Fuzzy evaluation model for lifetime performance of electronic products with redundant backup systems

Enhancing product quality and reliability can not only increase product value but also reduce rework and scrap rates and lengthen failure-induced maintenance schedules, thereby decreasing maintenance rates. When electronic products have no spare electronic components, their lifetime equals the lifetime of their components. With electronic components that have overly short lifespans on average, redundant backup systems are away of increasing electronic product reliability. In other words, when spares are available for electronic components, in the case of failure the product can switch over to the spare immediately. This paper proposes an electronic product lifetime performance index with m - 1 redundant backup electronic components. Then, we find a uniformly minimum variance unbiased estimator (UMVUE) for the proposed index. Furthermore, we develop for this index a uniformly most powerful (UMP) test and formulate a fuzzy testing approach based on its confidence interval. The proposed approach makes it convenient for the industry to evaluate and predominate improvement opportunities and increase product reliability so as to conserve energy and reduce carbon emissions.