Track 1 Session 4

2:20 to 3:20 p.m. Tuesday, June 15, 2010

A Practical Reliability Trade Study Process for Efficient System Design Reliability Selection

The reliability trade study process and methodology involves a systematic and efficient approach to evaluate a design using specific system reliability attributes and provides a scorecard to help direct the selection of the best design concept. This process aids in early concept design selection where an expeditious yet comprehensive process is necessary to isolate the best design needed from a reliability perspective. A measurement system is applied based on a qualitative ranking of the design across each of eight guideline attributes (complexity, redundancy, failure event potential, design margin, quality level, maturity, environmental impact and surge protection). A calculation is performed to determine a Design Reliability Adequacy (DRA) measure. This DRA measure allows for a relative assessment of each system design’s reliability potential. Further, these DRAs are translated to a risk management trade study score (1 to 5 ranking) for total system risk management evaluation.

Key Words: Reliability Trade Study, Design Reliability Adequacy, Reliability Guideline Attributes

John Bieda

General Dynamics Land Systems

Lake Orion, Michigan