Engineering Systems Acquisition and Support

J P T Mo, A Sinha

• Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9780857092120
• eBook ISBN: 9780857092151
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Computer Science General
• Index: Computer Science

Engineering systems such as an aircraft or frigate are highly complex and specifically designed to meet the customer's requirements. This important book provides the information necessary to acquire and support complex engineering systems expected to last for a long time. Chapters in the first half of the book examine the life cycles of these systems, their design, testing and certification, and the principles behind their acquisition. The second half of the book reviews topics including operations support and logistics, systems maintenance, reliability and upgrades, and performance and risk analysis, ending with a discussion of the need for continuous improvements in these systems.- Creates a new operational view of modern acquisition, design, services and support systems- Applies enterprise modelling and analysis techniques to develop a whole systems view- Takes the systems engineering approach to services system design and support

1

Introduction

Abstract

Thomas Friedman once said, “In Globalisation 1.0 that began around 1492, the world went from size large to size medium. In Globalisation 2.0, the era that introduced us to multinational companies, it went from size medium to size small. And then around 2000 came Globalisation 3.0, in which the world went from being small to tiny”. Physically, the world does not shrink. What is actually changed is the ability of people to interact with one another directly among themselves, or indirect interaction through some mechanisms or processes has doubled or tripled in a short time. This chapter builds on this observation and explores the background and concepts of acquiring, operating, supporting, and servicing complex engineering systems. In particular, the significance of system integration and whole of life systems design.

Keywords

complex engineering systems

service quality

maintenance and reliability

value for money

logistics support

lean support services

integration

preparedness

In Globalization 1.0, which began around 1492, the world went from size large to size medium. In Globalization 2.0, the era that introduced us to multinational companies, it went from size medium to size small. And then around 2000 came Globalization 3.0, in which the world went from being small to tiny.

Thomas Friedman

Chapter Outline

1.1 A new business environment for complex engineering systems 1

1.2 Examples of complex engineering systems 2

1.2.1 Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM) 2

1.2.2 Offshore wind farm 4

1.2.3 Railway rolling stock and network 6

1.3 Value for money 8

1.4 Requirements of logistics for support 9

1.5 Lean support services 11

1.6 Concept of integration 12

1.7 Preparedness 15

1.1. A new business environment for complex engineering systems

Physically, the world does not shrink. What actually changes is the ability of people to interact with one another, directly among themselves or indirectly through some mechanisms or processes; the latter have doubled or tripled in a short time. Developers of complex engineering products such as aircraft or frigates are facing new challenges in meeting business goals and competition globally. They need to remain competitive by developing innovative products and processes which are specific to individual customers’ requirements, are completely packaged and are made available globally to make best use of resources within defined constraints. New business models such as performance-based contracting have emerged in recent years as some of the favourable choices of contracting mechanisms for the public sector and asset-intensive industries such as defence, water, transport and chemicals. Under performance-based contracting, a third-party contractor takes the responsibility and assumes the risks for the management of a specific part of the business. This approach compares to traditional maintenance-oriented arrangements in which the asset’s capability will inevitably degrade due to age and technology changes.

The complexity of these engineering products also means the need to develop a different set of knowledge that includes:

• Systems design, development, validation, testing, installation and commissioning during acquisition phases.

• Ongoing operations support, mid-life upgrades, services and logistics, maintenance and repairs during the operations phase.

In some cases, due to regulatory and institutional requirements, decommissioning must also be considered. Thus, this new knowledge set is necessary for professional engineers and operations managers working in the new business environment so that they may acquire and support complex engineering systems that are expected to last for a long period of time and to meet increasing demands in capability. To examine this core knowledge base, we’ll use a number of examples to illustrate the key elements.

1.2. Examples of complex engineering systems

A characteristic that is common to all complex engineering systems is the complexity and multidisciplinary coordination of the support system that enables the smooth operation of the engineering system.

1.2.1. Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM)

Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM) is a consortium of rail and construction businesses including Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation, Australia’s John Holland Group and UGL Rail, a division of United Group Limited. MTM has a contract to operate and maintain the public transport rail service used by Melbourne commuters.

This franchise contract brings together international experience to deliver long-term service-supply agreements that cover rolling stock supply, maintenance and refurbishment, rail infrastructure maintenance and renewals, and the delivery of major capital works programme. MTM was selected as the new operator by the State Government of Victoria in June 2009 and replaced the previous operator, Connex Melbourne, on 30 November 2009.

