A Capability Maturity Model for R&M engineering

A convenient method to show the current situation of an organization is by a maturity model. Such a model describes a five-level evolutionary path of increasingly organized and systematically more mature processes for a defined process area within a company. This paper presents a Capability Maturity Model (CMM) for Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Supportability (RAMS) Driven Design which is used as benchmarking tool to allow individual companies to compare their RAMS Driven Design (RDD) performance against best-in-class performers. The benefits and effectiveness of the RAMS Driven Design Capability Maturity Model (RDD-CMM) are illustrated by presenting two individual cases in which the RDD-CMM has been applied: a military helicopter program development program, and a double-decker train refurbishment project.