7. Active System Control: And Its Impact on Mission Reliability

Active system control (ASC) as an approach can be useful when applied to improve the safety, maintenance and efficiency of aircraft or other means of transportation. The concepts of conditional maintenance and preventive maintenance have been well established for many years as a concept of analysis and method for improving system behaviour. This analysis is normally performed (at best) after each mission, journey or flight and is used as a supportive tool for insurance of transport, economic maintenance frequency and quality. The new approach of active system control is about knowing conditions and monitoring them before the mission, during the mission and after the mission. ASC in terms of its modelling and benefits is compared with known preventive and conditional maintenance, using exactly the same assumptions. It is shown that implementing ASC has substantial advantages over classic preventive and conditional methods of maintenance; the discussion introduces the analysis of current conditions and provides advice on the deterioration of functioning in real time during operation, rather than afterwards when it might be too late or irrelevant. This approach involving real-time prediction of conditions in the context of the current state of the aircraft during as well as after each mission introduces the first step towards the paradigm shift toward real-time monitoring and improvement of reliability.