Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability (RAM) for Industrial Systems

RAM allows, for a definite period of time, the forecasting of the availability and deferred production factor of a facility, based on the system’s configuration, the reliability of its components, and the owner’s operational and maintenance philosophies.

The backbone of a RAM analysis is the calculation – whether through probabilistic or analytic means – of a system’s Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) and its Mean Time to Repair (MTTR). This is done with the end goal of identifying weak points, as well as allowing the owner to make the right decisions regarding reliability and maintenance policies, inventory management, and the use of new technologies and operational philosophies during both the design and operation phases.