Reliability engineering as a practical application to improving system performance — From concept to system retirement

Reliability, availability, and maintainability (RAM) are three very important and necessary disciplines that must be applied within the system engineering process to ensure program success. The best way to generate success for a system is to overlay reliability engineering principles on the system engineering lifecycle, applying a phase-by-phase approach to drive RAM into the design. Beginning very early in the lifecycle during Pre-Phase A activities and culminating with Phase E Operations and Sustainment, the process for designing RAM into a system requires forthought, intentionality, and focus. It includes requirements development, verification, analyses, detailed design input, supplier interaction and partnership, test design and support, reliability growth, pre-planned disposal, and lessons learned. Several general examples, one aerospace and one chemical manufacturing, are presented to demonstrate the success of this all-encompassing process. This is a repeatable process that can and has been applied in many industries on many different types of systems. When intentionally implemented, the process consistently develops results and savings valued at many times the implementation investment.