Inspection Policies for Reliability

Abstract

The rôle of inspections in improving reliability is discussed, and a distinction is drawn between inspections of standby equipment, that “waits to work”, and inspections of equipment such as a production line that is in continuous use. Simple examples of both situations are given, and some of the complexities of the various models used are discussed and referenced. It is stressed that models are valueless for practical purposes without checking that they are appropriate, and without estimation of their parameters.