At-sea Reliability with Predictive Modeling

Background – Maintenance of complex Tactical systems is generally responsive in nature, often addressing failures through a piecemeal approach. The current maintenance environment requires an inherent level of system knowledge to monitor and maintain equipment. There are also time constraints placed on system maintenance due to the increased operational tempo of today’s submarine force. Approach - Developing an end-to-end maintenance solution that incorporates a state of the art maintenance toolkit that will provide data mining analysis, automation and scheduling of maintenance events, failure recognition to the component level and prediction of Time to Failure (TTF) will significantly reduce Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) and increase Operational Availability. Providing a flexible solution through modularization and web services will also allow the incorporation of new capabilities such as Condition Based Maintenance (CBM), automation and availability planning. Conclusion – Controlling Total Ownership Costs (TOC) requires a philosophical shift in maintenance strategies. Incorporation of new Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) technologies that allows maintenance practices to align with tactical system advances is essential in controlling costs and increasing Operational Availability.