Reliability, maintainability and risk practical methods for engineers David J. Smith

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Reliability, Maintainability and Risk deals with all aspects of reliability, maintainability and safety-related failures in a simple and straightforward style, explaining technical terms and jargon and pre-supposing no prior knowledge of the subject. The author explains dealing with numerical data, making realistic predictions using the minimum of mathematics, and handling the limitations of reliability parameters. A well-established book has been considerably expanded in this fully revised fifth edition to take account of: * RCM and the optimisation of maintenance strategies. * Trends in the integrity of safety-related systems. * Risk assessment. * Updated information on software tools for reliability and risk assessment.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface (p. xi)
• Acknowledgements (p. xiii)
• Part 1 Understanding Reliability Parameters and Costs (p. 1)
• 1 The history of reliability and safety technology (p. 3)
• 1.1 Failure data (p. 3)
• 1.2 Hazardous failures (p. 4)
• 1.3 Reliability and risk prediction (p. 5)
• 1.4 Achieving reliability and safety-integrity (p. 6)
• 1.5 The RAMS-cycle (p. 7)
• 1.6 Contractual pressures (p. 9)
• 2 Understanding terms and jargon (p. 11)
• 2.1 Defining failure and failure modes (p. 11)
• 2.2 Failure Rate and Mean Time Between Failures (p. 12)
• 2.3 Interrelationships of terms (p. 14)
• 2.4 The Bathtub Distribution (p. 16)
• 2.5 Down Time and Repair Time (p. 17)
• 2.6 Availability (p. 20)
• 2.7 Hazard and risk-related terms (p. 20)
• 2.8 Choosing the appropriate parameter (p. 21)
• 3 A cost-effective approach to quality, reliability and safety (p. 23)
• 3.1 The cost of quality (p. 23)
• 3.2 Reliability and cost (p. 26)
• 3.3 Costs and safety (p. 29)
• Part 2 Interpreting Failure Rates (p. 33)
• 4 Realistic failure rates and prediction confidence (p. 35)
• 4.1 Data accuracy (p. 35)
• 4.2 Sources of data (p. 37)
• 4.3 Data ranges (p. 41)
• 4.4 Confidence limits of prediction (p. 44)
• 4.5 Overall conclusions (p. 46)
• 5 Interpreting data and demonstrating reliability (p. 47)
• 5.1 The four cases (p. 47)
• 5.2 Inference and confidence levels (p. 47)
• 5.3 The Chi-square Test (p. 49)
• 5.4 Double-sided confidence limits (p. 50)
• 5.5 Summarizing the Chi-square Test (p. 51)
• 5.6 Reliability demonstration (p. 52)
• 5.7 Sequential testing (p. 56)
• 5.8 Setting up demonstration tests (p. 57)
• Exercises (p. 57)
• 6 Variable failure rates and probability plotting (p. 58)
• 6.1 The Weibull Distribution (p. 58)
• 6.2 Using the Weibull Method (p. 60)
• 6.3 More complex cases of the Weibull Distribution (p. 67)
• 6.4 Continuous processes (p. 68)
• Exercises (p. 69)
• Part 3 Predicting Reliability and Risk (p. 71)
• 7 Essential reliability theory (p. 73)
• 7.1 Why predict RAMS? (p. 73)
• 7.2 Probability theory (p. 73)
• 7.3 Reliability of series systems (p. 76)
• 7.4 Redundancy rules (p. 77)
• 7.5 General features of redundancy (p. 83)
• Exercises (p. 86)
• 8 Methods of modelling (p. 87)
• 8.1 Block Diagram and Markov Analysis (p. 87)
• 8.2 Common cause (dependent) failure (p. 98)
• 8.3 Fault Tree Analysis (p. 103)
• 8.4 Event Tree Diagrams (p. 110)
• 9 Quantifying the reliability models (p. 114)
• 9.1 The reliability prediction method (p. 114)
• 9.2 Allowing for diagnostic intervals (p. 115)
• 9.3 FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) (p. 117)
• 9.4 Human factors (p. 118)
• 9.5 Simulation (p. 123)
• 9.6 Comparing predictions with targets (p. 126)
• Exercises (p. 127)
• 10 Risk assessment (QRA) (p. 128)
• 10.1 Frequency and consequence (p. 128)
• 10.2 Perception of risk and ALARP (p. 129)
• 10.3 Hazard identification (p. 130)
• 10.4 Factors to quantify (p. 135)
• Part 4 Achieving Reliability and Maintainability (p. 140)
• 11 Design and assurance techniques (p. 142)
• 11.1 Specifying and allocating the requirement (p. 142)
