Let’s talk about Electronics reliability with the QA guru Cheryl Tulkoff.
In this episode Cheryl and I will talk about risk assessment, planning for not only success but also a failure, and understanding the difference between quality and reliability. This discussion is going to be very informative for every PCB designer who wants to get ahead of their game. Watch through the end, and make sure to check the additional resources below.
Watch this episode here
Show Highlights:
Cheryl shares her rewarding career experience in the electronics industry
She worked at IBM where she was immersed in electronic manufacturing from beginning to end
She also worked at DfR Solutions and National Instruments where she learned all the skills and knowledge in electronics manufacturability, quality & reliability consulting


To produce a successful electronic product it is important to have the awareness to resolve every problem, from the chip level, board level, system level, and the environment level
Cheryl explains why unique or non-aligned standards exist in the industry – no one size fits all
A great piece of advice for all PCB designers is to know what you are designing and who you are designing it for, look at the risks, and then manage them appropriately
Planning for success may also include celebrating failures. Budget for failure analysis is often disregarded due to the “success-driven roadmap” mentality
Failure should be part of design management
Cheryl and Zach talk about the “Startup Culture”
Software reliability and hardware reliability go hand in hand
What rate of failure is tolerable? Defining what is quality and reliability separately for the product you are designing
Manufacturers can not ensure reliability for you
Cheryl shares her experience being involved in litigation as an expert witness
Redundancy practices in the industry, is it typical?
What can designers do to mitigate failures?
Understanding what you are designing and who you are designing it for
Collect as much feedback as possible – from users, industry experts, and professional organizations



Links and Resources:
Connect with Cheryl Tulkoff on LinkedIn
Read Cheryl Tulkoff articles on Research Gate
Checkout Cheryl Tulkoff book Design for Excellence in Electronics Manufacturing
Connect with Zach on LinkedIn
Full OnTrack Podcast Library
Altium Website

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