Patent ID: 7523192

Claim:
A system for tracking reliability data for each of a plurality of modules in a network, comprising: a plurality of service history recording arrangements, wherein: each service history recording arrangement is associated with a module, and each service history recording arrangement is configured to store data relating to its associated module; a data storage arrangement configured to acquire and store data relating to each of the plurality of modules; a network monitoring arrangement configured to access each of the service history recording arrangements and to access the data storage arrangement; a field tool configured to read and write data to and from a selected service history recording arrangement when the selected service history recording arrangement and its associated module are disconnected from the network; and a processor configured to: receive data from the data storage arrangement, and process the data to produce reliability statistics by performing analyses on the plurality of modules based on classes, specific types, manufacturers, locations, and operation conditions of the plurality of modules in the network, and using the information recorded on the plurality of service history recording arrangements, wherein the reliability statistics comprise at least one selection from a group of reliability statistical categories consisting of: a distribution of times for failed modules to return to inventory, a distribution of times for each type of module to fail, a distribution of times for modules to remain in inventory, a distribution of ages for modules in the network, frequency of failure modes for each module type, and a distribution of module upgrades.