Book excerpt: Introducing a groundbreaking companion book to a bestselling reliability text Reliability is one of the most important characteristics defining the quality of a product or system, both for the manufacturer and the purchaser. One achieves high reliability through careful monitoring of design, materials and other input, production, quality assurance efforts, ongoing maintenance, and a variety of related decisions and activities. All of these factors must be considered in determining the costs of production, purchase, and ownership of a product. Case Studies in Reliability and Maintenance serves as a valuable addition to the current literature on the subject of reliability by bridging the gap between theory and application. Conceived during the preparation of the editors' earlier work, Reliability: Modeling, Prediction, and Optimization (Wiley, 2000), this new volume features twenty-six actual case studies written by top experts in their fields, each illustrating exactly how reliability models are applied. A valuable companion book to Reliability: Modeling, Prediction, and Optimization, or any other textbook on the subject, the book features: * Case studies from fields such as aerospace, automotive, mining, electronics, power plants, dikes, computer software, weapons, photocopiers, industrial furnaces, granite building cladding, chemistry, and aircraft engines * A logical organization according to the life cycle of a product or system * A unified format of discussion enhanced by tools, techniques, and models for drawing one's own conclusions * Pertinent exercises for reinforcement of ideas Of equal value to both students of reliability theory as well as professionals in industry, Case Studies in Reliability and Maintenance should be required reading for anyone seeking to understand how reliability and maintenance issues can be addressed and resolved in the real world.