Design simulation tool to improve product reliability

The design community has historically been challenged to design-in reliability and maintainability (R&M) during the front-end of the design process. This has been difficult due to the budget profiles on most programs: R&M activities have not traditionally been funded up-front, and the designers are usually just too busy trying to make their designs work to worry about R&M. This paper describes a McDonnell Douglas Aerospace (MDA) independent research and development (IRAD) supportability sponsored project entitled “Integrated Crew Chiefs Associate”. This IRAD has developed a new design simulation software tool that permits designers to assess and optimize their design for reliability up-front, during the early conceptual design phases of product development. The result has been a tool that allows the designer to reduce cycle time in developing a new prototype hydromechanical subsystem and its associated onboard embedded control logic software, the ability to optimize the configuration and subsystem reliability very early-on, and the ability to capture early design information for use throughout the acquisition process for performing reliability, maintainability, testability, and advanced logistics analysis