Currently, the Technical committee for standardization “Dependability in equipment” (TC 119) is developing a new interstate standard “Dependability in equipment. Terms and definitions” that will replace GOST 27.002–89. The issue was already discussed at the pages of our journal. In Issue 2 this year there was a report about the meeting of a permanent scientific seminar “Dependability and quality of system functioning” that took place on the 30th of January 2014 and was devoted to discussion of key issues related to the development of this standard. In the same issue there was a paper by active participants of the work V.A. Netes, J.I. Tarasyev, V.L. Shper Current issues of terminology standardization in dependability where the authors started a detailed consideration of this important topic.

Now we offer a new paper by the same authors that further discusses terminology issues in dependability. The editors invite all involved readers to express their opinions about issues put forth in the paper. Letters can be sent to the editors or directly to TC 119.

The paper discusses mathematical definitions of such dependability indices as mean time to failure, mean time between failures and mean time before failure introduced in basic standards and theoretical literature related to dependability. The paper also describes methods for practical calculation of indices for design analysis of system dependability. It is demonstrated that the definition and use of such parameter as mean time before failure are incorrect.

The paper deals with the design dependability of the grip-arm interface “arch – bowstring – jack beam” in spans of pedestrian overpasses. Dependability estimation required the performance of a number of simulation procedures that include five basic steps. Exhaustion of weight strength in one of the critical element of the arch – bowstring – jack beam joint was the criterion of making a decision about failure.

The paper presents the method for elimination of mutual crossing and reduction of Esary-Proshan estimates errors.

The paper considers the technique based on the tactics of consecutive check tests of dependability and applied for the equipment of computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) and automated safety instrumented systems (SIS) of oil refineries under operating conditions, with subsequent use of testing results in failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA). It is supposed that operation conditions for various types of equipment correspond to a mode of system “regular” functioning and to the exponential law of distribution of mean time to failure. The IDEF3 notation of structural modeling describes the testing process, analysis of failure causes, and development of measures to prevent them. A common database on dependability check tests is kept in PDM (Product Data Management) system.

The paper considers the basic aspects of the construction of reliable software. It discusses methods and ways of error prevention based on protective and multiversion programming, tools of passive and active detection of errors, principles and methods of error correction based on dynamic redundancy and restart. Some emphasis is made on solving the tasks of construction of error-tolerant programs with the help of digression methods, techniques of error isolation and construction of redundant algorithms not critical to various types of information process violations.

The paper describes the model of onboard software architecture that allows us to assess the dependability of a designed program system and labour efforts spent on its realization. The paper defines parameters and operators of the genetic algorithm that makes it possible to find optimal characteristics of onboard software architecture.

Developing highly competitive products involves making well-grounded and correct decisions which can be ensured by a systemic approach to the creation of new products and advanced decision-making methods. One of the primary concepts of system analysis is the concept of decision-making. The paper considers the primary lifecycle stages of a complex engineering system (CES), the statement of the decision-making problem in respect to CES development and conditions of selection of solution methods as part of alternative solutions analysis. The authors demonstrate the significance of the decision-making process at various stages. From the standpoint of state-of-the-art concepts, the paper provides a detailed description of the decision-making procedure proper that involves seven stages – from the purpose of problem solution to its implementation.

In his 79th year, one day before his birthday, died Konstantin Nikolayevich Stasj, the founder and editor-in-chief of Nuclear Measuring and Information Technology journal, the editor of Dependability journal.

BOOK BY I.B.SHUBINSKY STRUCTURAL RELIABILITY OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS

BOOK BY I.B.SHUBINSKY FUNCTIONAL RELIABILITY OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS