Using System Availability to Drive Logistics Decisions

Summary & ConclusionsKeeping a large system fully functional for decades of 24/7 operation is a complicated logistics challenge. This task becomes substantially easier when accurate and comprehensive information on system reliability and availability is available, and kept continuously updated. This paper documents the process used on one major defense site to address this need for system reliability information. The process has been very successful in collecting accurate information, and ten years’ worth of information is now available for some portions of the system. Program management has repeatedly used this information in identifying, quantifying, and prioritizing issues to address. Finally, the paper addresses some issues in extending this process to other systems that are less amenable to providing such continuous and accurate reliability information without additional design effort.