Product Use & End of Life
PEM’s expertise in this area includes process development & optimisation, failure analysis and reliability analysis using the following methods below.
Product Use & End of Life
PEM’s expertise in this area includes process development & optimisation, failure analysis and reliability analysis using the following methods below.
Process development & optimisation
PEM provides end‑to‑end support for analysing, refining, and optimising product and material performance as components move into real‑world use and towards end‑of‑life conditions. Our team integrates statistical data analytics, experimental design, and advanced process‑simulation methodologies to identify critical performance variables, quantify degradation behaviour, and optimise systems for reliability and durability.
Through access to a comprehensive internal materials and mechanical testing laboratory, including high‑force tensile testing, bi‑axial loading systems, hardness testing, rheometry, thermal analysis, and FT‑IR spectroscopy, we can evaluate real‑use stresses, wear patterns, dimensional change, and environmental exposure impacts to ensure products maintain consistent performance throughout their lifecycle.
Statistical data analytics
PEM applies advanced statistical analytics to transform complex end‑of‑life and real‑use datasets into actionable insights. Using coherent and accurate analysis methods, we evaluate product performance trends, detect early‑stage anomalies, and understand sources of variation that can accelerate failure or reduce product lifespan. These insights help industry partners:
- Improve long‑term product stability
- Strengthen maintenance and replacement planning
- Identify hidden degradation mechanisms
- Validate design assumptions with quantitative evidence
By combining field‑use data with empirical test results gathered using PEM’s extensive analytical equipment suite, we provide a robust, data‑driven foundation for product optimisation and lifecycle extension
Failure analysis & testing
PEM offers full‑spectrum failure analysis, supported by a wide range of materials testing, microscopy, and metrology equipment. We systematically investigate why products fail or degrade during use by drawing on capabilities such as:
- Mechanical testing: tensile, compression, shear, flexure, low‑force testing for micro‑assemblies, and multi‑axis fatigue loading systems
- Metallographic preparation and sectioning for structural evaluation
- SEM + EDS analysis for high‑resolution surface imaging, fracture examination, and elemental identification
- Optical microscopy and vision systems for dimensional or surface‑level defect analysis
- Thermal and chemical property analysis using DSC, rheometry, and FT‑IR
This multi‑disciplinary toolkit enables rapid root‑cause identification, whether failures arise from material inconsistencies, design flaws, overloading, fatigue, contamination, or manufacturing variance, allowing clients to reduce warranty risk and improve product resilience
Reliability analysis & prediction
Reliability engineering is central to PEM’s Product Use & End of Life offering. We apply statistical reliability modelling to construct distribution models that quantify time‑to‑failure behaviour across individual components, sub‑systems, and full assemblies. By leveraging mechanical testing (including cyclic, torsional, and fatigue testing), thermal analysis, and microstructural characterisation, PEM is able to validate model accuracy and uncover degradation mechanisms that influence long‑term product behaviour.
These insights support:
- Predictive maintenance modelling
- Improved product design for extended service life
- Component lifetime estimation
- Failure‑mode risk reduction
Our approach combines empirical testing with advanced analytics to ensure companies can make informed decisions around product lifecycle management and end‑of‑life strategy development
Statistical process control
PEM develops and facilitates the implementation of advanced Statistical Process Control tools to monitor stability and control variability within production processes that impact product performance during its use phase.
Beyond traditional SPC methods, we specialise in:
- Multivariate SPC
- Profile monitoring
- Feature/variable selection algorithms
Real‑time quality monitoring
SPC helps manufacturers detect early drift or instability that could lead to premature failures in the field. By catching subtle deviations before they evolve into significant issues, our SPC frameworks reduce quality‑related lifecycle problems, minimise end‑of‑life variability, and strengthen long-term reliability.
Experimental design & process optimisation
PEM uses advanced experimental design methodologies to evaluate how design choices, process conditions, and material selection influence product performance throughout its lifecycle. Through structured DoE studies, we systematically adjust key parameters to understand their impact on:
- Wear behaviour and durability
- Failure thresholds
- Environmental sensitivity
- Degradation rates
- Performance drift over time
Combined with PEM’s extensive materials testing capabilities, mechanical, chemical, thermal, microscopic, and metrological, Design of Experiments (DoE) enables data‑driven optimisation that builds product robustness and ensures products maintain consistent performance even in demanding end‑of‑life conditions
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INSIGHTS
The PEM Centre has helped a multitude of organisations to empower their product development. You can read all about the work we've done so far.