Once again I welcome you to the RAMS^® 2013 web site.  This is the late April, early May update to my message, and I will again discuss two topics.  One is about our Banquet Speaker, and the other is about the value of attending RAMS^® 2013.

Regarding our Banquet Speaker, we are in the process of firming up our contract with her, and I will keep her anonymous until it is fully signed, dated and all the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed.  However I will share that she is a New York Times best-selling author of several books about science, a former New York Times Science writer, and the most famous ex-classmate of mine – we attended elementary school together in the Bronx, NY.  She will be talking about her books and there will be a book signing after the Banquet.  As soon as the contract is signed, her identity will be revealed and we will have a bio up about her.

As to why you should attend RAMS^® 2013, your career may depend on it.  RAMS^® is the only place where you can meet over 500 Reliability Engineers in one location at one time. This is the place where someone you meet in the corridors, at the Pool after hours, in one of Shingle Creek’s fine restaurants, at the Symposium Banquet, in our Exhibits area, or before a session starts in one of the meeting rooms may have the answer to that problem that is presently causing you fits.  Or it could be the piece of knowledge you acquire from one of our superb tutorials that allows you to solve a Reliability Problem you wouldn’t have tackled before.  Many a Reliability Engineer has built their reputation by solving just one high cost, seemingly intractable problem, or by becoming the linchpin in a company’s design, manufacturing, or even marketing process.  Additionally, attending RAMS^® can provide that warm feeling you get just knowing that you are not alone in the wilderness doing Reliability Engineering work.

As this is a 60^th RAMS^® celebration, I am inviting every living past great (former General Chairs of RAMS^®) and the presidents and Chairs of our sponsoring Societies.  These senior professionals will further enhance the technical presence at RAMS^® 2013 and provide even more opportunities for learning.

Reliably yours,

Aron Brall, CRE

Each sponsoring society is represented by a seat on the RAMS® Board of Directors.

We invite you to share your research – theoretical or practical, success stories, lessons learned, R&M knowledge, and R&M discoveries at the 2013 RAMS® in Orlando. Tell us how you are contributing to improving the bottom line by applying reliability and maintainability concepts. Tell us how you are using reliability and maintainability in other pursuits. RAMS® is the premier forum for sharing your experience, knowledge, and roadmaps to success. Make your contribution to the advancement of the R&M discipline and enjoy in the rich exchange of ideas and solutions. We want you to contribute your unique experience to our synergistic symposium sponsored by nine professional societies. Plan to submit your paper or tutorial now.

The program for our 2013 event will be established in May and information will be posted to our website in June.  Stay tuned!

We invite you to share your research – theoretical or practical, success stories, lessons learned, R&M knowledge, and R&M discoveries at the 2013 RAMS® in Orlando. Tell us how you are contributing to improving the bottom line by applying reliability and maintainability concepts. Tell us how you are using reliability and maintainability in other pursuits. RAMS® is the premier forum for sharing your experience, knowledge, and roadmaps to success. Make your contribution to the advancement of the R&M discipline and enjoy in the rich exchange of ideas and solutions. We want you to contribute your unique experience to our synergistic symposium sponsored by nine professional societies. Plan to submit your paper or tutorial now.

The program for our 2013 event will be established in May and information will be posted to our website in June.  Stay tuned!

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the web site for the 60th Annual Reliability & Maintainability Symposium – RAMS^® 2013.   As you can see, we are offering an economic message for this year’s RAMS^®.

I have long held that proper application of Reliability and Maintainability is key to helping businesses improve their bottom line as well as contributing to improved efficiencies for government and not for profit businesses. The economic stresses recently experienced worldwide have brought this need to the forefront.  A history of performing R&M to meet requirements, but failing to use the results to improve products and processes has resulted in a perception among senior management that R&M is a cost which should be cut at the first opportunity.  It is our goal, that RAMS^® 2013 will provide ideas on how to use R&M to save businesses money.  These ideas will include reducing warranty costs, improving manufacturing processes, implementing better safety, etc. all developed from proper application of R&M tools to designs and processes. This approach will validate the value of R&M engineering, and we feel encourage the hiring and retention of engineers who practice it.

I invite you to continue to return to this site every few weeks where we will post new ideas related to this concept.  Yes, we are teasing, but we are hoping this tease will encourage you to submit an abstract for a paper or tutorial to RAMS^® 2013, or become convinced that you have to attend RAMS^® to learn how to improve your company’s bottom line. We know budgeting for the travel and attendance fees associated with RAMS^® can be a long range process, and we encourage you to start that process now.

Reliably yours,

Aron Brall CRE

RAMS^® 2013

General Chair