Procedure Based Organizations (PBO’s) – “Fix it right the first time!”
The single most important reason for the significant difference in distribution of failure
profiles and an order of magnitude difference in infant failures between commercial
aircraft in the 1960’s and nuclear subs in 2001, in my opinion, was the advent of
computer based word and image processing programs along with more rapid
communications methods. Although rudimentary in the early 1980’s, by the mid 1990’s
they had almost completely eliminated the use of typewriters and “hand cut & paste printmasters”
in support activities and their contractors. Electronic word processing and
inclusion of digital images made possible the development and rapid update of detailed
maintenance procedures. It is no fluke that only 6% of components in the SUBMEPP
study exhibit the infant failure characteristic. Allen (footnote 3) attributes the low number
of infant failures to thorough testing of submarine components before the ships return to
operational service. This may be true to some extent, because testing is an integral part of
the repair procedure in most cases. However, infant failures occurring while testing
during shipyard overhaul or operational site refit pier-side and on sea-trials are not
documented in the data gathering system used to record failures during operational
periods. Work orders are not closed out until the operational testing is completed to the
satisfaction of the operator (ship’s crew).