| Last Updated | S012022 |
MSR603
| Unit Name | RELIABILITY ENGINEERING |
| Unit Code | MSR603 |
| Unit Duration | 1 Term (online) or 1 Semester (on-campus) |
| Award |
Master of Engineering (Safety, Risk and Reliability) Duration 2 years |
| Year Level | Two |
| Unit Creator / Reviewer | Keerthy Mysore |
| Core/Elective: | Core |
| Pre/Co-requisites | None |
| Credit Points |
3 Masters total course credit points = 48 (12 credits (Thesis) + 3 credits x 12 (units)) |
| Mode of Delivery |
Online or on-campus. Combination of modes: Online synchronous lectures; asynchronous discussion groups, videos, remote and cloud-based labs (simulations); web and video conferencing tutorials. High emphasis on personal and group self-study. |
| Unit Workload |
Total student workload including “contact hours” = 10 hours per week: Lecture – 1 hour Tutorial Lecture - 1 hour Practical / Lab - 1 hour (if applicable) Personal Study recommended - 7 hours |
Unit Description and General Aims
This unit takes the student through the process of modelling systems and predicting Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety. With a brief introduction to probability theory, it moves on to stating the rules for series and parallel systems, repairable and non repairable systems. It then takes the student through modelling techniques such as Reliability Block Diagrams, Fault Tree Analysis, Event Tree Analysis and Failure Mode and Effect Analysis. The unit moves on to covering “Design for Reliability” processes and reliability of mechanical components and systems. Finally, the unit introduces the student to Software Reliability also highlighting the relevance of systematic failures and human factors.
These aspects are addressed in this unit.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students are expected to be able to:
1. Model systems in the success or failure domains and perform the math.
2. Arrive at system failure rates from component failure rates.
3. Compare multiple design proposals from the safety and reliability points of view
4. Highlight weaklings and single points of failure
5. Learn how to factor in the human intervention in mathematical modelling
6. Understand “Design for Reliability”
7. Reliability of mechanical components and systems
8. Software Reliability
Student assessment
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Assessment Type
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When assessed
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Weighting (% of total unit marks) | Learning Outcomes Assessed |
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Assessment 1 Type: Multi-choice test (Proctored) Word length: n/a Description: Students will need to complete multiple-choice quiz questions to demonstrate a good understanding of the fundamental concepts. |
After Topic 3 | 15% | 1, 2 (Topic 1, 2, 3) |
|
Assessment 2 Type: Mid-semester test (Proctored) Description: Students will need to answer some short and/or long answer questions and/or solve some numerical problems. |
After Topic 6 | 25% | 3, 4, 5 (Topic 3, 4, 5, 6) |
|
Assessment 3 Type: Case study on design for reliability and presentation Allocation of weighting: 15% - Report 5% - Presentation (Presentations to take place during Topic 12 tutorial)
Word length for Report: 1500 |
After Topic 9 | 20% | 5, 6 (Topic 6, 7, 8, 9) |
|
Assessment 4 Type: Reliability engineering Related Report (Final Project) Word length: 2500 |
After Topic 12 | 35% | 1 - 8 (All topics) |
|
Attendance |
Continuous | 5% | 1-8 |
Prescribed and Recommended readings
Required textbook(s)
D.J. Smith and K.G.L. Simpson, Safety critical systems handbook: a straightforward guide to functional safety: IEC 61508 (2010 edition) and related standards, 2010 (used in MSR507)
D. J. Smith, Reliability, Maintainability and Risk, 2005.
Fault Tree Analysis, Australian standard AS IEC 61025, 2008
Reference Materials
Number of peer-reviewed journals and websites (advised during lectures). Examples listed below.
- P. O’Connor, Practical Reliability Engineering, 5th Ed, Wiley, 2012
- IDC /EIT notes and Reference texts as advised.
- Other material advised during the lectures
Unit Content
One topic is delivered per contact week, with the exception of part-time 24-week units, where one topic is delivered every two weeks.
Topic 1
1. Probability theory
2. Series systems
3. Parallel systems
4. Redundancy rules
Topic 2
1. Common cause failure
2. Repairable and non-repairable systems
3. Underlying mathematics
4. Metrics for measuring safety integrity
Topic 3 and 4
1. Reliability Block diagrams
2. Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)
3. Event Tree Analysis (ETA)
4. Monte Carlo, Markov and variance reduction techniques
Topic 5 and 6
1. FMEA – Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
2. FMECA – Failure Mode, Effects and Criticality Analysis
3. FMEDA – Failure Mode, Effects and Diagnostics Analysis
Topic 7 and 8
1. Architectural constraints
2. Fault Tolerance
3. Diagnostics and Diagnostics Capability
4. International standards on Functional Safety
5. Systematic failures
Topic 9
Design for Reliability
1. Design for Reliability (DfR) Process
2. Identify, Design, and Analyse
3. Verify, Validate and Control
4. Assessing the DfR capability of an organisation
5. Learn how to calculate reliability targets
6. Understand and Identify possible commercial solutions to technical problems
Topic 10
Reliability of Mechanical Components and Systems
1. Mechanical stress, strength and fatigue
2. Creep, wear and corrosion
3. Vibration / shock, and temperature effects
4. Materials, components and processes
5. Aging facilities – operating beyond the design life
6. Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM)
Topic 11
Software Reliability
1. Software in engineering systems, software errors and preventing errors
2. Programming style, fault tolerance, redundancy / diversity
3. Software checking, testing and quality assurance
4. Software safety standards (EN 50128, IEC 61508, IEC 61508-3, MILSTD 882-C etc.)
Topic 12
Project and Unit Review
In the final week students will have an opportunity to review the contents covered so far. Opportunity will be provided for a review of student work and to clarify any outstanding issues. Instructors/facilitators may choose to cover a specialized topic if applicable to that cohort.
Project – due at end of term
Software/Hardware Used
Software
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Software: N/A
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Version: N/A
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Instructions: N/A
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Additional resources or files: N/A
Hardware
- N/A
