A model for burn-in programs for components with eliminateable defects

The paper considers a component with a random number of defects which can be discovered and corrected during the course of a burn-in program. The failure rate after burn-in is constant (in time) and depends on the number of remaining defects. A sufficient condition is given for a burn-in program to lead to increased mean time to failure; it is given in terms of the prior distribution of the number of defects and the failure rates.