Test Policy vs Maintenance Policy and System Reliability

Abstract This paper is concerned with the specification to be given to an automatic test system (ATS) (test frequency distribution, ATS reliability, false alarm rate), in order to interact with the monitored system’s reliability and the maintenance policy. A decision rule is introduced to select between unscheduled repair or overhaul in order to minimize the maintenance costs per unit operational time. This decision rule is derived from a Markov model. Results have been applied to the case of an airborne equipment, and to a computer controlled telecoπmunications equipment.