MTM operates a fleet of approximately 323 trains on 830 km of track. There are 16 daily train lines and 1 special-events train line. The train fleet covers more than 30M km per year and services more than 200M customer journeys per year. MTM is also responsible for 211 train stations and employs a workforce of 3,500 rail professionals that includes train drivers, mechanical and electrical engineers, network operations specialists and customer-service representatives. As part of the agreed-upon service plan, the Victorian Government (owner of Melbourne train network) promised to increase the carrying capacity by approximately 20%.

MTM’s operations and maintenance activities are governed by legislation, regulations and guidelines including:

• Transport Integration Act 2010

• Rail Management Act 1996

• Rail Safety Act 2006

• Transport (Compliance and Miscellaneous) Act 1983

• Transport (Ticketing) Regulations 2006

• Transport (Conduct) Regulations 2005

• Victorian Fares and Ticketing Manual

A key part of the operator service contract is the achievement of high punctuality (Metro Trains, 2013). Metro had a good record for services run; the percentage exceeded the target of 98% from November 2009 through June 2010 (i.e. every one of the first eight months after the consortium took control of the network). However, on 27 July 2010, a major service disruption was recorded that affected 400,000 passengers. In addition, according to the overall performance measure, MTM incurred performance penalties of $4.8M from December 2009 to June 2010. Trains were mostly delayed due to electrical fault in the system and operator delays.

Analysis of the initial MTM operation and maintenance model shows the following deficiencies:

1. Customer satisfaction. The Public Transport Performance Report for the six months ending December 2012 indicated a customer satisfaction index score of 68%. Although MTM came close with a 67.3% score, this level was far from the 90% that the London Overground achieved in the preceding period.

2. Service punctuality. The same report lists the service punctuality at 92.4%, which exceeds the 89% specified target. However, the Hong Kong rail system carries over 4M people a day and manages to achieve 99.9% on-time arrivals.

3. Inefficient operations. Before 2011, train timetables had not been redesigned holistically since the City Loop was opened in the 1980s. Rather, additional services were generally added into the timetable incrementally, often by only changing the times of adjacent trains to accommodate new services. This approach resulted in the complex, irregular and inefficient stopping patterns and service headways that currently remain on some lines.

4. Maintenance. As a direct consequence of previous franchise that simply maintained the status quo of assets and operational expenses instead of planning and implementing an improvement regime, MTM has been left with a severely degraded asset. MTM’s asset management plan (AMP) is reported to portray a high level of reactive maintenance compared to planned maintenance, which is to be expected given the state of the inherited infrastructure.

Influences on these deficiencies come from a myriad of sources. Internally, MTM has the desire to improve the reliability of the infrastructure to permit a higher level of reliability and therefore improved train service reliability. This strategy means that, in the short term at least, there can be expectations of higher-than-desired levels of impact on service delivery due to the high levels of maintenance and upgrades that are required in order to meet those long-term goals.

Other deficiencies in urban railways are often influenced by the environment in which the system is being operated. Like many Western countries, Australia has an excessive dependence on automobiles which has led to underutilised public-transport systems. This underutilisation has resulted in poor-performing services as the costs of maintaining the assets and infrastructure outstrip income for the organisation or government operating the transport solution. The flow-on effect is reduced spending on upgrades and new infrastructure and a lack of investment in the industry.

One thing that appears absent from consideration is how to make public transport look attractive to commuters who currently use private transport. Key to this goal is a reliable, consistent service that is safe, quick and affordable. The way to achieve these improvements is through collaboration throughout the supply chain in ways that ensure the interfaces between logistics and maintenance are efficient and effective and ensure that services are supplied on time and with sufficient capacity. In addition, rationalising the road network and placing public transport as a higher priority than vehicle access could encourage greater use of public transport and reduce road-maintenance costs.

1.2.2. Offshore wind farm

The London Array offshore wind farm comprises 175 turbines (3.6 MW Siemens turbines) that generate 630 MW of power with more than 450 km of cabling connecting them to two offshore substations...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Biography
• Preface
• 1: Introduction
• 2: The life cycles of complex engineering systems
• 3: Systems acquisition principles
• 4: Systems design
• 5: Management of engineering-design changes
• 6: Systems prototyping and testing
• 7: Operations support and logistics
• 8: Systems maintenance and reliability
• 9: Mid-life upgrades
• 10: Architecture for designing support systems
• 11: Performance and risks analysis
• 12: Continuous improvement
• 13: Final remarks
• Index