SPACEREL
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Reliability Engineering

Reliability Engineering

Independent reliability engineering for electronics, semiconductor devices and mission-critical systems. Identify failure risks, plan targeted testing and build evidence for informed decisions throughout product life.

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PCBAs mounted inside an environmental chamber for electronics reliability testing.

What Is Reliability Engineering?

Confidence Built on Engineering Evidence

Reliability is the ability of a product to perform its required function under stated conditions for a stated period. Reliability engineering connects those requirements with design decisions, failure mechanisms, test evidence and field experience.

SPACEREL supports individual activities or a coordinated programme, helping you prioritise risks, make appropriate use of test resources and document the basis for design and release decisions.

Reliability engineering activities across concept, design, development, manufacturing and support, from setting requirements to monitoring field performance.
Requirements, design, test, manufacturing and field evidence inform one another throughout product life.

Product Lifecycle

Reliability Across the Product Lifecycle

Reliability engineering is an integral part of product development, from initial concept and requirements definition through design, verification, qualification, manufacturing and in-service operation. SPACEREL provides independent engineering expertise at every stage, helping organisations identify potential failure mechanisms, assess technical risks, define reliability objectives and establish the evidence needed to support critical decisions. Whether you require targeted support for a specific reliability challenge or a structured programme across multiple development stages, our approach combines engineering analysis, reliability modelling, testing and failure investigation to improve product robustness, demonstrate performance and support long-term reliability.

01

Concept & Requirements

Define reliability objectives, operating conditions and the evidence needed to demonstrate them.

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02

Design & Development

Identify failure mechanisms and reduce reliability risk while the design can still be improved.

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03

Verification & Qualification

Generate analytical and test evidence against defined reliability and lifetime requirements.

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04

Production & Manufacturing

Protect demonstrated reliability as the product moves into manufacture and undergoes change.

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05

Field & Sustaining Reliability

Use field evidence to resolve failures, evaluate changes and support continued product performance.

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Sector-Specific Programmes

Reliability That Fits Your Sector

Every industry presents distinct reliability challenges, driven by operating environments, mission duration, product complexity, regulatory expectations and applicable technical standards. SPACEREL delivers sector-specific reliability engineering support for space and aerospace, defence, semiconductors and microelectronics, medical devices, and industrial and harsh-environment electronics. We align reliability activities with your industry's development lifecycle, technical review milestones, qualification requirements and acceptance criteria. From early risk assessment and reliability prediction to accelerated testing, qualification and in-service support, our engineering approach helps organisations make informed decisions, address critical failure risks and establish defensible evidence of product reliability.

Mission Assurance & Qualification

Space & Aerospace

Space and aerospace programmes link reliability evidence directly to mission requirements, design maturity, qualification and acceptance. ECSS frameworks may apply to space projects, while aerospace requirements depend on the customer, system architecture, operating environment and certification basis.

SPACEREL supports reliability engineering across the programme lifecycle, including mission-profile and environmental definition, reliability requirements and allocation, reliability prediction and modelling, FMEA/FMECA, Physics of Failure, derating, component and packaging assessment, Design for Reliability, qualification planning, accelerated life testing, environmental testing, Reliability Demonstration Testing, failure analysis, FRACAS and life-data analysis. The aim is to connect identified reliability risks with proportionate engineering evidence at each programme milestone.

Typical WorkflowMission and system requirements; mission profile and environment definition; preliminary design review; detailed design review; reliability analysis and component assessment; qualification and reliability testing; acceptance and integration; operational monitoring, failure analysis and reliability feedback.

ECSS Engineering Frameworks
SPACEREL space project lifecycle diagram aligned with ECSS and NASA phases, showing mission concept, design, qualification, AIT, launch, operations, disposal, lifecycle reviews and reliability engineering support.
ECSS- and NASA-aligned space project lifecycle showing how SPACEREL reliability engineering supports requirements, design, qualification, testing, operations and end-of-mission activities.

Technology, Package & Product Qualification

Semiconductors & Microelectronics

Semiconductor and microelectronics reliability is established progressively across technology, device, package and product development rather than through qualification testing alone. Programmes typically combine application requirements, failure-mechanism assessment, design and process characterisation, accelerated stress testing, qualification, production monitoring and controlled assessment of product or process changes. Qualification may draw on JEDEC, IEC and application-specific requirements, with the test strategy tailored to the technology, package, intended use conditions and required lifetime.

SPACEREL provides reliability engineering support from early technology assessment through qualification, production and field feedback. Activities can include application and mission-profile definition, reliability requirements, FMEA/FMECA, Physics of Failure and failure-mechanism mapping, intrinsic wear-out assessment, package and interconnect reliability, accelerated-life and qualification test planning, Weibull and degradation analysis, failure analysis, reliability monitoring and change or requalification assessment. The objective is to connect credible failure mechanisms with proportionate test evidence and demonstrate that device and package reliability is appropriate for the intended application.

Typical WorkflowTechnology and application requirements; device and package development; characterisation and qualification; production release; change control and field feedback.

JEDEC Standards Framework
Semiconductor and microelectronics reliability lifecycle showing requirements, device and package development, failure-mechanism assessment, characterisation, qualification, production monitoring, change control and SPACEREL reliability engineering support.
Semiconductor and microelectronics reliability lifecycle showing how SPACEREL supports reliability from application requirements and failure-mechanism assessment through qualification, production monitoring, field feedback and requalification.

Design Controls & Risk Management

Medical Devices

Medical device development connects intended use, design inputs, risk controls, verification, validation and design transfer. ISO 13485 provides a quality-management framework; the applicable regulatory requirements and device risks shape the programme.

