PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - H. Gregg Claycamp
AU  - Faiad Rahaman
AU  - Jason M. Urban
TI  - The Reliability-Quality Relationship for Quality Systems and Quality Risk Management
AID  - 10.5731/pdajpst.2012.00888
DP  - 2012 Nov 01
TA  - PDA Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology
PG  - 512--517
VI  - 66
IP  - 6
4099  - http://journal.pda.org/content/66/6/512.short
4100  - http://journal.pda.org/content/66/6/512.full
SO  - PDA J Pharm Sci Technol2012 Nov 01; 66
AB  - Engineering reliability typically refers to the probability that a system, or any of its components, will perform a required function for a stated period of time and under specified operating conditions. As such, reliability is inextricably linked with time-dependent quality concepts, such as maintaining a state of control and predicting the chances of losses from failures for quality risk management. Two popular current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) and quality risk management tools, failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) and root cause analysis (RCA) are examples of engineering reliability evaluations that link reliability with quality and risk. Current concepts in pharmaceutical quality and quality management systems call for more predictive systems for maintaining quality; yet, the current pharmaceutical manufacturing literature and guidelines are curiously silent on engineering quality. This commentary discusses the meaning of engineering reliability while linking the concept to quality systems and quality risk management. The essay also discusses the difference between engineering reliability and statistical (assay) reliability. LAY ABSTRACT: The assurance of quality in a pharmaceutical product is no longer measured only “after the fact” of manufacturing. Rather, concepts of quality systems and quality risk management call for designing quality assurance into all stages of the pharmaceutical product life cycle. Interestingly, most assays for quality are essentially static and inform product quality over the life cycle only by being repeated over time. Engineering process reliability is the fundamental concept that is meant to anticipate quality failures over the life cycle of the product. Reliability is a well-developed theory and practice for other types of manufactured products and manufacturing processes. Thus, it is well known to be an appropriate index of manufactured product quality. This essay discusses the meaning of reliability and its linkages with quality systems and quality risk management.