Reliability theory

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The material in this book originated from a one-semester course on Reliability Theory and Preventive Maintenance for M. Sc. students at Ben Gurion University during the 1997/98 and 1998/99 academic years. Engineering students primarily focus on the applied aspects of this theory. The effectiveness of preventive maintenance theory hinges on the handling of statistical reliability data, which is often challenging due to the nature of system lifetime data collection. Typically, the available data is incomplete and heavily censored. To enhance the applicability of the course material, topics such as modeling system lifetime distributions and maximum likelihood techniques for processing lifetime data are included. A prior course in statistics is required, as standard courses often overlook essential techniques. Chapter 3 provides a brief overview of these techniques, including commonly used probability plotting. Chapter 4 discusses popular models of preventive maintenance and replacement, addressing practical aspects like managing data uncertainty, the impact of data contamination, and the opportunistic scheduling of maintenance activities. This structured approach aims to equip students with the necessary tools to apply reliability theory effectively in real-world scenarios.