Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

A Statistical Evaluation Of Risk Priority Numbers In Failure Modes And Effects Analysis Applied To The Prediction Of Complex Systems, Anthony W. Dean

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Complex systems such as military aircraft and naval ships are difficult to cost effectively maintain. Frequently, large-scale maintenance of complex systems (i.e., a naval vessel) is based on the reduction of the system to its base subcomponents and the use of manufacturer-suggested, time-directed, preventative maintenance, which is augmented during the systems lifecycle with predictive maintenance which assesses the system's ability to perform its mission objectives. While preventative maintenance under certain conditions can increase reliability, preventative maintenance systems are often costly, increase down time, and allow for maintenance-induced failures, which may decrease the reliability of the system (Ebeling, 1997). This maintenance …