Reliability as part of the engineering process

Vehicle reliability is one of the major factors influencing car buyers in their choice of make. A brief review is presented of the reliability engineering programme operated by Volvo. From the engineering point of view reliability is a quality parameter which is made measurable, predictable and controllable. Reliability is also closely linked to maintainability, and thus reliability goals are often set as part of a trade–off between these two properties with the aim of achieving optimal availability.