CHAPTER 5

The Maintainability
Process

Financial Case
Requirements
Allocation
Specifications
Strategy
Criteria
Design Translation
Prediction
Demonstration
Verification
Review Questions
70 7he Maintainability Process

Maintainability is the activity that plans, designs, produces, and sup-

ports a product so that it will meet requirements for availability, perfor-
mance, safety, and economy. Maintainability (M) is the effort that provides
customers with products that can be maintained by a satisfactory balance
of short time, low cost, and minimal expenditure of support resources,
without adversely affecting the product’s performance or safety characteris-
tics. engineering is one important element of the design team along with
reliability, human engineering, components engineering, and others. E
must be involved in the total design process. In the planning stage, re-
quirements are defined and translated into design criteria. Next, the criteria
are applied to the design to establish the desired functional and physical
characteristics of the machine. These design characteristics are then mea-
sured to verify quantitative goals. Finally, the design and results of the
measurement are evaluated to assess areas for improvement. Ten common
program E functions are contained in what is called the E process. The g
process starts as soon as enough information is available to make reason-
able judgments. It ends when an acceptable design is achieved and verified.
The M process is an iterative process-a continuous cycle. The ten steps of
the maintainability process are:

1. financial case 6. criteria

2. requirements 7. design translation
3. allocation 8. prediction
4. specifications 9. demonstration
5 . strategy 10. verification

Financial Case
The first step in the process is to generate a program financial case. A
figure of merit (FOM) must be established from the product business analy-
sis. This may be expressed as cost per call, per ton mile, per flight hour, or a
similar quantitative figure.
The cost of owning a product includes:
Acquisition-research, design, production, and distribution; in other
words, all product costs up to initial machine use; and
Utilization-first-level operation and support (customer location), sub-
sequent-level support (refurbishing, conditioning, and factory repair), and
general support (all of the service functions).
If, for example, we have a machine with a projected ten-year life and
revenues totalling $3.5 billion, the first level support cost might be planned
 The Maintainability Process 71

at $336 million. If reliability and program goals estimate the total number
of service calls at 6 million, then we can compute the FOM as:
$336 million costs= $56 cost per call
6 million calls
A similar analysis could be used to get any other figure of merit. The
FOM must be understandable, measurable, challenging, and achievable.
While the major impact of )J is first-level maintenance, similar figures of
merit are established for the other areas with utilization costs.

Requirements
The second step is K requirements. The primary quantitative input for
-
M requirements is the FOM. Two other considerations are imposed cus-
tomer requirements and competition’s service capabilities. Time allowed for
a maintenance call, what the customer is willing to do or not to do, and
logistics needs are typical restrictions. Service call response time and on-site
time must be equal to or better than competition.
Finally, having developed the precise input requirements, the K engin-
eer can define the primary quantitative K indices: mean downtime (MDT);
mean time between maintenance (MTBM); labor cost ((2,); and parts cost
(CJ. The financial plan and M requirements result in the integrated main-
tainability plan. The intent of this plan is to exercise the necessary reviews
and provide the total program )J direction.

Allocation
The third step in the process is allocation. Time and money are al-
located to each subsystem so the weighted sum of the subsystem allocations
equals system FOM. Although allocation is first donesatthe product con-
cept phase, it is revised each time a change is considered.

Specifications
As the fourth step, the requirements and allocation are put into an un-
derstandable form called specifications. specifications should be pro-
72 f i e Maintainability Process

vided for at least the system and subsystem levels of the product. Standard
word forms are available to help document specific information. The
proposed specifications are reviewed by program design engineers and
changes are negotiated. Tradeoffs and reallocation may be required.

Strategy
When program design engineers and engineers agree to workable spe-
cifications, the process moves to the fifth step-strategy. Strategy defines
and documents the specific direction to be taken. It includes detailing the
problems and opportunities, establishing alternative solutions, and docu-
menting analysis and recommendations. The strategy step is the one in
which the M engineer defines and documents how the product’s M require-
ments will be achieved, Documenting and publicizing the M strategy makes
other interested people aware of g needs and the g engineer’s intentions.
This communication helps others support the M activity.

Criteria
Criteria is the sixth process step. Criteria is defined by Webster as
“standard of judging, rules, or tests by which anything is tried in forming a
correct judgment respecting it.” In the criteria step the M engineer must
give specific requirements for evaluation of success or failure. It should be
evident by now that each step of the g process is dependent on one or more
previous steps in the process.

Design Translation
The seventh step is design translation. Design translation is the method
of communicating a recommended design approach to the responsible de-
sign engineer and other interested persons. This step translates the first six
steps of the M process into tangible design information such as sketches,
diagrams, drawings, photographs, schematics, and other descriptive mater-
ials that define configuration, processes, features, and service concepts.
 The Maintainability Process 73

The M design translation package is intended to help the design process.

