This MSc module aims to provide an understanding of the fundamentals of reliability and decision theory. It will examine these techniques as applied to risk, availability and maintenance management. It will also bridge the gap between the rather theoretical subject of "Reliability Engineering" (RE) and day-to-day equipment maintenance practice. In addition, techniques will be treated to analyse field data to report on business targets. Apart from these quantitative approaches, attention will be paid to a variety of formal, qualitative risk identification and maintenance optimisation methods used in industry.

Learning Outcomes involve:

- Use the concepts of probability and stochastic decisions theory to quantitatively analyse a (production) system w.r.t. the risks of not meeting safety and/or environmental targets.
- Quantitatively assess the production capacity (probability of meeting demand specifications from business plan) based on capacity of process units, their reliability and maintenance characteristics, process line-up, redundancy and buffering.
- Using this theoretical insight and engineering views, employ commercially-available software packages to quantify in cost-benefits terms, the effects of various maintenance and inspection strategies, manpower and activity planning/scheduling strategies for spare parts logistics.
- Use field data to analyse the impact of implemented maintenance strategies on the company business plan.
- Understand the strength and limitations of quantitative RMA techniques and compare these with qualitative/normative methods used in industry.

Teaching/Learning Strategy:

This module will be taught by a combination of lectures, seminars and computer laboratory sessions will be complemented by a substantial element of student-centred experimental learning techniques including projects and case studies.

Syllabus:

The teaching syllabus will cover the following areas:

Introduction:
Probability concepts and principles of stochastic modelling. Various probability distributions and their characteristic moments. Why systems fails and practical cases of reliability, or lack of it.

Reliability/Availability Theory:
Types of failures (functional, elementary, observable, hidden), link with engineering principles. Consequences of functional failure (failure mode, effect and criticality analysis, fault trees, quantitative risk assessment, link with hazard and operability studies and Reliability-Centred Maintenance). Reliability data collection and analysis. The effect of redundancy, buffering and maintenance strategy (including inspection) on functional reliability. Long-term average and non-stationary availability assessment for single elements and complex systems.

Maintenance Optimisation:
Specifying goals from the business plan, identification and ranking of criticality of failure. Cost-benefit of preventive (age-, block-, condition-, campaign-based) mainenance and inspection. Planning, scheduling and operational aspects. Optimal allocation of manpower (own, contracted) and spare parts.

Risk Management:
Societal, corporate and personal views on perceived risk. Risk identification in safety and RMA; check lists, fault tree analysis, HAZOP and QRA pros and cons. Risk in a psycho-social context motivating a safety/goal driven culture.

Decision Support Tools:
Commercially available software, modelling and solution techniques, when and where to use basic assumptions involved, demos and test cases. IT systems' engineering aspects.

Indicative Reading:

Relevant topics from the following books:

Practical Reliability Engineering, 3rd Edition, P O'Connor, Wiley (1991)
Reliability and Risk Assessment, JD Andrews and TR Moss, Longman Scientific & Technical (1993)
Guidebook on the Effective Use of Safety and Reliability Data, ESReDA series on statistics no. 2, Ed., H Procaccia, SFER (1995)
Readers on availability assessment, spare parts logistics and commercial software.

Transferable Skills:

Development of higher level cognitive skills including analysing and synthesising skills.

This MSc module: Reliability and Availability Assessment course is taught over one week and consists of intensive lectures, laboratories, seminars and case studies. A further 2 weeks is left for self study. The assessment consists of a final exam plus coursework, with a 70% and 30% weighting respectively.

The course is held at a Scottish University and is worth 15 credit points. It can be taken on its own merit as CPD (continuous professional development) or towards a PgC or PgD in Maintenance Management or as in most cases a MSc in Maintenance Management.

This MSc module: Reliability and Availability Assessment course is suitable for students/delegates who possess at least a degree in a engineering discipline. A-1 Technical Training, logis-Tech Associates provide added tuitional support to all attendees in this module for a small fee.

The next in-take to the MSc in Maintenance Management is September 2005 - numbers are limited. For more details on the MSc in Maintenance Management, please complete the request for information form or email hugo@logis-tech.co.uk.