%0 Journal Article
%T Process-Oriented Development of Failure Reporting, Analysis, and Corrective Action System
%A Jae Hoon Lee
%A SungIl Chan
%A Joong Soon Jang
%J Journal of Quality and Reliability Engineering
%D 2010
%R 10.1155/2010/213690
%X Although failure reporting, analysis, and corrective action system (FRACAS) has two management perspectives, its tasks and related information, the previous researches and applications mainly have focused on the data management. This study is to develop a process-oriented FRACAS which supports the operation of the failure-related activities. The development procedures are (1) to define the reporting and analysis tasks, (2) to define the information to be used at each task, and (3) to design a computerized business process model and set the attributes such as durations, rules, and document types. This computerized FRACAS process can be activated in a business process management system (BPMS) which employs the enactment functions, deliver tasks to the proper workers, provide the necessary information, and alarm the abnormal status of the tasks (delay, incorrect delivery, cancellation). Through implementing the prototype system, improvements are found for automation of the tasks, prevention of disoperation, and real-time activity monitoring. 1. Introduction Recently, the reliability of products or services is recognized as a key factor to accomplish the competitiveness of a company. Reliability refers to the ability of a system or a component to perform its required functions under the stated conditions for a specified period of time. In reliability engineering, it is important to collect and analyze the related information in diverse phases, development, testing, production, and operation. FRACAS is a management tool which is established to identify and correct deficiencies in a system or a component, and thus prevents further occurrence of them [1]. Its objective is to provide engineering data for corrective actions, assess historical reliability performance (mean time between failure, mean time to recover, availability, etc.), develop patterns for the deficiencies, and provide data for statistical analysis [2]. FRACAS is composed of various components such as engineers, equipment, documents, product specifications and organizations. Also, it has been widely implemented in diverse industries which are larg sized and complicated with many participants and organizations such as military [1], aerospace [3], railroad [4], nuclear power plant [5], medical [6], and distribution industry [7]. Many of difficulties in implementing FRACAS come from these features. Hallquist pointed out that the major problems are complex organization interaction, inefficient and ineffective data tracking, and a lack of prioritized goals [8]. Normally, the management of FRACAS has
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jqre/2010/213690/