uitvalpunt

Uitvalpunt is a Dutch term that translates roughly to “outage point” or “point of failure.” It is used in various technical domains to denote the location or moment at which a system ceases to function or fails to meet required performance.

In reliability engineering and maintenance, the uitvalpunt refers to the point at which a component or system fails, defined by criteria such as exceeding a threshold for load, temperature, voltage, or wear. This concept is central to assessing reliability, estimating time to failure, and planning preventive maintenance. Metrics commonly associated with uitvalpunten include mean time to failure (MTTF), failure rate, and the reliability function. Analyses such as failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) and fault tree analysis help identify potential uitvalpunten and guide design improvements.

In information technology and telecommunications, the term is used to describe the time or element that triggers a service outage. Identifying uitvalpunten in software, networks, or infrastructure supports resilience planning, redundancy, and rapid recovery through failover mechanisms.

In general discourse, the term is domain-specific and may be used more as a descriptive label for the critical failure point within a system rather than as a fixed technical term. Etymologically, uitvalpunt derives from uitvallen (to fail or fall out) and punt (point).

See also: reliability, MTBF, FMEA, fault analysis.