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Reinventing warranty at HP: an engineering approach to warranty
Author(s) -
Kakouros Steve,
Cargille Brian,
Esterman Marcos
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
quality and reliability engineering international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1099-1638
pISSN - 0748-8017
DOI - 10.1002/qre.512
Subject(s) - warranty , product (mathematics) , reliability engineering , event (particle physics) , computer science , failure rate , reliability (semiconductor) , risk analysis (engineering) , business , engineering , mathematics , power (physics) , physics , geometry , quantum mechanics , political science , law
The mechanisms used to understand and reduce warranty costs often focus exclusively on the analysis of product failures. However, warranty costs can also be incurred by events such as support calls that do not involve a product failure. We describe a method used by a major electronics manufacturer to understand warranty costs by modeling warranty events. Furthermore, event modeling that uses a time‐dependent warranty event rate instead of the more standard average rate of failure allows the improved prediction of warranty costs and better accruals. As a result of the modeling, warranty engineers can help product managers more accurately predict the costs associated with removing certain warranty events, changing warranty policies and offering extended warranties for their electronic products. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.