Patrick D.T. O'Connor

Engineering Management, Reliability, Test, Safety

Welcome to my Homepage.


Please note that I am no longer providing consulting or training. I am very sorry that my homepage died some years ago. However, I am now recovered from the problems that I faced back then and hope that this reduced version will enable us to be in contact again.

The main drivers of my teaching on engineering management, including quality, reliability and safety, are:

– Dilbert is far wiser than most management “gurus”. He is also experienced.
– Quality, reliability and safety are driven by good management and good engineering. Maths and stats play a very minor part.
– Standards like ISO9000 and others for reliability and safety are misleading and dangerous.

I hope that you will find the information and inspiration you seek. Please contact me if you think that I can help in any way.

  e-mail: pat@pdtoconnor.uk

See my CV (will appear at end of page)


LATEST

A Grain of Sand, an introduction to the wonders of science. Published on Amazon 2024. See below.

Old reliability engineer goes crazy! Sent away for incredible treatment! Read about it!
Walter Minion’s Therapy. See below.

The 6th. edition of Practical Reliability Engineering will be published in early 2024.

Test Engineering was published in 2001: the only book that covers the whole engineering and management spectrum of testing.

The New Management of Engineering was published in 2004, and is now re-published by Amazon/Kindle. It is the only book that maps the teaching of Peter Drucker on to the practice of engineering management.

  
 BOOKS, JOURNALS AND PAPERS

This section describes the books I have written , the journal Quality and Reliability Engineering International, and other articles.

A Grain of Sand. Amazon /Kindle 2024

An introduction to the wonders of science, from the Big Bang to human life, with emphasis on the connectness of nature, and the mysteries of creation.

The New Management of Engineering. Patrick D.T. O’Connor. Amazon/Kindle 2022.

Managing engineering is more difficult, more demanding and more important than any other activity in modern society. The book explains how the principles of Peter Drucker’s “New Management” should be applied to the human and technological aspects of engineering. It provides fresh insights into the management of design, test, manufacture and use. It explains the poverty of some of the ideas that dominate much of modern management.
 It is the only book on the subject that truly reflects the realities of engineering and explains how world-class engineering companies operate.

Practical Reliability Engineering. Patrick D.T. O’Connor and Andre Kleyner (John Wiley, Fifth edition 2012). 

The only book that treats reliability as essentially an engineering and management subject. Probably the world’s most popular book on the subject, and now further updated and expanded. Andre Kleyner provided descriptions of reliability analysis software and other updates. The book covers all of the requirements of the ASQ examination for Certified Reliability Engineer. An answers manual for the student questions is available from the publisher.

Test Engineering.  Patrick D.T. O’Connor. John Wiley 2001. 

Testing is an essential, expensive and difficult part of engineering design, development, manufacture and support. Yet it is rarely taught as part of engineering training, it is ignored in books on engineering management, and until now there have been no books that cover testing philosophy, methods, technology aspects, economics, and management. This new book is the first to do so. It emphasises an integrated, multidisciplinary approach, and the use of highly accelerated stress testing.

In My Humble Opinion

A collection of my writings, including editorials, book reviews, papers and other pearls of wisdom.

Walter Minion’s Therapy

A combination of black comedy, allegory, high adventure, and exploration of human relationships in a crazy world.

Walter Minion is an archetypical retired engineer. His life is gentle and domesticated. But gradually little stresses mount, culminating in his bizarre attempt at suicide. He is incarcerated in a mental institution where he is treated in inexplicable ways by strange characters. His enforced therapy is to undertake a voyage around the world, alone, on a small yacht. In mid-Atlantic a wondrous girl swims alongside and climbs aboard. Spray is feminine perfection, but Walter discovers that she is also weirdly unnatural.
The two are caught up in a series of wild adventures as they cross oceans, make exotic landfalls and survive terrifying dangers. They encounter more people: good, evil and mad. Throughout their odyssey Spray holds out tantalising prospects of submission and erotic rapture. Walter wrestles with the emotional conflicts that ensue, and with humanity’s stupidity and hatred, beauty and love. Walter’s therapy sails to a surprising finale, a counterpoint of tragedy and joyful triumph.
But what is reality, and what is delusion?

