29/9/2016 WeibullDistribution|RealStatisticsUsingExcel

RealStatisticsUsingExcel
Everythingyouneedtodoreal
statisticalanalysisusingExcel

WeibullDistribution
Definition1:TheWeibulldistributionhastheprobabilitydensityfunction(pdf)

forx0.Here>0istheshapeparameterand>0isthescaleparameter.

Thecumulativedistributionfunction(cdf)is

TheinversecumulativedistributionfunctionisI(p)=

Observation: If x represents timetofailure, the Weibull distribution is characterized by the fact that the
failurerateisproportionaltoapoweroftime,namely1.Thuscanbeinterpretedasfollows:

Avalueof<1indicatesthatthefailureratedecreasesovertime.Thishappensifthereissignificantinfant
mortality,orwheredefectiveitemsfailearlywithafailureratedecreasingovertimeasthedefectiveitemsare
weededoutofthepopulation.
Avalueof=1indicatesthatthefailurerateisconstantovertime.Thismightsuggestrandomexternalevents
arecausingmortalityorfailure.
Avalueof>1indicatesthatthefailurerateincreaseswithtime.Thishappensifthereisanagingprocess
e.g.ifpartsaremorelikelytowearoutand/orfailastimegoeson.

1/canbeviewedasthefailurerate.ThemeanoftheWeibulldistributionisthemeantimetofailure(MTTF)or
meantimebetweenfailures(MTBF)= .

KeystatisticalpropertiesoftheWeibulldistributionare:

Mean=
Median=
Mode(when>1)=
Variance=

ExcelFunction:ExcelprovidesthefollowingfunctionregardingtheWeibulldistribution.

WEIBULL(x,,,cum)whereandaretheparametersinDefinition1andcum=TRUEorFALSE

http://www.realstatistics.com/otherkeydistributions/weibulldistribution/ 1/16
29/9/2016 WeibullDistribution|RealStatisticsUsingExcel

WEIBULL(x,,,FALSE)=thevalueoftheWeibullpdff(x)atx

WEIBULL(x,,,TRUE)=thevalueoftheWeibullcumulativedistributionfunctionF(x)atx

Excel2010/2013alsoprovidetheadditionalfunctionWEIBULL.DISTwhichisequivalenttoWEIBULL.

Example1:ThetimetofailureofaverysensitivecomputerscreenfollowsaWeibulldistributionwith=1,000
hoursand=.6.Whatistheprobabilitythatthescreenwilllastmorethan5,000hours?Whatisthemeantime
tofailure?

Theprobabilitythatthescreenwilllastnomorethan5,000hours

=WEIBULL(5000,.6,1000,TRUE)=0.92767.

Thus,theprobabilitythatthescreenwilllastmorethan5,000hours=10.92767=7.2%

MTTF=(1+1/)=1000(1+1/.6)=1000*EXP(GAMMALN(1+1/.6))=1,504.575hours

Example2:IfthemeantimetofailureforacomponentwhichfollowsaWeibulldistributionis1,000hourswith
astandarddeviationof400hours,whatistheprobabilitythatthecomponentwilllastmorethan2,000hours?

Thus

Wenowsolvetheseequationsforand.Firstwesimplifythesecondequationandthenwetakethenaturallog
ofbothsidesofbothequationstoget

Eliminating

whichisequivalentto

Theaboveequationtakestheformh()=0,whichwesolveusingExcelsGoalSeekcapabilitybyselectingData>
WhatIfAnalysis|GoalSeekandfillinginthedialogboxthatappearsasshowninFigure2.

Onceweobtainthevaluefor,wecancalculateusingtheequation

http://www.realstatistics.com/otherkeydistributions/weibulldistribution/ 2/16
29/9/2016 WeibullDistribution|RealStatisticsUsingExcel

and then we can calculate the probability that the component will last more than 2,000 hours using the
WEIBULL.DISTfunction.

Figure2GoalSeekinitialguess

AfterclickingontheOKbutton,theresultisshowninFigure3.

