Organizational Reliability Capability Assessment: A Case Study in China R&D Enterprise for Aviation Products

The IEEE Standard 1624 provides a foundation for the assessment of organizational reliability capability (ORC). However, to better match the individual characteristics of different industries, this standard needs to be suitably clipped and adjusted, so as to develop customized models for the reliability capability evaluations of different organizations. To evaluate the ORC of China's aviation enterprises effectively, we propose a reliability engineering capability maturity model (RE-CMM) for China's aviation industry, with adequate consideration of the features closely associated with China's aviation enterprises and China's military standards. The proposed RE-CMM model is established on the theoretical basis of Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), combined with the IEEE standard and China's military standards for Reliability, Maintainability, and Supportability (RMS). Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to verify the validity of the RE-CMM model. We use a fuzzy method for the evaluation of reliability engineering capability. Detailed steps of reliability engineering capability assessment are also provided for the application of the model. Finally, a case study on a Chinese aviation enterprise is given to illustrate the model and method.