In order to obtain the high availability, which is required for the ALMA radio telescope and instruments, high reliability is necessary. The reliability of a development shall be estimated already in the design phase in order to locate weak design points as early as possible and also to provide an indication of whether the design meets the requirements or not. Unless the contractor (or developing institute) wants to apply a recognized reliability analysis method, which fits his working routines and can be agreed upon, the ALMA Systems Engineering Group allows the contractor to apply the Parts Count method, as it is described in MIL-HDBK-217F. The present instruction is established as a guideline for preparing reliability analysis, based on the Parts Count method.
View a PDF version of ALMA Memo #327.
Download a postscriptversion of ALMA Memo #325.
Last modified: October 13, 2000
alma-memos@nrao.edu