Figure3GoalSeekresults

ThevaluesforandareshownincellsB5andB3.Theprobabilitythatthecomponentwilllastmorethan2,000
hoursis0.91%(cellB6).

RealStatisticsFunction:SinceExceldoesntprovideaninversefunction,youcanusethefollowingfunction
providedbytheRealStatisticsResourcePackinstead.

WEIBULL_INV(p,,)=xsuchthatWEIBULL.DIST(x,,,TRUE)=pi.e.theinverseof
WEIBULL.DIST(x,,,TRUE)

56ResponsestoWeibullDistribution

Deepikasays:
July23,2016at9:20pm

HiCharles,thearticlewasveryinformative.Im,workingonaprojecttorevisethemaintenancescheduleforamachine.I
believethetimebetweenfailuresfollowsaWeibulldistributionasthechanceoffailureincreaseswithincreaseintimeafter
eachmaintenance.Theaveragetimeoffailurewiththecurrentmaintenanceschedule(every700hours)is500hours.So,am
suggestingarevisionofthecurrentscheduletodoamaintenanceatevery500hours.Icalculatedtheparametersforthe
Weibulldistribution.WhatImstucknowisathowIcanquantifymyresultsfinancially.Inotherwords,forthenew
maintenanceschedule,Ihavetoshowthattheaveragetimeoffailureifhigherthanwhatitisforthecurrentschedule.Any
insightsonhowIshouldgoaboutthis?
Reply

Charlessays:
August2,2016at5:53pm

http://www.realstatistics.com/otherkeydistributions/weibulldistribution/ 3/16
29/9/2016 WeibullDistribution|RealStatisticsUsingExcel

Deepika,
Thissoundslikeafinancialbreakevenanalysis(andnotastatisticalanalysis).Youneedtocalculatethecostforeach
scheduledmaintenanceandthencalculatethetotalcostoverasufficientlylongperiodoftime(thiscouldbeone
year)basedonwhateverMTTFvaluesyouwanttostudy.Youthenneedtoestimatethecostofonefailure(interms
ofrepaircosts,lostproductivity,impactoftherestoftheoperation,etc.)andthenbasedontheaveragenumberof
failuresperyear(foreachMTTFestimate)thetotalcostsforfailure.
Charles
Reply

Reinoudsays:
July16,2016at9:40am

Veryniceandelegant.IcomparedyourresultoftheWeibullparameterestimatefromMeanandstdDevtotheWeibull
estimatefunctionof.NetlibMathNet.Numerics.Distributions(alsocalledMath.NetNumerics).Yoursgiveabetterestimate.
Icantpastepictureshere,butifyoudropmeanemail,Illemailthemtoyou.
Rgds,Reinoud
Reply

Charlessays:
July17,2016at7:00am

Reinoud,
Goodtohear.YoucanfindmyemailaddressatContactUs.
Charles
Reply

bhuvansays:
July14,2016at4:21am

Ihavemonthlydemanddataforacertainproduct,itisfollowingWeibulldistribution(2parameter,Icalculatedthe2
parameters).NowIwanttoknowthe5monthdistributionofdemandbasedontheaboveinformation.

Does5monthdemanddistributionalsofollowsweibull,howtoknowthat?
Reply

Charlessays:
July14,2016at8:34am

Sorry,butIdontknowtheanswertoyourquestion.Perhapssomeoneelsecanhelp.Also,perhapsthefollowing
papercanhelp>
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3009409?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Charles
Reply

danielsays:
June16,2016at1:28am

tqcharlesforreplymyemail..

http://www.realstatistics.com/otherkeydistributions/weibulldistribution/ 4/16
29/9/2016 WeibullDistribution|RealStatisticsUsingExcel

duringmyreading,ihavegotsomeideathattofindtheparameterofweibulldistribution,wecanfinditbyseveralmethods
suchasmaximumlikelihoodestimationMLE,modifiedmaximumlikelihoodestimation(MMLE),energypattermmethod
(EPF)andetc

