When a company has a new product in development they need to make sure that it will last as long as possible once it is made available to the buyer whether it is the military, another manufacturer or the general public. If they release a product that has a very short lifespan chances are the people who buy it are not going to be very happy. This is the main reason that many manufacturers are now using HASS reliability testing to insure that even under less than optimal conditions the product they make will last at least as long as it was designed to. Before companies had access to things like HASS reliability testing they had access to a form of traditional testing that involved single plane vibration testing and some forms of temperature testing. Each of these tests was performed individually and was not an accurate way to see how well a product might hold up in a real world environment. Each test allowed for changing only one parameter at a time such as turning up the temperature or changing the axis of the vibration. Once the tests were done and the product still worked it was considered good enough to sell even though it may not be.

This functionality after testing was the biggest problem with these traditional tests; since they were so basic in nature they may not have exposed the weakest aspects of a new product. By only changing one aspect at a time they did not subject the product to severe enough conditions to accurately reflect what the product might encounter in the real world; this was especially true with products made for military use. HASS reliability testing put the product through a battery of tests that change the conditions at various times and at the same time putting it through far more severe testing conditions. HASS testing is used to continually monitor the product after it has been fully tested using the HALT process and approved for manufacture. With HASS reliability testing, random samples are pulled out of the assembly or manufacturing line and they are tested.

This way the company receives constant information regarding the products that are coming off of the production line for sale. If there is a problem, it can be caught early on and adjustments to the manufacturing process can be made. A HASS reliability test is not intended to test the product all the way to breaking point; only a HALT test does this. HASS is used to continuously monitor the manufacturing process and most manufacturers prefer this testing process over any other method available. If your company is interested in having the Quality Control department trained to perform HASS testing you need the services of Reliability Help. They will send a team to your facility who can train your inspectors in every phase of both HALT and HASS testing so that you can ensure the products you sell are the best available and will stand the test of time.