Reliability Engineering

Our reliability engineering studies are customized to fit our customer's needs. Each analysis typically includes one or more of the following types of analysis:

Fault Tree Reliability Analysis (FTA)

Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) illustrates the combinations of failures that cause an undesired Top Event. Our engineers use software such as Relex FTA. FTAs can be either qualitative or quantitative. Qualitative FTAs are used to evaluate safety or hazard events to determine root and contributing causes.Mitigations can then be targeted to reduce the probability of a negative event occurring. Quantitative FTAs are developed to calculate system reliability, availability or other more complex results. User specified system run times and Mean Time Between Failure(MTBF) data (available from industry source or vendors) are developed. Results provide the data needed to make operational changes, plan for system upgrades/replacements, as well as focus maintenance dollars where they achieve the highest return.

Reliability Centered Maintenance Analysis (RCM)

Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) is "a process used to determine what must be done to ensure any physical asset continues to do what its users want it to do in its present operating context." The RCM process is applied to an asset to determine the appropriate operations and maintenance actions required to maintain the functions of the asset.

Nelson Engineering Co. uses a systematic RCM procedure that we developed in-house to direct our engineering analyses and our personnel to ensure consistency of analytical performance. Our analysis goals center on determining the best mix of programmed, preventive, reactive, and predictive maintenance tasks that will minimize downtime and maintenance costs and ensure the required availability constraints are met or exceeded. Our procedure complies with the RCM industry standard SAE JA1011 and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) standard ARP 5580. Our technical deliverables consist of analysis reports with the FMEA data analyzed using FMEA Pro™. Our data can be exported to spreadsheets and databases to support importing O&M actions into Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) such as Maximo®.

System Assurance Analysis (SAA)

An SAA is used to provide assurance that systems are dependable through formal modeling and analysis. Our engineers perform System Assurance and Hazard Analysis' per NASA standard NSTS 22254 and CXP 70038 to determine and mitigate the sources of potentially dangerous events prior to the occurrence of a mishap or event for those conditions found in hardware/software systems and the person-machine relationship that cause loss of personnel capability, loss of system, or loss of life or injury to the public.

Nelson Engineering Company develops high quality, cost competitive RCM solutions for a variety of facility systems and government assets. We have parlayed our engineering services support at KSC, CCAFS, VAFB, PNAS, AUTEC, US Embassies and other installations to encompass an array of RCM initiatives.