myquestionis,howwecanusethatseveralmethodsinexceltofindtheparameter
Reply

Charlessays:
June16,2016at10:07pm

Daniel,
Sorry,butIhavenotimplementedthesetechniquesfortheWeibulldistribution.Withaslittleworkyoucoulduse
ExcelsSolvertoimplementthis.Ihaveshownhowtodothissortofthinganumberoftimesonthewebsite.
Charles
Reply

danielsays:
June15,2016at8:00am

hello

howwecancalculatetheparameterforweibulldistributions.cansomeonehelpme
Reply

Charlessays:
June15,2016at10:29am

Daniel,
YoucanusetheapproachshowninExample2ofthereferencedwebpage.
Charles
Reply

Georgesays:
June15,2016at2:51am

AwidgethasWeibulldistributionwithshape2.0andscale700.Therearethreeidenticalwidgetsinparallelinmysystem
suchthataminimumofoneisrequired.Giventhatallwidgetshavesurvived200hourssofar,needtheprobabilitythatone
ofthethreewidgetsfailsinthenext3hours,anotheroftheremainingtwowidgetsfailswithin15minutesofthepreceding
widgetfailure,andthethirdwidgetsurvivestheentire3hoursand15minutes?Thanks
Reply

Charlessays:
June15,2016at7:08am

SorryGeorge,
Thissoundslikeahomeworkassignment,andIhavearulethatIwontanswersuchquestions.
Charles
Reply

Georgesays:
June15,2016at6:04pm

http://www.realstatistics.com/otherkeydistributions/weibulldistribution/ 5/16
29/9/2016 WeibullDistribution|RealStatisticsUsingExcel

Notahomeworkassignment.ItsarealproblemandaproposedsolutionisProb(onefailureinnext3hours
givensurvived200hours)*Prob(onefailureinnext3hoursand15minutesgivensurvived200hours)*
Prob(nofailureinnext3hoursand15minutesgivensurvived200hours)*amultinomialcoefficientof6.
Theresultseemsunattractivecomparedtonofailuresatallwhichismodeledas(Prob(nofailureinnext3
hoursand15minutesgivensurvived200hours))^3.Ibelievethatthetwofailuresshouldbecalculatedasthe
probabilityoftwofailureswithin15minutesofeachothergivenbothsurvived200hours,butdonotknow
howtomodelsuch,orhowtothenincorporatethenonfailure.
Reply

Charlessays:
June19,2016at10:33am

George,

Letstrytotacklethefirstoftheseproblems,namelythatGiventhatallwidgetshavesurvived200hourssofar,need
theprobabilitythatoneofthethreewidgetsfailsinthenext3hours.

WebeginbytacklingthesimplerproblemthatGivenwidget1hassurvived200hourssofar,whatistheprobability
thatitfailsinthenext3hours?LetA=widget1hassurvived200hourssofarandB=widget1failsinthenext3
hours.YouwantP(B|A),whichbyBayestheoremisequaltoP(AandB)/P(A).NowP(A)=1
WEIBULL(200,2.700,TRUE)=1.07839=.92161.YoucanuseWEIBULL.DISTinsteadofWEIBULLforversionsof
Excelafter2007.P(AandB)=WEIBULL(203,2.700,TRUE)WEIBULL(200,2.700,TRUE)=.08066.07839=
.00227.Thus,P(B|A)=.00227/.92161=.002464.Thisalsomeansthatgivenwidget1hassurvived200hourssofar,
theprobabilitythatitdoesnotfailinthenext3hoursis1.002464=.997536.

Assumingthatthesurvivabilityofallthewidgetsareindependentofeachother,thenthesamecalculationholdsfor
widgets2and3aswell.Sincewewantexactlyonewidgettofailandtheothertwotonotfail,thereareC(3,1)=3
waystochoosethefailingwidgetandsogiventhatallwidgetshavesurvived200hourssofar,theprobabilitythat
exactlyoneofthethreewidgetsfailsinthenext3hours=3*.002464*.997536^2=.007356.

AssumingIhaventmadeamistakeinlogicorarithmetic,thisshouldtakecareofthefirstproblem.Illletyouhandle
theothers.

