Failure

Failure

Reliability and Legal Risks: Terms Related to Failure

Failure

Termination of the ability of an item to perform its specified  function. OR, non-conformance to some defined performance  criteria. Failures may be classified by:

Cause

• Misuse: Caused by operation outside specified stress.
• Primary: Not caused by an earlier failure.
• Secondary: Caused by an earlier failure.
• Wearout: Caused by accelerating failure rate mechanism.
• Design: Caused by an intrinsic weakness.
• Software: Caused by a program error despite no hardware failure

Type

• Sudden: Not anticipated and no prior degradation.
• Degradation: Parametric drift or gradual reduction in  performance.
• Intermittent: Alternating between the failed and operating  condition.
• Dormant: A component or unit failure that does not cause system  failure but that either hastens it or, in combination with another  dormant fault, would cause system failure.
• Random: Failure is equally probable in each successive equal time  interval.
• Catastrophic: Sudden and complete.

Failure Mode

The outward appearance of a specific failure effect (e.g. open circuit,  leak to atmosphere).

Failure Mechanism

The physical or chemical process that causes the failure.

Author: David J. Smith.

Resources

See Also

Further Reading

• Information related to failure in the Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Law(MPEPIL), Germany, United Kingdom