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The development of science started when people began to study phenomena not merely observing them. People developed instruments and learned to trust their readings, rather than to rely on their own perceptions. They recorded the results of their measurements in the form of numbers. Supplied with these numbers they began to seek relationships between them and to write down in the form of formulas. Then the formulas became the only things they came to trust when they began to predict things they could not physically experience.
According to Albert Einstein“Everything that the human race has done and thought is concerned with the satisfaction of felt needs.” Thus, need for transporting, defending, communicating, racing, entertaining, heating, navigating, and similar functions have been manifested by the human race throughout the history. In order to satisfy those needs humans have created large number of products (airplanes, cars, washing machines, etc,..) and constructions (bridges, houses, roads, etc.). Consequently, a term functional system is used to describe a collection of mutually related components brought together to perform at least one function with a measurable performance and attributes. It is clear that a systems deliver functionality according to coherent physical laws, which are independent from the time and space.
However, the behaviour of the system during its life is time and space dependent. Common experience teaches us that, irrespective how good design might have been; every system will fail to deliver functionality during its operational life. Reasons for this may be:
- Built-in design or manufacturing errors
- Irreversible changes in the condition of components with time due to wear, fatigue, creep and similar degradation processes
- Imposition of external stresses resulting from collisions, harsh landings, extreme weather conditions, etc
- Human errors in execution of maintenance tasks
- Human errors in execution of logistics support tasks
In order for functionality of a system to be restored it is necessary to perform required maintenance tasks. The process during which the ability of the system to perform a function is restored, is known as maintenance process, and is defined as the flow of maintenance tasks, selected and performed by the user in order to retain or restore functionality of the system during its life.
It is necessary to stress that some resources are needed to facilitate this process. Most frequently used resources are spares, material, trained personnel, tools, equipment, manuals, facilities, software, etc. As the main task of these resources is to facilitate the maintenance process they will be termed Maintenance Resources (MR).
Consequently, in order to successfully complete operational and maintenance tasks adequate resources are needed. The process during which all necessary resources for operation and maintenance process are provided is known as support process, and is defined as the flow of support tasks, selected and performed by the user, in order to provide the resources needed for the execution of operation and maintenance tasks.
Support process, like any other process, requires resources for its flow. Most frequently required resources are storage facilities, spare parts, trained personnel, transportation equipment, demand data, software, etc. As the main task of these resources is to enable support process to take place they will be termed Support Resources (SR).
At the MIRCE Akademy we have observed and analysed large numbers of functionability phenomena - inherent failures, inspections, demands for spares, operational tests, visual checks, scheduled maintenance tasks, foreign object damage, as-bad-as-old repairs, not fault found, aging processes, non distractive tests, storage and transport issues and many, many more. We have understood the mechanisms, the frequencies, and the consequences of their occurrences in the life of large number of systems in order to determine and formulate their relationships. Finally, their physical relationships have been captured and described through mathematical means that enable accurate predictions to be made. In 1999 Dr Knezevic, founder and president of the MIRCE Akademy, has formulated the new type of mechanics, named Mirce Mechanics. This has given “birth” to Mirce Mechanics
The research performed at the Akademy is focused on the furthering scientific understanding of the mechanisms that cause the motion of functionability between positive and negative states through the system operational process and to define them mathematically in order to be able to make accurate predictions.
All negative functionability events, those that cause the transition of the system into negative functionability state, for the research purpose have been classified into following three categories:
- Inherent, resulting from processes and causes that took place prior to the birth of the system, such as design faults, manufacturing problems, packaging, handling, transportation, storage, installation and so forth, or prior to the transition of the system to the positive functionable state, such as maintenance and support induced errors;
- Accidental, resulting from processes and causes that interact with system operational process, such as foreign object damage, human errors during operation, adverse environmental conditions (solar system, atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere),
- Cumulative, resulting from processes and causes that take place in the system itself during operational process that lead to the gradual deterioration of the condition of the system over time, such as: fatigue, creep, wear, corrosion and similar.
The purpose for scientifically studying occurrences of negative functionability events through system operational process is to physically understand and mathematically describe mechanisms that lead to them in order to be able to predict them.
All positive functionability events, those that cause the transition of the system into positive functionability state, for the research purpose, have been classified into following three categories:
- Replacement, resulting from the tasks that are performed to restore functionability of the system by replacing necessary item(s)
- Repair, resulting from the tasks that are performed to restore functionability of the system by repairing necessary item(s),
- Modification, resulting from the tasks that are performed to enhance functionability of the system by modifying its configurations and/or item(s)
The purpose for scientifically studying occurrences of positive functionability events through system operational process is to physically understand and mathematically describe mechanisms that lead to them in order to be able to predict them.