ABSTRACT
The performance of an item can be described by four elements: capability or the item's ability to satisfy functional needs; efficiency or the item's ability to effectively utilize the energy supplied; reliability or the item's ability to start or continue to operate; and maintainability or the item's ability to quickly start following its failure. Reliability is an important element of achieving high performance since it directly and significantly influences the item's performance and ultimately its life-cycle cost and economics. Reliability is an important element of achieving high performance since it directly and significantly influences the item's performance and ultimately its life-cycle cost and economics. Availability analysis is performed to verify that an item has a satisfactory probability of being operational so it can achieve its intended objective. Since quantitative risk analysis involves estimation of the degree or probability of loss, risk analysis is fundamentally intertwined with the concept of probability of occurrence of hazards.
