Investigation and assessment of the influence of repairs on transport system operation efficiency and reliability

Abstract

Transport systems, especially transport means operated by them, generate different types of threats: peoples' health and life threat and natural environment degradation threat. Operating factors affecting elements of technical objects cause negative value changes of these elements resulting in their failure. These factors include those which result from improper behavior of people and those connected with the environmental impact affecting the technical object. Failure is a circumstance which significantly decreases the vehicle reliability and efficiency. In this study, a failure is referred to as exceeding permitted boundary values by significant features of the technical object. On the basis of performed practical tests concerning times of a failure occurrence it was found that the set of failures can be divided into subsets of primary and secondary ones. Tests results revealed that the cause of occurrence of secondary failures are usually incorrect performance of primary repairs. Primary repairs are independent on each other and occur randomly. Secondary failures, in turn, are related to each other and their occurrence is conditioned by an earlier occurrence of a primary failure and the effect of its improper repair or a repair of a successive secondary one. Therefore, assurance of high efficiency of repairs performed on the transport means is of great importance as this affects the level of reliability, safety and efficiency of transport tasks.