I have also written a prequel, Walter Minion’s Secret Life, which is his story leading up to his going mad. He works on nuclear weapons, is involved in international skulduggery, and other life-changing episodes.

ALL OF MY BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM. Click on the titles.

 
Quality and Reliability Engineering International. Editors Aarnout C. Brombacher, Douglas Montgomery and Loon Ching Tang. John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
The bimonthly journal that links quality and reliability engineering, with the emphasis on practical application and modern technology. Includes reviews, special issues, events calendar, news digest, and more.
I was UK Editor until September 1999. Past issues contain many of my editorials and reviews.



Encyclopaedia Chapter:

Quality and Reliability Engineering. Encylopaedia of Physical Science and Technology (Academic Press).

Papers: (will appear at end of page when clicked)

IEC/ISO61508: Letter on the new standard on electronics/software safety, published in IEEE Spectrum Aug 2000. Read it? IEC61508

Reliability Past, Present and Future. Paper published in IEEE Trans Reliability, 2001. Read it? Reliability 2000

Is scientific management dead? An article on the adverse effects of reliance on “scientific” methods, typified by ideas such as business process re-engineering (BPR), ISO9000, MBAs, etc. It has not been published, because journals like Harvard Business Review and Management Today would not accept it. (Academic journals are reluctant to publish opinions that clash with the accepted wisdom). Read it? smdead

Standards in reliability and safety engineering. Reliability Engineering and System Safety (1998). Read it? standards

ISO9000: help or hoax? Quality World (1991)
 Read it? iso9000

Quantifying uncertainty in reliability and safety studies. Society of Reliability Engineers Symposium, Arnhem, 1993 (keynote paper). Read it? quantifyinguncertainty

Achieving World Class Quality and Reliability: Science or Art? Quality World (1993)
 Q&R Science or Art?

Quality and reliability: illusions and realities. Quality and Reliability Engineering International, vol. 9 163-168 (1993).

Statistics in quality and reliability: lessons from the past and future opportunities. Reliability Engineering and System Safety, vol. 34 23-33 (1991).

Reliability prediction: help or hoax? Solid State Technology (August 1990).

Reliability prediction: state of the art review. IEEE Proc. vol. 133 Part A no. 4 (1986). (With L.N. Harris).

Effectiveness of formal reliability programmes. Quality and Reliability Engineering International, vol. 1 19-22 (1985).

Microelectronic systems reliability prediction. IEEE Trans Reliab. (USA) (April 1983).

Royal Air Force aero-engine logistics model. NATO conference on organisation of logistics systems, Luxembourg, 1972. (With J. Hough).
 
 
 
 
 
 		    

PATRICK D.T. O’CONNOR

Biography

Patrick O’Connor received his engineering training at the Royal Air Force

Technical College. He served for 16 years in the RAF Engineer Branch, including

tours on aircraft maintenance and in the Reliability and Maintainability office

of the Ministry of Defence (Air). He joined British Aerospace Dynamics in 1975,

and was appointed Reliability Manager in 1980. In March 1993 he joined British Rail Research as Reliability Manager.

From 1995 he worked as an independent consultant on engineering management,

reliability, quality and safety.

He is the author of “Practical Reliability Engineering”, published by

John Wiley (5th. edition 2012). He is also the author of the chapter on

reliability and quality engineering in the Academic Press Encyclopaedia of

Physical Science and Technology, and until 1999 was the UK editor of the Wiley

journal “Quality and Reliability Engineering International”. He was editor of the

Wiley book series in quality and reliability engineering.

He has written many papers and articles on quality and reliability engineering

and management, and he lectured at universities and other venues on these

subjects. In 1984 he won the Allen Chop Award, presented by the American Society

for Quality, for his contribution to reliability science and technology.