SPACEREL supports electronics reliability planning, failure assessment and test evidence that can feed into your design-control and risk-management documentation, helping teams prepare for technical reviews and release decisions.

Typical WorkflowIntended use and requirements; design and risk controls; verification and validation; design transfer; production and post-production feedback.

ISO 13485 Framework
Medical device design control lifecycle showing user needs, design inputs, verification, validation, design transfer, commercialisation and post-market surveillance.
Medical device design-control lifecycle aligned with ISO 13485, from user needs and design development through verification, validation, design transfer and post-market activities.

Programme Reviews & Acceptance Evidence

Defence

Defence programmes build reliability evidence progressively through requirements definition, technology maturation, design reviews, qualification, production readiness and in-service support. The lifecycle, review gates and applicable standards are tailored to the customer, programme, platform and contract. Where US DoD frameworks apply, development may progress through Materiel Solution Analysis, Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction, Engineering and Manufacturing Development, Production and Deployment, and Operations and Support, supported by formal decision points and technical reviews.

SPACEREL provides reliability engineering support throughout the defence lifecycle, including reliability requirements and allocation, mission-profile and duty-cycle definition, RAM modelling and reliability prediction, FMEA/FMECA, Fault Tree Analysis, Physics of Failure, derating, Design for Reliability, component and COTS assessment, reliability growth, environmental qualification, Reliability Demonstration Testing, failure analysis, FRACAS and life-data analysis. Activities are tailored to programme deliverables and applicable customer, DoD, MIL-STD and MIL-HDBK requirements, helping teams identify reliability risks early and build proportionate evidence for design reviews, qualification, acceptance and in-service support.

Typical WorkflowCapability need and solution analysis; technology maturation and risk reduction; system requirements and preliminary design; detailed design and engineering development; verification, qualification and production readiness; production, deployment and operational evaluation; operations, sustainment and disposal.

Systems Engineering Review Guidance
DoD systems engineering aligned defence project lifecycle showing acquisition milestones, technical reviews, verification and validation, and SPACEREL reliability engineering support.
DoD systems engineering aligned defence lifecycle showing how SPACEREL reliability engineering supports requirements, design reviews, qualification, production, deployment and in-service reliability.

Application-Led Reliability

Industrial & Harsh-Environment Electronics

Industrial, energy and harsh-environment products need reliability work built around actual duty cycles, temperatures, vibration, humidity and maintenance constraints. Development and release stages vary with the product, customer and operating environment.

SPACEREL translates those conditions into component assessments, lifetime models and test plans, supporting practical design choices and defensible evidence for long-life applications.

Typical WorkflowOperating requirements and mission profile; design and risk assessment; environmental and lifetime testing; manufacture and deployment; monitoring and sustaining engineering.

IEC Dependability Framework

Direct Access

Explore Reliability Activities

Already know what you need? Go directly to the activity. The same engineering methods can support several stages of the lifecycle.

Risk Assessment

Design FMEA & FMECA

Identify design failure modes, their effects and the actions needed to reduce reliability risk.

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Lifetime Assessment

Physics of Failure

Connect materials, geometry and operating stresses to the mechanisms that can limit product life.

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System Analysis

Reliability Prediction

Estimate failure rates to compare designs and support reliability decisions with stated assumptions.

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Test Strategy

Reliability Test Planning

Define what to test, at which stresses, for how long and with how many samples.

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Test Strategy

Accelerated Life Testing

Develop accelerated tests linked to relevant failure mechanisms and use conditions.

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Test Strategy

Reliability Demonstration Testing

Plan a test that can demonstrate a specified reliability target at an agreed confidence level.

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Data Analysis

Weibull & Life Data Analysis

Turn test and field lifetime data into reliability estimates with a defensible statistical basis.

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Planning

Mission Profile Analysis

Translate real use into the thermal, electrical and mechanical stresses that drive reliability.

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Reliability Process

FRACAS

Create a traceable process for reporting, analysing and resolving failures.

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Design Analysis

Parts Stress & Derating

Review electrical and thermal stresses against component limits and application margins.

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Qualification Strategy

Change & Second-Source Qualification

Define the evidence needed to introduce component, supplier, material or process changes.

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Lifetime Assessment

Packaging & Interconnect Reliability

Assess the materials and interfaces that often govern microelectronic assembly life.

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Electronics & Microelectronics

From Device Mechanisms to System Decisions

SPACEREL focuses on the components, materials and assemblies that underpin electronic reliability.

Semiconductors and Microelectronics
Technology risks, electrical degradation, wear-out and device qualification evidence.

Hybrid Assemblies and MCMs
Wire bonds, die attach, substrates, encapsulation and interfaces in demanding environments.

PCBAs and Power Electronics
Component stresses, solder joints, thermal and power cycling, manufacturing variation and application-specific lifetime risks.

From Requirement to Engineering Conclusion

  1. 01

    Define the Question

    Review the product, intended use, reliability target and evidence already available.

  2. 02

    Prioritise the Risks

    Identify important mechanisms, evidence gaps and the decisions the project needs to make.

  3. 03

    Develop the Evidence

    Select proportionate analysis and testing. Coordinate specialist laboratory work where required.

  4. 04

    Support the Decision

    Provide documented conclusions, assumptions and practical recommendations.

Methods & Evidence

Standards & Methods

Discuss the engineering challenge

A clear requirement is the first step.

Tell us about your electronic hardware, reliability or qualification requirements and the decisions you need to make. We'll help identify a practical engineering approach and the evidence needed to move forward.

Discuss Your Reliability Requirement

Connected Expertise

Related Capabilities & Resources

Component & System Qualification Failure Analysis Component Uprating & Application-Specific Assurance