• 11.2 Stress analysis (p. 145)
• 11.3 Environmental stress protection (p. 148)
• 11.4 Failure mechanisms (p. 148)
• 11.5 Complexity and parts (p. 150)
• 11.6 Burn-in and screening (p. 153)
• 11.7 Maintenance strategies (p. 154)
• 12 Design review and test (p. 155)
• 12.1 Review techniques (p. 155)
• 12.2 Categories of testing (p. 156)
• 12.3 Reliability growth modelling (p. 160)
• Exercises (p. 163)
• 13 Field data collection and feedback (p. 164)
• 13.1 Reasons for data collection (p. 164)
• 13.2 Information and difficulties (p. 164)
• 13.3 Times to failure (p. 165)
• 13.4 Spreadsheets and databases (p. 166)
• 13.5 Best practice and recommendations (p. 168)
• 13.6 Analysis and presentation of results (p. 169)
• 13.7 Examples of failure report forms (p. 170)
• 14 Factors influencing down time (p. 173)
• 14.1 Key design areas (p. 173)
• 14.2 Maintenance strategies and handbooks (p. 180)
• 15 Predicting and demonstrating repair times (p. 193)
• 15.1 Prediction methods (p. 193)
• 15.2 Demonstration plans (p. 201)
• 16 Quantified reliability centred maintenance (p. 205)
• 16.1 What is QRCM? (p. 205)
• 16.2 The QRCM decision process (p. 206)
• 16.3 Optimum replacement (discard) (p. 207)
• 16.4 Optimum spares (p. 209)
• 16.5 Optimum proof-test (p. 210)
• 16.6 Condition monitoring (p. 211)
• 17 Software quality/reliability (p. 213)
• 17.1 Programmable devices (p. 213)
• 17.2 Software failures (p. 214)
• 17.3 Software failure modelling (p. 215)
• 17.4 Software quality assurance (p. 217)
• 17.5 Modern/formal methods (p. 223)
• 17.6 Software checklists (p. 226)
• Part 5 Legal, Management and Safety Considerations (p. 231)
• 18 Project management (p. 233)
• 18.1 Setting objectives and specifications (p. 233)
• 18.2 Planning, feasibility and allocation (p. 234)
• 18.3 Programme activities (p. 234)
• 18.4 Responsibilities (p. 237)
• 18.5 Standards and guidance documents (p. 237)
• 19 Contract clauses and their pitfalls (p. 238)
• 19.1 Essential areas (p. 238)
• 19.2 Other areas (p. 241)
• 19.3 Pitfalls (p. 242)
• 19.4 Penalties (p. 244)
• 19.5 Subcontracted reliability assessments (p. 246)
• 19.6 Example (p. 247)
• 20 Product liability and safety legislation (p. 248)
• 20.1 The general situation (p. 248)
• 20.2 Strict liability (p. 249)
• 20.3 The Consumer Protection Act 1987 (p. 250)
• 20.4 Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (p. 251)
• 20.5 Insurance and product recall (p. 252)
• 21 Major incident legislation (p. 254)
• 21.1 History of major incidents (p. 254)
• 21.2 Development of major incident legislation (p. 255)
• 21.3 CIMAH safety reports (p. 256)
• 21.4 Offshore safety cases (p. 259)
• 21.5 Problem areas (p. 261)
• 21.6 The COMAH directive (1999) (p. 262)
• 22 Integrity of safety-related systems (p. 263)
• 22.1 Safety-related or safety-critical? (p. 263)
• 22.2 Safety-integrity levels (SILs) (p. 264)
• 22.3 Programmable electronic systems (PESs) (p. 266)
• 22.4 Current guidance (p. 268)
• 22.5 Accreditation and conformity of assessment (p. 272)
• 23 A case study: The Datamet Project (p. 273)
• 23.1 Introduction (p. 273)
• 23.2 The DATAMET Concept (p. 273)
• 23.3 Formation of the project group (p. 277)
• 23.4 Reliability requirements (p. 278)
• 23.5 First design review (p. 279)
• 23.6 Design and development (p. 281)
• 23.7 Syndicate study (p. 282)
• 23.8 Hints (p. 282)
• Appendix 1 Glossary (p. 283)
• Appendix 2 Percentage points of the Chi-square distribution (p. 292)
• Appendix 3 Microelectronics failure rates (p. 296)
• Appendix 4 General failure rates (p. 298)
• Appendix 5 Failure mode percentages (p. 305)
• Appendix 6 Human error rates (p. 308)
• Appendix 7 Fatality rates (p. 310)
• Appendix 8 Answers to exercises (p. 312)
• Appendix 9 Bibliography (p. 317)
• Appendix 10 Scoring criteria for BETAPLUS common cause model (p. 320)
• Appendix 11 Example of HAZOP (p. 327)
• Appendix 12 HAZID checklist (p. 330)
• Index (p. 333)

Author notes provided by Syndetics