Applying Forgotten Lessons in Field Reliability Data Analysis to Performance-Based Support Contracts

Abstract

Assumptions used in field reliability data analysis may be seldom made explicit or questioned in practice, yet these assumptions affect how engineering managers develop metrics for use in long-term support contracts. To address this issue, this article describes a procedure to avoid the pitfalls in employing the results of field data analysis for repairable items. The procedure is implemented with the aid of a simplified example based on a real case study in defense avionics and is streamlined so that the computations can be replicated in other applications.

Keywords:

• Avionics
• Case Study
• Performance-Based Logistics
• Reliability Data
• Repairable Items
• Statistical Analysis
• EMJ Focus Areas: Decision Making & Risk Management, Supply Chain Management

Acknowledgment

The authors wish to thank three industrial partners for their collaboration, two anonymous reviewers and the Associate Editor for comments that greatly improved the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support provided by the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bath, the Innovative electronics Manufacturing Research Centre (IeMRC), and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for funding the research.

Notes on contributors

Ettore Settanni

Ettore Settanni, at the time of writing this article, was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Bath and the lead researcher in the Costing for Avionic Through-Life Availability (CATA) project, which involved major actors within the UK defense industry. He provided inter-disciplinary methodological expertise for modeling and costing product–service systems.

Linda B. Newnes

Nils E. Thenent is currently working in performance management for aircraft engine overhaul at Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg, Germany. He has been actively involved in cross-disciplinary research in the field of integrated product-service offerings in aviation with the University of Bath, GE Aviation, BAE Systems, and the UK Ministry of Defense. He has published in international journals and has presented at national and international conferences. His interests include aircraft technology, research methodology, and aviation safety.

Nils E. Thenent

Linda B. Newnes is Head of Costing Research in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath. Her research focuses on through-life costing from concept design through to the in-service/in-use phases and re-use/disposal. She has published over 100 refereed papers, involved with consortium grants worth over £26M and individual projects of £4.5M. She has embedded her research into industry, identifying over 63% in cost reduction. She provides CPD and undergraduate courses on cost estimating. She is a member of the ACostE and IET.

Glenn C. Parry

Glenn C. Parry, Ph.D. (Cantab) is an Associate Professor of Strategy and Operations Management at the University of the West of England, UK. He has been published in a number of international journals and has published the books, “Build to Order: The Road to the 5-day Car,” “Complex Engineering Service Systems,” and “Service Design and Delivery.” His interests include value, power, business models, visibility, and servitization.

Daniel Bumblauskas

Daniel Bumblauskas is an Assistant Professor of Management and the Hamilton/ESP International Fellow of Supply Chain and Logistics Management at the University of Northern Iowa. Previous to this, he was an Assistant Teaching Professor of Management at the University of Missouri, where he still holds a courtesy appointment, and was part of the ABB Inc. North American management team. His research interests include maintenance modeling, operations and supply chain management, and lean/six sigma methodologies.

Peter Sandborn

Peter Sandborn is a Professor in the CALCE Electronic Products and Systems Center and the Director of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute at the University of Maryland. Dr. Sandborn’s work includes: obsolescence forecasting algorithms, strategic design refresh planning, lifetime buy quantity optimization, and return on investment models for maintenance planning. Dr. Sandborn is the author of over 200 technical publications and several books on electronic packaging and electronic systems cost analysis. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and the ASME.

Yee Mey Goh

Yee Mey Goh is a Senior Lecturer in the Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at Loughborough University. Her interdisciplinary research activities are concerned with knowledge management, uncertainty analysis, and modeling approaches to support the design of advanced manufacturing processes and through-life systems. She has worked with the aerospace, defense, energy, and automotive sectors addressing the challenges associated with delivering complex, high-value, and through-life engineering systems. She is a member of the Design Society.