Inspection strategies for randomly failing systems

Abstract

In many situations there are no apparent symptoms indicating the imminence of failure. For such systems whose failures are not self-announcing, the level of degradation can be known only through inspection. Detection and alarm systems as well as stand-by systems are some examples of such equipment which must be inspected. Each inspection consists in measuring one or some characteristics to assert the degradation level. An inspection strategy establishes the instants at which one or more operating parameters have to be controlled, in order to determine if the system is in an operating or a failure state. These inspections require human and material resources as well as a certain know how. © 2009 Springer-Verlag London.