Learn System Reliability / Maintainability and Related Analyses

G522A explores advanced concepts and applications for system reliability/maintainability analysis and optimization utilizing a reliability block diagram (RBD) or fault tree analysis (FTA) approach.

The course presents concepts and software tools that you could use to help your organization:

• Identify critical components (or failure modes) and determine the most effective ways to improve system performance through design improvements and/or maintenance planning.
• Use simulation to obtain estimated performance metrics that can facilitate decision-making in a variety of areas, such as scheduling planned maintenance, planning for spares, identifying bottlenecks in production throughput and estimating life cycle costs.

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Principles and Theory

Introduction and Overview

• Defining a system.
• Viewing a system as a collection of components and/or component failure modes.

RBD Configurations and Fault Tree Gates and Events

• Using reliability block diagrams (RBDs) to represent the reliability model of system.
• Series configurations.
• Simple parallel configurations.
• k-out-of-n configurations.
• Complex configurations.
  • Bayes’ theorem method.
  • Complex configurations for failure modes, networks and mechanical systems.

Introduction to Time Dependency

• Introduction to time dependency.
• Inclusion of “used” components in modeling.
• System reliability metrics:
  • Obtaining a system pdf.
  • Derivation of functions of interest: system failure rate function, system MTTF, etc.

Advanced Reliability Block Diagram (RBD) Constructs and their Analytic Quantification

• Modeling block dependency:
  • Combining life distributions with life-stress (load) relationships to describe dependency effects.
  • Basic load sharing configurations.
  • k-out-of-n load sharing configurations.
• Modeling standby redundancy:
  • Energized and quiescent failure distributions.
  • “Hot,” “Warm” and “Cold” standby definitions.
  • Switching (perfect or imperfect switching, with delays, retries and switch quiescent failure probabilities).
  • k-out-of-n-plus-M standby configurations.
• Additional reliability block diagram (RBD) constructs:
  • Nodes.
  • Containers.
  • Block Encapsulation (subdiagram blocks).
  • Block Multiplicity.
  • Block Mirroring.

Identifying Opportunities

• Identifying importance of components, subsystems (and or modes) and their overall impact on system reliability.

Optimum Reliability Allocation

• Cost/Feasibility functions.
• Determining component reliabilities to achieve system goal.

Introduction to Discrete Event Simulation

Introduction to Repairable Systems Analysis: Fundamentals of Maintainability and Availability

• Repair and downtime distributions and metrics.
• Introduction to renewal theory.
• Introduction to maintainability.
• Imperfect repairs (restoration factors).
• Availability definitions:
  • Instantaneous (Point) Availability
  • Mean Availability
  • Steady State Availability
  • Inherent Availability
  • Achieved Availability
  • Operational Availability

Introduction to Preventive Maintenance (PM) Principles

• When does “Preventive Maintenance” make sense?
• The fallacy of “Constant Failure Rate” and “Preventive Replacement.”
• Quantifying preventive vs. corrective replacement strategies.
• Determining optimum PM intervals.
• Modeling effects of PM actions.

Advanced Simulation Options: Using Policies, Pools and Resources

• Adding Crews to the analysis.
  • Probabilistic elements.
  • Crew costs.
  • Crew utilization metrics and bottlenecks.
• Adding Spare Part Pools (Depots) to the analysis.
  • Probabilistic elements.
  • Spare part inventory management, costs.
  • Spare utilization metrics and bottlenecks.
  • Standard, on-condition and upon emergency spare part provisioning with associated costs and probabilistic delays.
• Utilizing “Corrective,” “Preventive” and “Inspection” actions with associated policies.
  • Corrective actions, “Immediate” or “Upon Inspection” (hidden/discovery).
  • Inspections based on system time, component age and/or other system events (e.g., similar component failure elsewhere in the system).
  • PM actions based on system time, component age and/or other system events (e.g., similar component failure elsewhere in the system).

Visualizing and Improving System Availability

• Looking at common metrics (MTBF, MTBDE, MTBE, AX, etc.) and charts.
• Additional (new) metrics for identifying opportunities in repairable systems:
  • RS-FCI (ReliaSoft’s Failure Criticality Index).
  • RS-DECI (ReliaSoft’s Downing Event Criticality Index).
• FRED reports.

Throughput Analysis

• Throughput metrics and terminology.
  • System throughput.
  • Component throughput.
  • System and component utilization metrics.
• Bottlenecks identification.
• Backlog processing.

Including Costs in the Analysis, Introduction to Life Cycle Cost Analysis

• Determination of the probabilistic costs associated with system operation.
• Sample financial analysis.

Introduction to Reliability Phase Diagrams

Hands-On Software Practice

• Introduction to and familiarization with BlockSim.
• Creating models in BlockSim that apply all of the above principles.
• Using realistic cases (described in an objective statement), determine how to set up and analyze each case in a team environment.