A systems approach for acquiring an automated maintenance management system

Abstract

A systems engineering fife-cycle approach is used to evaluate two automated maintenance management systems (AMMS) for the Facilities Service Branch (FSB) of the XYZ company. The two systems are evaluated based on operational performance and life-cycle costs, including acquisition/development costs and operation and maintenance costs. A recommendation is made based on criteria provided by FSB.

The Facilities Service Branch is currently using tedious, manual methods to track cost, schedule, and project status data on over 2,500 individual projects performed within the department. In addition, FSB maintains equipment history for over 1,300 systems and their components in hard copy format. An automated system is desired to replace the outdated paperwork methods and reduce the amount of human effort required for the maintenance and dissemination of equipment and project related data. The system requirements are provided by FSB staff and management.

The two systems evaluated are an IBM PC based system and a Wang VS100 mainframe based system. The implementation of the PC based system involves the purchase and modification of an off-the-shelf software package and the installation of five desk top personal computers in a networked configuration. The Wang mainframe option involves the development of approximately 40,000 lines of COBOL code and the use of five Wang terminals already in place in the FSB office area.