He is the author of the book “The New Management of Engineering”, which

describes the modern approaches to managing engineering, based upon the teaching

of Peter Drucker. .

He is the author of Test Engineering (J. Wiley 2001).

CV

BIRTH & CITIZENSHIP

7 March 1937. UK citizen.

EDUCATION

Lodge School, Barbados, and Royal Air Force Technical College, Henlow.

QUALIFICATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

HND (Mech Eng) 1959.

CEng, MIMechE, MRAes.

Member of IEEE (USA).

EXPERIENCE

1959-1976: RAF Engineer Branch. Work included:

Aircraft and system maintenance: fighter aircraft, main base ground facilities.

R&D: design and manufacture of experimental equipment for RAF Institute of

Aviation Medicine, Farnborough.

Reliability and Maintainability office of the Ministry of Defence Operational

Requirements (Air). Developed R&M policies, conducted research and studies, and

worked on R&M on projects such as Tornado, Hawk, Nimrod, IFF.

1975-1993: British Aerospace (Dynamics). Work included:

Quality engineer: monitoring and reporting on production quality and in-service

reliability of Rapier air defence system.

Product Assurance Manager, Tornado ATE sub-system.

Manager, Reliability and Maintainability Engineering for last 13 years. Set up

and managed R&M engineering department. Managed R&M programmes on Rapier

evolution, anti-tank missiles, ATE, etc. Managed applied research on reliability

(electronic components, system analysis methods, test methods, etc.). Developed

R&M procedures and training. Worked with MoD on development of Def Stan 00-40

and 00-41. Planned ASRAAM R&M programme.

1993-1995: British Rail Research, Reliability Manager.

Set up R&M team. Developed policies, procedures and training. Managed R&M

programmes (Eurostar, diesel locomotives, signalling systems, etc.). Managed

research. Contributed to development of UK and European railway R&M and safety

standards.

PRESENT POSITION

Consultant in engineering management, quality, reliability, and safety

engineering.

AUTHORSHIP, ETC.

Books:

Practical Reliability Engineering (J. Wiley, 1st edition 1981, 5th. edition

2012).

Reliability Engineering (Hemisphere, 1988) (Editor).

The Practice of Engineering Management (J. Wiley, 1994).

Test Engineering (J. Wiley 2001).

Editorial:

UK Editor of “Quality and Reliability Engineering International” (J. Wiley) (to

1999).

Editor of J. Wiley series in Quality and Reliability Engineering

Encyclopaedia Chapter:

Quality and Reliability Engineering. Encyclopaedia of Physical Science and

Technology (Academic Press).

Papers:

Reliability Past, Present and Future. IEEE Trans Reliability, 2001.

Standards in reliability and safety engineering. Reliability Engineering and

System Safety (1998).

ISO9000: help or hoax? Quality World (1991).

Quantifying uncertainty in reliability and safety studies. Society of

Reliability Engineers symposium, Arnhem, 1993 (keynote paper).

Quality and reliability: illusions and realities. Quality and Reliability

Engineering International, vol. 9 163-168 (1993).

Statistics in quality and reliability: lessons from the past and future

opportunities. Reliability Engineering and System Safety, vol. 34 23-33 (1991).

Reliability prediction: help or hoax? Solid State Technology (August 1990).

Reliability prediction: state of the art review. IEE Proc. vol. 133 Part A no. 4

(1986). (With L.N. Harris).

Effectiveness of formal reliability programmes. Quality and Reliability

Engineering International, vol. 1 19-22 (1985).

Microelectronic systems reliability prediction. IEEE Trans Reliab. (USA) (April

1983).

Royal Air Force aero-engine logistics model. NATO conference on organisation of

logistics systems, Luxembourg, 1972. (With J. Hough).

AWARDS.

Allen Chop Award for contribution to reliability science and technology

(American Society for Quality Control, 1984).

LECTURESHIPS, ETC.

Speaker, chairman and panelist at various conferences.

Presenter of courses on quality and reliability engineering and management for

companies, etc.