Charles
Reply

Georgesays:
June20,2016at1:50pm

Thanks
Reply

JamesZourissays:
June3,2016at5:21pm

Isitpossibletocreateaformulaoftheshape(a)andscale(B)parametersforaWeibulldistributiontohaveafixedmeanbut
allowtheusertochangethevariance?

ForexampleWeibull(a,B)whereEX=FixedNumberandVarX=dwheredisallrealnumbers

Iunderstandthattheshapeandscaleparameterswillchangeeverytime.
Reply

http://www.realstatistics.com/otherkeydistributions/weibulldistribution/ 6/16
29/9/2016 WeibullDistribution|RealStatisticsUsingExcel

Charlessays:
June4,2016at6:18pm

James,
Idontunderstandyourquestion.Onceyouspecifytheshapeandscaleparametersthemeanandvarianceare
determine(asdescribedonthereferencedwebpage).Ifyouspecifyonlythemeanandvarianceyoucancalculatethe
shapeandscaleparametersasshowninExample2inthiscasethefunctionwouldWeibull1(mean,var).
Charles
Reply

JamesZourissays:
August17,2016at6:07pm

ThankYou.Ifinallyfigureditout.Yourexamplewasveryhelpful!
Reply

GamiNasirsays:
March29,2016at4:16pm

HelloDr.Charles,

HappyEaster

Forthisproblem:

GivenaWeibullydistributedpopulationwithashapeparameterof4.66andascaleparameterof52.12.6%istheprobability
ofbeinggreaterthanwhatvalue?

Theanswershouldbe60.79592

UsingWEIBULL(12.6,4.66,52,TRUE)Iget0.00135

Iamnotsurehowtogetthecorrectamswer

Thanks

Gami
Reply

Charlessays:
March29,2016at4:43pm

Gami,
Ithinkyouareaskingme,whatisthevalueofxsuchthatWEIBULL(x,4.66,52,TRUE)=1.126.
Youcantrytofindthevalueof60.79592bytrialanderror,guessingatthecorrectvalueofx.
YoucanalsousetheRealStatisticsformula=WEIBULL_INV(1.126,52,4.66).
Charles
Reply

GamiNasirsays:
March29,2016at8:16pm

http://www.realstatistics.com/otherkeydistributions/weibulldistribution/ 7/16
29/9/2016 WeibullDistribution|RealStatisticsUsingExcel

Perfect!!
TheWEIBULL_INVworkedlikeacharm

Thanksagain

Gami
Reply

GamiNasirsays:
March26,2016at10:54am

HelloCharles:
HowcanIsolvethefollowingproblemsinExcelusingtheWEIBULL.DISTfunction?

1)GivenaWeibullydistributedpopulationwithashapeparameterof3.93andascaleparameterof151.34.2%isthe
probabilityofbeinggreaterthanwhatvalue?

2)WhatistheprobabilitythatarandomlyselecteditemfromapopulationhavingaWeibulldistributionwithashape
parameterof3andascaleparameterof109.3hasavaluebetween85.6and97.5?

Thankyou

GamiNasir
Reply

Charlessays:
March26,2016at4:03pm

Gami,

1)WEIBULL(x,,,TRUE)=theprobabilitythatthedistributionhasavalueslessthanorequaltox,wherealphais
thescaleparameterandbetaistheshapeparameter.

2)Theprobabilitythatthedistributionhasavaluebetweenx1andx2isWEIBULL(x2,,,TRUE)WEIBULL(x1,
,,TRUE).

Charles
Reply

GamiNasirsays:
March26,2016at6:12pm

ThankyouverymuchSir!
Reply

GamiNasirsays:
March27,2016at10:55am

HelloDr.Charles,

Forthisproblem:

http://www.realstatistics.com/otherkeydistributions/weibulldistribution/ 8/16
29/9/2016 WeibullDistribution|RealStatisticsUsingExcel

GivenaWeibullydistributedpopulationwithashapeparameterof4.66andascaleparameterof52.12.6%is
theprobabilityofbeinggreaterthanwhatvalue?

