SURGE process: A time-to-market approach to reliability improvement

States that the time taken to deliver a product to the market determines a company's success, and that research has shown that a delay of six months leads to 33 per cent of its potential profit being lost. Explores the existing method of assessing new product reliability, namely reliability demonstrating testing, and presents its numerous shortcomings and deficiencies. Analyses the results of performing reliability demonstration testing on eight products which support the viewpoint that it is no longer appropriate. Proposes a SURGE (stress unveiled reliability growth enhancement) process, leading to significant saving in development time and thereby time-to-market while providing a more reliable product and process. Places emphasis on the control of all of the development processes, design, manufacturing, and materials procurement and producing prototype units via the intended volume process. Performs monitoring by appropriate stress testing designed to precipitate all potential defects and involves testing beyond design specification. By correcting defects on the product, and ultimately on the processes which produced them, develops more reliable products. Concludes that the results of the SURGE process have led to a reduction in development times of 14 per cent while also reducing the time taken to ramp up to full volume production by 50 per cent.