What primarily distinguishes between a functional block diagram and a reliability block diagram?

The distinction between a functional block diagram and a reliability block diagram primarily lies in their purpose and focus on reliability. A functional block diagram is used to represent the functional relationships between different parts of a system, illustrating how each component contributes to the overall operation without specifically addressing failure modes or reliability concerns. In contrast, a reliability block diagram emphasizes the reliability aspects of a system, showing how the configurations of components affect the overall reliability and performance.

This particular focus on reliability involves analyzing how individual component failures can influence system performance and emphasizing pathways to enhance reliability through redundancy or other design considerations. Understanding this distinction is critical for quality managers who need to assess and improve system reliability as part of their roles.