Theanswershouldbe60.79592

UsingWEIBULL(12.6,4.66,52,TRUE)Iget0.00135

Iamnotsurehowtogetthecorrectamswer

Thanks

Gami
Reply

ZachLsays:
March22,2016at4:03pm

Charles,
Onemorequestion:Inthefinalexample2equation,afteryousubstituteforalpha,howareyousimplifying
ln(1,160,000)2*ln(1,000)intoln(1.6)?Igetln(1,160,000)2*ln(1,000)=.14842,butln(1.6)=.470004.
IapologizeinadvanceifIvemadesomesimplearithmeticerror,orifImforgettingsomenaturallogrule

Thanks,

Zach
Reply

Charlessays:
March22,2016at4:13pm

HiZach,

Youarecorrect.ItlookslikeImadeatypingerror.ln(1,160,000)2*ln(1,000)shouldbeln(1.16),calculatedas
follows.

Ingeneral,ln(x)2ln(y)=ln(x)ln(y^2)=ln(x/y^2).Thus,ln(1,160,000)2*ln(1,000)=ln(1,160,000/1,000^2)=
ln(1,160,000/1,000,000)=ln(1.16).

Thanksforcatchingthis.Iwillcorrectthereferencedwebpageshortly.

Charles
Reply

ZachLsays:
March22,2016at4:23pm

GladIcouldhelp!Thanksfortheexplanationandquickresponse.
Reply

Charlessays:
March22,2016at4:37pm

http://www.realstatistics.com/otherkeydistributions/weibulldistribution/ 9/16
29/9/2016 WeibullDistribution|RealStatisticsUsingExcel

Zach,
Yourhelpisveryappreciated.Ihavejustcorrectedthereferencedwebpage.IhopeIgotitcorrectthis
time.
Charles
Reply

ZachLsays:
March21,2016at8:42pm

Charles,ImconfusedabouthowyoucalculatedtheexcelvaluesinFigures2and3.FortheF(2000)calculationusingthe
excelWEIBULL.DISTfunction,whichtakesWEIBULL.DIST(x,Alpha,Beta,Cumulative),youseemtohaveselectedyour
Betavalue(B3)forAlpha,andyourAlphavalue(B5)forBeta.Issomethingwrongthere,ordidyouintentionallyswapthe
twovalues?

Anyclarificationwouldbeveryappreciated!

Zach
Reply

Charlessays:
March21,2016at9:07pm

Zach,
Excelswappedtheusualdefinitionsofalphaandbeta.Ijustflippedthenback.Inanycase,eitherway,youshould
haveWEIBULL.DIST(x,scale,shape,cum).
Charles
Reply

ZachLsays:
March21,2016at9:13pm

ahhh,Iseewhatyoumean.GoodoldMicrosoft

Thankyoufortheexplanation!Yourwebsiteisveryhelpful.

Cheers,

Zach
Reply

Nugrohosays:
January28,2016at6:21am

Sir
Invarianceequation(example2)whyyouuse12/beta,insteadof2/beta,asitistoldatkeystatisticalpropertiesofthe
Weibulldistributionsection?
Thanksalot
Nugroho
Reply

Charlessays:

http://www.realstatistics.com/otherkeydistributions/weibulldistribution/ 10/16
29/9/2016 WeibullDistribution|RealStatisticsUsingExcel

January28,2016at10:29am

Nugroho,
Thanksforcatchingthiserror.Thevalueintheexampleshouldbe2/beta.Infact,thereareacoupleoferrorsinthis
example,whichhopefullyIhavenowcorrected.
Thanksforyourhelpinmakingthewebsitemoreaccurate.
Charles
Reply

MohdRadzianAbdulRahmansays:
November27,2015at7:10am

HiCharles,

Youwroteaninterestingsubject.

IamtryingtofindtheexcelformulaforvarianceoftheWeibulldistributiongivenyouhavethealpha,beta,andmean.Can
yousharewithus?

