ABSTRACT
This chapter puts all of the pieces of the puzzle together and enables managers and engineers to apply economic analysis to reliability investigations and logistical information to perform life-cycle economic analysis for system design and sustainment. Two approaches are presented:
1. Deterministic 2. Simulation
Deterministic analysis uses point estimates of means for reliability, i.e., operational availability, time to failure, time to repair, etc. Simulation is introduced to evaluate reliability functions over time and allows for repetition of the failure-maintenance cycle. Most important, simulation investigates what happens to a system after the first part fails, the second, and so on. Deterministic analysis cannot do that. This chapter will use information provided by reliability simulation as inputs to life-cycle economic analysis.
