The supportability of a system can be defined as the ability of the system to be supported in a cost effective and timely manner, with a minimum of logistics support resources. The required resources might include test and support equipment, trained maintenance personnel, spare and repair parts, technical documentation, and special facilities. For large complex systems, supportability considerations may be significant and often have a major impact upon life-cycle cost. It is therefore particularly important that these considerations be included early during the system design trade studies and design decision-making.

Pre-readings:

The SDOE Program: Experiences and Lessons Learned

This course provides the participant with the tools and techniques that can be used early in the design phase to effectively influence a design from the perspective of system reliability, maintainability, and supportability. Students will be introduced to various requirements definition and analysis tools and techniques to include quality function deployment, input-output matrices, and parameter taxonomies. An overview of the system functional analysis and system architecture development heuristics will be provided. Further, the students will learn to exploit this phase of the system design and development process to impart enhanced reliability, maintainability, and supportability to the design configuration being developed. Given the strategic nature of early design decisions, the participants will also learn selected multiattribute design decision and risk analysis methodologies, including Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). As part of the emphasis on maintainability, the modu le addresses issues such as accessibility, standardization, modularization, testability, mobility, interchangeability and serviceability and the relevant methods, tools, and techniques. Examples and case studies will be used to facilitate understanding of these principles and concepts.

This course illustrates the theory and practice of designing and analyzing supply chains. It provides tool sets to identify key drivers of supply chain performance such as inventory, transportation, information and facilities. Recognizing the interactions between the supply and demand components, the course provides a methodology for implementing integrated supply chains, enabling a framework to leverage these dynamics for effective product/process design and enterprise operations.

Pre-readings:

Pre-Module Instructions

This course covers the theory and application of modeling aggregate demand, fragmented demand and consumer behavior using statistical methods for analysis and forecasting for facilities, services and products. It also aims to provide students with both the conceptual basis and tools necessary to conduct market segmentation studies, defining and identifying criteria for effective segmentation, along with techniques for simultaneous profiling of segments and models for dynamic segmentation. All of this provides a window on the external environment, thereby contributing input and context to product, process and systems design decisions and their ongoing management.