Thanks.
Reply

Charlessays:
November27,2015at8:05am

Theformulaforthevariancefromthealpha,beta,andmeancanbefoundonthereferencedwebpage.
Charles
Reply

Ronsays:
October29,2015at2:14pm

Hello,
IwouldliketorunaWeibullanalysistodeterminehowmanycyclestorunaselectedsamplesetto.Forexample,ifIhavea
hydrauliccylinderthatisdesignedfor2000cycles,howmanycyclesdoIhavetorunasamplesetofXtohaveaconfidence
levelofYwithaofZ?HowwouldtheWeibullequationbesetuptoperformthisfunction.Thanksinadvance.
Reply

Charlessays:
November3,2015at4:14pm

Ron,

Beforeansweringyourquestion,letmemakesurethatIunderstandyourquestionproperly.

1.Ihaveahydrauliccylinderthatisdesignedfor2000cycles.
[CZ]IassumethatyoumeanthattheMTTF=2000.Isthiscorrect?

2.HowmanycyclesdoIhavetorunasamplesetofXtohaveaconfidencelevelofYwithaofZ?
[CZ]IunderstandthatYtakesavaluesuchas95%,meaningthatyouwanta95%confidenceinterval.Iassumethat
Ztakesavaluesuchas.6.Isthiscorrect?IdontunderstandwhatsortofvaluesXtakescanyouexplainthisbetter?

http://www.realstatistics.com/otherkeydistributions/weibulldistribution/ 11/16
29/9/2016 WeibullDistribution|RealStatisticsUsingExcel

Charles
Reply

Ricardosays:
August25,2015at10:22pm

Verygoodexplanation,ithelpedmealot!Thanks!
Reply

MarkBahnersays:
August25,2015at6:26pm

Hi,

ImtryingtoanalyzedatainTable4ofthisreportonelectronicwaste(ewaste)intheU.S.:
U.S.EPA,2011

ImtryingtodeterminewhatWeibullscalingfactorandshapefactorwouldbestdescribethedatainTable4.Forexample,
forportablecomputers,wehave:

20%arediscardedin4years
35%arediscardedin5years
55%arediscardedin6years,and
100%arediscardedin7years.

Whatscalingfactorandshapefactorwouldcomeclosesttothosevalues?Justbytrialanderrorandeyeballing,Icameup
withashapefactorof4.1andascalefactorof5.8.Withthosevalues,Igetcumulativediscardsinyears4through7of:

Year4=20%(versus20%)
Year5=42%(versus35%)
Year6=68%(versus55%),and
Year7=88%(versus100%).

ButIdliketodosomethingthatsquickerthantrialanderror,andhopefullymatchesTable4alittlebetter.(ThoughIrealize
Table4maycontaindatathatsimplydontfollowarealisticWeibulldistribution.)

Thanks!
Mark
Reply

Charlessays:
August26,2015at9:37am

Youcancalculatethemeanandstandarddeviationofthedatathatyouhaveandthenusetheapproachdescribedin
Example2ofthereferencedwebpagetoestimatethevaluesoftheshapeandscalingfactors.
Charles
Reply

Larasays:
July1,2015at12:13pm

http://www.realstatistics.com/otherkeydistributions/weibulldistribution/ 12/16
29/9/2016 WeibullDistribution|RealStatisticsUsingExcel

Hi,Sir.

HowcanIcomputethevaluesofshapeandscaleparametersgiventhatIhavethevaluesofmeanandstandarddeviation?
Reply

Charlessays:
July2,2015at7:26am

Lara,
IhavejustaddedExample2tothereferencedwebpage.Thisexampleshowshowtocalculatetheshapeandscale
parametersfromthemeanandstandarddeviation.
Charles
Reply

Sivasays:
June8,2015at9:17am

Hi,
Thanksfortheaboveinformation.
Ihaveaproblem,inwhichIneedtousetheWeibulldistributiontogenerateafewdatapointstosimulateasystems.This
basicallymeans,giventheMTTF,alphaandbeta,Ineedtocomeupwithvarioustimeinstancesatwhichthesystemfaults
occurandusethesetimeinstancestosimulatetheresponseofthesystem.
CouldyoupleasesuggestawaytogetthesetimefaulttimeinstancessuchthatitfollowsaWeibulldistributionwithgiven
parameters.
Anyhelpisappreciated.Thanksinadvance.
Reply

