Maintainability

Belcan Maintainability Engineering consists of industry experts with vast experience in systems engineering, human factors, maintenance, logistics, and ergonomics.

Our engineers work in assessing, preventing, managing, and eliminating the impact a failure has to a system measured by the ease and speed with which a system can be restored to operational status after a failure occurs.

Our maintainability engineers often work in conjunction with other expertise early in the conception phase of a system design to better obtain optimum life cycle management and reduce the cost of system downtime.

Predictions

A maintainability prediction analysis provides calculated information regarding various aspects of maintenance. The goal of performing a maintainability analysis is to determine the amount of time to perform repairs and maintenance tasks. In other words, if a system does fail, how long will it take to repair.

Planning

Achieving excellent operational maintainability requires:

Sound Planning
Effective Engineering Design and Test Verification
Excellent Manufacturing Conformance
Adequate Support System (Logistics) for Spare Parts
Knowledgeable People as Operators and Maintainers With Effective Training
Incorporation of Lessons Learned From Previous or Similar Equipment

Demos

A maintainability demonstration (M-Demo) test is implemented to verify (by demonstration) the actual maintainability characteristics of a system, against the maintainability requirements or objectives. A M-Demo test establishes what criteria will be tested based upon given parameters. These would include the verification of the many maintenance tasks and identifies all necessary resources to permit an effective repair or maintenance activity. The M-Demo should be guided by a test plan or, for smaller equipment, a test procedure.

Human Factors

Planning, development, and production of new equipment, systems, and the facilities needed for their support must take into account how the operator and maintainer fit into the design. Omitting the human factor and ergonomics (fitting the workplace to the worker) from designs has compromised the safe and efficient production, operation, and maintenance of equipment and facilities, both in the military and civilian sectors. This compromise leads to injuries and damage to equipment as well as costly retrofits.

Maintenance Task Analysis (MTA)

The Maintenance Task Analysis (MTA) when completed will detail the resources required to implement effective, corrective, and preventative maintenance tasks for a system and/or equipment. The MTA is a detailed analysis performed for each of the corrective and preventative maintenance tasks.

The support resources that would be captured and detailed for each corrective and preventative maintenance task during implementation of the MTA are as follows:

Support Equipment – Standard and Special
Tools – Standard and Special
Personnel
Facilities
Storage and Packaging
Transportation Consideration

Computer-aided Acquisition and Logistics Support (CALS)

The use of Computer-aided Acquisition and Logistics Support Program (CALS) is a part of the Belcan approach to an Information Management System (IMS) that supports uniform logistic and acquisition engineering, management, material management, and other life-cycle functional processes.

This approach provides for a common, integrated infrastructure for organizing modeling and analysis and provides applications and services to implement joint functional processes. The Belcan strategy is to enable more effective generation, exchange, management, and use of digital data supporting assigned systems. Belcan's use of CALS helps migrate from manual, paper-intensive operations to integrated, highly-automated acquisition and support processes.