Equipment performance monitoring: a Canadian Air Force perspective

The in-service management of any equipment requires an understanding of not only the inherent reliability performance of the equipment, but also the way this performance changes with time; this is particularly true with complex repairable items. Without accurate information about the expected reliability performance of an item, it is not possible to predict the logistics resource (i.e. spare parts, skilled maintenance personnel and maintenance facilities) required to optimize equipment availability and life cycle cost. As budgets are decreasing, it is imperative to improve the ability to detect problems before they become critical. This paper discusses how equipment performance monitoring (EPM) helps the Canadian Air Force to focus on specific problem areas. It details how EPM measures/monitors aircraft systems performance. It also describes the advantages of using EPM to facilitate proactive decision-making. Even though EPM is applied to military equipment, the EPM concept is applicable to any large commercial equipment fleets