Charlessays:
June9,2015at8:10pm

Siva,

TogeneratearandomdataelementwhichfollowsaWeibulldistributionwithfixedalphaandbetavaluesyoucanuse
theRealStatisticsformula

=WEIBULL_INV(RAND(),alpha,beta)

Alternatively,youcanusetheExcelformula

=alpha*(LN(1RAND()))^(1/beta)

FinallynotethatMTTF=alpha*Gamma(1+1/beta),andsoifyouhaveanytwoofthevaluesalpha,betaandMTTF
thethirdisdetermined.Thus,ifyouaregivenallthreeyouneedtomakesurethatthethreevaluesarecompatible.

Charles
Reply

Lisasays:
April23,2015at8:08pm

http://www.realstatistics.com/otherkeydistributions/weibulldistribution/ 13/16
29/9/2016 WeibullDistribution|RealStatisticsUsingExcel

thankyousir,
pleasewouldyouliketogivemehowcanicalculatealphaandbetafromstandarddeviationandaverageusingexcel(target
value).
Lisa
Reply

Charlessays:
April24,2015at2:49pm

Lisa,
Thereferencedwebpageshowshowtocalculatethemeanandvariance(andthereforestandarddeviation)fromthe
alphaandbetaparameters.Theoreticallyyoushouldbeabletosolveforalphaandbetaifyouknowthevaluesofthe
meanandstandarddeviation(twoequationsintwounknowns).Giventhattheequationsinvolvethegamma
functionthismaynotbesoeasytodoanalytically.Youshouldbeabletocomeupwithapproximatesolutionsby
usingSolver,however.
Idontknowwhatyoumeanbytargetvalue,however.
Charles
Reply

Pingback:WeibullDistributionConfusionSHANEKRAMER

HassanElsaftysays:
December26,2014at5:32pm

Ithinkthat,inexample1thevalueofAlphaisbeingSubstitutedwithBeta,andthisisreallyconfusingforme,Couldyou
honoredconfirmmyassertion.

Thanksalot
HassanElsafty
Reply

Charlessays:
December26,2014at7:40pm

Hassan,
IjustcheckedanditseemsthateverythingiscorrectinExample1.
Charles
Reply

Evansays:
January20,2015at6:06pm

Somethingisstilloff.Beta=1000hours.Accordingtothetutorialabove,betashouldbeunitless.
alphashouldhaveunitsoftime(1/alphaismeanfailurerate).Youruseofbetaandalphainthetutorial
isoppositetotheuseofbetaandalphaintheExcelfunction.
Reply

Charlessays:
January30,2015at10:33am

Evan,
Thankyouforidentifyingthisproblem.Excelinterchangestherolesofalphaandbetafromwhatis

http://www.realstatistics.com/otherkeydistributions/weibulldistribution/ 14/16
29/9/2016 WeibullDistribution|RealStatisticsUsingExcel

usedinothersources.Betaiscommonlyusedastheshape(orslope)parameterandalphaasthe
scaleparameter,althoughothersymbolsareusedbyvariousauthors.Ihavenowcorrectedthe
referencedwebpagetobeconsistentwiththischoiceofsymbols,andsotheExcelWeibullfunction
becomesWEIBULL(x,beta,alpha,cum).
Charles
Reply

belachewsays:
November15,2014at10:48am

Ineedmoreapplicationbyusingweibulldistributiononhealthrelatedarea.
Reply

Charlessays:
November15,2014at3:12pm

IlltrytoaddanapplicationofWeibulltohealthcareareainthefuture.
Charles
Reply

Colinsays:
January4,2014at10:23am

Sir
Aremeantimetofailure(MTTF)andmeantimebeforefailure(MTBF)thesame?
Ijustheardofmeantimetorepair(MTTR),IhaventheardofMTTF.
Reply

Charlessays:
January6,2014at6:44am

Colin,
MTTF=theaveragetimetothefirstfailure.Thismeasureisparticularlyimportantforitemsthatcantrepaired(e.g.
atypicallightbulb).
MTBF=theaveragetimebetweenfailure.Thismeasureisusedwithrepairableitems.
Charles
Reply

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