Manage 217Plus Pi Factors

For some of the pi factors that must be defined for assemblies and components in 217Plus analyses (such as Pi, Design Process; Pi, Induced Process; etc.), the 217Plus standard provides specific assessment criteria that can be used to calculate the pi factor value. When you have used the 217Plus criteria to perform an assessment for a particular situation, the responses can be stored and used again to determine the values for other analysis properties when applicable.

This topic describes how to use the Manage 217Plus Pi Factors window to maintain the list of all saved pi factor assessments that are available in the current database. Saved pi factor assessments are used to set a particular property (pi factor value) in a 217Plus analysis. For information about selecting which of those assessments will be used to set the value for a particular property in a 217Plus analysis, see Select 217Plus Pi Factor.

To open the Manage 217Plus Pi Factors window, choose File > Manage Database > 217Plus Settings Manager then click the Pi Factors button.

The table displays all of the saved pi factor assessments in the current database. By default, the factors will be sorted by Factor Type (i.e., Pi, Design Process; Pi, Induced Process; etc.), but you can click the heading for any column to sort the list by that property (and click again to reverse the sort order).

Double-click any row to view/edit the properties for that pi factor. In addition, you can use the icons at the bottom of the window to:

  Add a new saved pi factor that can be used for any 217Plus analysis in the current database. The Add Pi Factor window will prompt you to select which type of pi factor you want to create. Note that the Component Type drop-down list in this window is not applicable for 217Plus predictions.

  Edit the pi factor that is currently selected.

  Delete the pi factor that is currently selected.

For all pi factor types, the windows used to define or modify the saved assessment will function in a similar manner, with the exception that for the Pi, Environment and Pi, Infant Mortality factors, the window provides additional parameter values used to calculate the pi factors rather than assessment criteria. (See Saved 217Plus Pi Factor Assessments.)

Tip: When a saved pi factor has been used to set a property in a 217Plus analysis, the value in the analysis will not be updated automatically if you later delete or modify the saved factor. However, you can use the Update Factors command to initiate an update if desired. (See Update 217Plus Factors.)

Pi Factor Assessments That Can Be Saved

The types of 217Plus pi factor assessments that can be saved are:

• Pi, Design Process
• Pi, Environment
• Pi, Induced Process
• Pi, Infant Mortality
• Pi, Manufacturing Process
• Pi, No Defect Process
• Pi, Parts Quality Process
• Pi, Reliability Growth
• Pi, System Management Process
• Pi, Wearout Process

All pi factors must be greater than 0.