Award
First place for a paper by Kevin Lucan, Martin Dazer, Kim Hintz and Bernd Bertsche on competing failure modes and system reliability estimation.
Kevin Lucan, Martin Dazer, Kim Hintz and Bernd Bertsche received first place in the Thomas L. Fagan, Jr. RAMS Student Paper Award for their contribution 'Effect of Competing Failure Modes on the System Reliability Estimation'.
The plaque records first place in the 2019 RAMS Student Paper Award and names the four authors Kevin Lucan, Martin Dazer, Kim Hintz and Bernd Bertsche. It was presented in January 2020 at the Reliability and Maintainability Symposium in Palm Springs, California.
The paper examines how competing failure modes influence the estimation of system reliability. When several modes can cause a component or system to fail, the observed lifetime data cannot automatically be attributed to a single statistical mechanism.
Failure modes may mask one another or occur under different stress and usage conditions. Ignoring this structure can distort parameters and system-level conclusions. A defensible assessment therefore needs failure-mode information, suitable models and transparent assumptions.
The topic affects reliability prediction, test evaluation and risk decisions wherever several technical causes contribute to observed failures. The publication connects academic method development with the practical need to interpret data without oversimplifying the system.
RelTest connects failure mechanisms, statistical models and system structure to support transparent reliability decisions.
