Fig. 1 Crash of the Wright Flyer, 1908. Courtesy of the National Air and Space museum, Smithsonian Institution. Photo A-42555-A Unfortunately, there are many dramatic examples of catastrophic failures that result in injury, loss of life, and damage to property. For example, a molasses tank failed in Boston in 1919, and another molasses tank failed in Bellview, NJ,in 1973(Ref 2). Were the causes identified in 1919? Were lessons learned as a result of the accident? Were corrective actions developed and implemented to prevent recurrence Conversely, failures can also lead to improvements in engineering practices. The spectacular failures of the Liberty ships during World War II were studied extensively in subsequent decades, and the outcome of these efforts was a significantly more thorough understanding of the phenomenon of fracture, culminating in part with the development of the engineering discipline of fracture mechanics(Ref 3). Through these and other efforts, insights into the cause and prevention of failures continue to evolve References cited in this section 1. P.L. Jakab, Visions of a Flying Machine: The Wright Brothers and the Process of Invention, Smithsonian nstitution, 1990, p 226 2. R.W. Hertzberg, Deformation and Fracture Mechanics of Engineering Materials, John Wiley Sons, 1976, p 229-230 3. D.J. Ulpi, Understanding How Components Fail, 2nd ed, ASM International, 1999 Introduction to Failure Analysis and Prevention James J. Scutti, Massachusetts Materials Research, Inc. i william ]. McBrine, ALTRAN Corporation Concepts of failure analysis and Prevention Clearly, through the analysis of failures and the implementation of preventive measures, significant improvements have been realized in the quality of products and systems. This requires not only an understanding of the role of failure analysis, but also an appreciation of quality assurance and user expectations Quality and User Expectations of Products and Systems. In an era that initially gained global prominence in the 1980s, corporations, plants, government agencies, and other organizations developed new management systems and processes aimed at improving quality and customer satisfaction. Some of these systems include Total Quality Management (TQM). Continuous Improvement(CD), and, more recently prominent, Six Sigma. Historically, these initiatives are founded on the philosophies of the quality visionaries W. Edwards Deming(Ref 4)and Joseph Juran( Ref 5) In their most basic descriptions, TQM and CI represent full organizational commitment to a system focused on"doing the right thing right the first time"and not merely meeting but exceeding customer requirements(Ref 6, 7). They are focused on process improvements, generally in a production environment. Six Sigma adopts these themes and extends the reach of the system to all levels of organizations, with a system to achieve, sustain, and maximize business success (Ref 8). SiFig. 1 Crash of the Wright Flyer, 1908. Courtesy of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Photo A-42555-A Unfortunately, there are many dramatic examples of catastrophic failures that result in injury, loss of life, and damage to property. For example, a molasses tank failed in Boston in 1919, and another molasses tank failed in Bellview, NJ, in 1973 (Ref 2). Were the causes identified in 1919? Were lessons learned as a result of the accident? Were corrective actions developed and implemented to prevent recurrence? Conversely, failures can also lead to improvements in engineering practices. The spectacular failures of the Liberty ships during World War II were studied extensively in subsequent decades, and the outcome of these efforts was a significantly more thorough understanding of the phenomenon of fracture, culminating in part with the development of the engineering discipline of fracture mechanics (Ref 3). Through these and other efforts, insights into the cause and prevention of failures continue to evolve. References cited in this section 1. P.L. Jakab, Visions of a Flying Machine: The Wright Brothers and the Process of Invention, Smithsonian Institution, 1990, p 226 2. R.W. Hertzberg, Deformation and Fracture Mechanics of Engineering Materials, John Wiley & Sons, 1976, p 229–230 3. D.J. Wulpi, Understanding How Components Fail, 2nd ed., ASM International, 1999 Introduction to Failure Analysis and Prevention James J. Scutti, Massachusetts Materials Research, Inc.; William J. McBrine, ALTRAN Corporation Concepts of Failure Analysis and Prevention Clearly, through the analysis of failures and the implementation of preventive measures, significant improvements have been realized in the quality of products and systems. This requires not only an understanding of the role of failure analysis, but also an appreciation of quality assurance and user expectations. Quality and User Expectations of Products and Systems. In an era that initially gained global prominence in the 1980s, corporations, plants, government agencies, and other organizations developed new management systems and processes aimed at improving quality and customer satisfaction. Some of these systems include Total Quality Management (TQM), Continuous Improvement (CI), and, more recently prominent, Six Sigma. Historically, these initiatives are founded on the philosophies of the quality visionaries W. Edwards Deming (Ref 4) and Joseph Juran (Ref 5). In their most basic descriptions, TQM and CI represent full organizational commitment to a system focused on “doing the right thing right the first time” and not merely meeting but exceeding customer requirements (Ref 6, 7). They are focused on process improvements, generally in a production environment. Six Sigma adopts these themes and extends the “reach” of the system to all levels of organizations, with a system to achieve, sustain, and maximize business success (Ref 8). Six