Procedure Related to Preventing Failure Modes from Occurring 27
 
3.1.3 Reliability Improvement and Risk Reduction by Root Cause Analysis 28
 
3.1.3.1 Case Study: Improving the Reliability of Automotive Suspension Springs by Root Cause Analysis 28
 
3.1.4 Preventing Failure Modes by Removing Latent Faults 29
 
3.2 Improving Reliability and Reducing Risk by a Fault-Tolerant System Design and Fail-Safe Design 31
 
3.2.1 Building in Redundancy 31
 
3.2.1.1 Case Study: Improving Reliability by k-out-of-n redundancy 34
 
3.2.2 Fault-Tolerant Design 34
 
3.2.3 Fail-Safe Principle and Fail-Safe Design 35
 
3.2.4 Reducing Risk by Eliminating Vulnerabilities 36
 
3.2.4.1 Eliminating Design Vulnerabilities 36
 
3.2.4.2 Reducing the Negative Impact of Weak Links 37
 
3.2.4.3 Reducing the Likelihood of Unfavourable Combinations of Risk-Critical Random Factors 38
 
3.2.4.4 Reducing the Vulnerability of Computational Models 39
 
3.3 Improving Reliability and Reducing Risk by Protecting Against Common Cause 40
 
3.4 Improving Reliability and Reducing Risk by Simplifying at a System and Component Level 42
 
3.5 Improving Reliability and Reducing Risk by Reducing the Variability of Risk-Critical Parameters 44
 
3.5.1 Case Study: Interaction Between the Upper Tail of the Load Distribution and the Lower Tail of the Strength Distribution 46
 
3.6 Improving Reliability and Reducing Risk by Making the Design Robust 48
 
3.6.1 Case Study: Increasing the Robustness of a Spring Assembly with Constant Clamping Force 50
 
3.7 Improving Reliability and Reducing Risk by Built-in Reinforcement 51
 
3.7.1 Built-In Prevention Reinforcement 51
 
3.7.2 Built-In Protection Reinforcement 51
 
3.8 Improving Reliability and Reducing Risk by Condition Monitoring 52
 
3.9 Reducing the Risk of Failure by Improving Maintainability 56
 
3.10 Reducing Risk by Eliminating Factors Promoting Human Errors 57
 
3.11 Reducing Risk by Reducing the Hazard Potential 58
 
3.12 Reducing Risk by using Protective Barriers 59
 
3.13 Reducing Risk by Efficient Troubleshooting Procedures and Systems 60
 
3.14 Risk Planning and Training 60
 
4 Improving Reliability and Reducing Risk by Separation 61
 
4.1 The Method of Separation 61
 
4.2 Separation of Risk-Critical Factors 62
 
4.2.1 Time Separation by Scheduling 62
 
4.2.1.1 Case Study: Full Time Separation with Random Starts of the Events 62
 
4.2.2 Time and Space Separation by Using Interlocks 63
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