RAM

HCRQ is also experienced in the area of Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAM).

Throw in testability as well.

The first document to be produced is the RAM Program Plan.

Availability

Besides safety, one of the most challenging areas is Availability as in the case of light rail transit systems.

Key parameters are:

• MTBSAF (Mean Time Between Service Affecting Failures), and
• MTTRs (Mean Time To Restore Service).

Different types of Availability are definable such as:

• Subjective,
• Objective,
• Rolling Stock

Availability Demonstrations put rail transit system suppliers on the edge of their seats due to financial penalties which they incur if they fail to reach the contractual targets.

Example: The Daily System Availability results will be averaged for month six of operations. If the average of Daily System Availability for month six equals or exceeds 97.0%, the Fee for the entire initial six months of operations will be paid. If the average Daily System Availability for month six does not equal or exceed 97.0%, the Contractor shall not receive any Fee for the initial six months of operations.

An Availability Demonstration is driven by an:

• Availability Demonstration Test Plan, and
• Availability Demonstration Test Procedure.