Road to Recovery

As I write this, Toyota, the criterion of reliability in the auto industry, faces crushing losses in revenue and consumer trust. Acceleration defects in several models have resulted in numerous injuries and fatalities. Toyota's response has included a recall to fix the problems, which carries a steep price tag on many levels. Clearly, driver safety is paramount to the public; any news of reliability issues in the auto industry gains rapid-fire coverage through vast media outlets. Although automotive firms have improved vehicular reliability and performance, Toyota's reported problems eluded design and manufacturing engineers, who were using legacy-design methodology that employed statistical design centering and tolerancing methods.

Since its founding a decade ago, Ridgetop has been in the business of providing non-intrusive reliability solutions for complex electronic systems. The products and services that we provide range from comprehensive Integrated Vehicle Health Monitoring (IVHM) systems to specialized radiation-hardened components for space satellites. Our initial customer base in the aerospace sector has benefited from our innovative solutions, and Ridgetop has expanded to serve customers producing critical systems for the automotive, semiconductor, and medical equipment industries.

With the “New Normal” economy, manufacturers of critical equipment have found the old reliability process doesn’t meet the needs of the end user. Simply stated, the legacy statistical or mean time between failures (MTBF)-based reliability approaches are insufficient. Manufacturers now require that electronic systems include sound signature-based prognostic/diagnostic methods that reveal the actual time before “wear-out” and failures occur, to mitigate the effects of component degradation, environmental impacts, and drift over the extended lives of these systems. This is the “New Normal” benchmark for reliable performance in advanced systems.

Ridgetop has a strong record of achievement in producing innovative tools and libraries to help manufacturers meet the challenges ahead. Ridgetop has built patented tools and libraries, which we provide to our customers. In addition to these “off-the-shelf” products, we provide:

• DO-178 and DO-254 compliant Design Services
• DoD Trusted Source Semiconductor Design
• Electronic Design Services, Module, PCB and IC Level
• Prognostics Training Courses

I invite you to join our list of satisfied customers by contacting us now. We can assist you in meeting the “New Normal” in reliable design!