But everyone should understand that the information is not imposed on the
design engineer or on any other person in the program. Although the design
engineer has the responsibility for including M requirements, he alone is re-
sponsible to accept, reject, or adapt the recommended g design.
x
The design translation package is also useful as a benchmark for as-
sessing hardware g features and characteristics. Contrary to popular belief,
applying M engineering to a product does not mean the unit manufacturing
cost (UMC) will increase. In fact, good M engineering will probably help re-
duce UMC; and life cycle cost will certainly be reduced, with a correspond-
ing increase in profits. Revisions and retrofits are very expensive. Costly
changes after issue can be eliminated if functional maintenance characteris-
tics are included in the product design.

Prediction
As soon as the design engineer creates formal product drawings, the
eighth M process step begins. This step is called prediction. By reviewing de-
sign layouts, the M engineer evaluates the design and predicts whether or
not the specified values will be met. If expectations are not met, causes will
be investigated and corrective actions recommended. Predictions are made
for each design concept until a level of confidence is obtained that the speci-
fied -
M value will be met or until tradeoffs are accepted by program man-
agement.

Demonstration
Demonstration is the ninth step of the process. Just prior to begin-
ning full production, a preproduction model of the system should be for-
mally tested to measure downtime, parts cost, and other specified factors. A
demonstration should be conducted by the technical program manager and
monitored by quality assurance and the factory or field maintenance
organization.
A formal demonstration should also be conducted to validate the main-
tenance support systems as part of the overall product acceptance testing.
Assuming the product passes the demonstration, it then goes into produc-
tion and ultimately to customers.
74 The Maintainability Process

Verification
At this point in the product’s life, the tenth and last E process step be-
gins-verification. This step is basically a surveillance activity to confirm
that the &j plans and efforts did indeed produce all the expected field re-
sults. Verification feedback could show the need for product changes, or,
hopefully, it will show that the product meets all specifications.
Through the ten-step E process, product maintainability requirements
can be systematically planned, implemented, measured, and evaluated.
activities should be an integral part of every product program.
It has been found that engineers are best kept aware of the maintain-
ability process if formal procedures and training are backed up by useful
and even humorous reminders. One method used successfully is a cartoon il-
lustrated storybook. Another is a coaster with the surface embossed with
the ten steps of the maintainability process. The maintainability process is
now advertised at Xerox and several other companies every time a person
picks up his or her coffee cup. Advertising the maintainability process pays
off in serviceable products that have support designed-in rather than having
to later support the design.

Review Questions
Multiple choice; select the best answer.

1. The first step of the maintainability process is to:

a. allocate requirements to subsystems and their components
b. decide on the proper strategy for maintenance
c. establish a product financial case with appropriate figures of
merit
d. detail design criteria
e. prepare specifications down to the lowest replaceable unit

2. The maintainability process ends when:

a. acquisition is complete
b. funds are exhausted
c. strategy is approved
d. acceptable design is approved and verified
e. all responsible organizations have signed off on the design
 Zhe Maintainability Process 75

3. The major impact of maintainability is on:

a. first level maintenance
b. parts usage
c. the equipment operator
d. acquisition costs
e. factory support

4. The major elements to be allocated in the M process are:

a. parts
b. schedules
c. time and money
d. MTBF,response time, and availability
e. breakdown of requirements between user and provider

5 . The step where the y engineer defines and documents how the pro-
duct M requirements will be achieved is called:
a. specifications
b. strategy
c. criteria
d. prediction
e. demonstration

6. In the criteria step of the y process, the engineer:

a. develops financial tradeoffs
6. divides efforts among product subsystems
c. establishes specific requirements for evaluation of success or fail-
ure
d. translates the earlier steps of the process into tangible design in-
formation
e. shows that the product either meets or fails to meet all specifica-
tions

7. The maintainability design translation package is:

a. not a mandatory requirement that the designer must follow
b. a useful benchmark for assessing hardware maintainability fea-
tures
c. capable of reducing both acquisition and support costs
d. a method of communicating a recommended design approach
e. all of the above

8. Advertising the maintainability process:

a. is unnecessary because designers already pay attention to main-
tainability
76 The Maintainability Process

b. is best done by formal, published procedures

c. is generally regarded as unprofessional conduct
d. should be done by formal procedures and training backed up by
informal and humorous reminders
e. should be conducted by marketing personnel

9. The difference between specifications and criteria is:

a. they are essentially the same
b. specifications are written and criteria are verbal
c. specifications are provided by the producer and criteria by the
user
d. specifications are firm requirements whereas criteria are very
flexible
e. specifications are written requirements and criteria are the stand-
ards by which success or failure is evaluated

10. Using the maintainability process as an interactive series of tasks:

a. injects unnecessary complexity into the design process
6. helps assure that maintainability is adequately considered in the
design
c. disregards the pressures of schedule on most programs
d. is rarely possible due to cost constraints
e. inhibits design creativity and will probably alienate designers