Proactive PHM Design Process: Key #1
P + HM ≠ PHM P + ISDD + HM = PHM
ISDD= Integrated Systems Diagnostic Design
The first key to successful implementation of PHM is to get together on a unified and core understanding of PHM.
PHM has become another term used ubiquitously today that rather subtly refers to a sort of implied closed partnership between the Prognostic and Health Management disciplines or technologies. Caution must be used here as it is easy to overlook that Prognostics and Health Management are two separately performed, yet dependent activities that may often serve independent or competing integrated system requirements and support objectives. When talking about both disciplines in the same breath, it needs to be emphasized that an effective Health Management System must not be limited to Prognostics, but must be the result of an Integrated Systems Diagnostics Design. The Systems Diagnostics Design needs to include the integration with selected equipment Prognostics.
The term used for Prognostics Health Management is PHM. Also, the same term, PHM, is commonly misused for Prognostics and Health Management.
PHM implicates a packaging of the two interdependent technologies – 1) Prognostics, and 2) Health Management. PHM needs to be better represented and understood as a product of an Integrated Systems Engineering process. This integrated process looks at all levels of the design and implicates all elements of the design requirements. This can be better thought of as subscribing to the total integrated process of “diet and exercise”.
This “diet and exercise” analogy may help us to broadly understand the implication of the packaging of separate and interdependent activities in the PHM reference by allowing us to think of diet and exercise as a similar packaging of two terms that are commonly used is referring to the process involved in the achievement of well-balanced personal health objectives.
Following are a few questions that can be posed to underscore the importance of the balancing process (subscribing to Integrated Systems Engineering) that either leverages or diminishes investment value into either activity:
- Because you subscribe to a “diet” is it therefore given that you also subscribe to “exercise”?
- Because you subscribe to “Prognostic analyses” is it therefore given that you also subscribe to Health Management?
- To what level should you subscribe to diet?
- To what level should you subscribe to Prognostics?
- To what level should you subscribe to exercise?
- To what level should you subscribe to Health Management?
- Does the level of diet affect your level of exercise, or visa-versa?
- Does the level of Health Management affect your integrated systems Prognostic capabilities and constraints or visa-versa?
- What is the proper mix of diet and exercise for you based on your current condition, history, resources, etc.?
- What is the proper mix of Prognostics for your integrated systems Health Management based upon the current capabilities and constraints of the fully-integrated diagnostic design as supplied from various activities, suppliers and partnering organizations?
- Can you assess the expected and evolving optimization of your diet and exercise plan based upon the use of an assortment of independent techniques or mechanisms?
- Can you assess the expected and evolving optimization of your Prognostics and Health Management plan based upon the use of an assortment of independent techniques or input from various activities, suppliers and partnering organizations?
- Do you have a process in place that can be used to properly assess and optimize your “Health” and is this process equally flexible and effective through any evolving or unpredictable variances in your diet, activities or environmental restrictions in the future?
- Is your PHM able to properly assess and optimize the Health Management of the fully Integrated System and is your PHM equally flexible and effective through any evolving or unpredictable variances in your Prognostic capabilities, support objectives, technological alterations or environmental restrictions in the future?
The missing link that connects diet to exercise or “d” to “e” and Prognostics to Health Management or “P” to “HM” is the institutionalizing of the total integrated process.
The implementation of an Integrated Systems Diagnostic Design (ISDD) for PHM is the key to the optimization and the realization of sustained value of the investment into both Prognostics and into Health Management.
Likewise, the implementation of an integrated diet and exercise process for personal health management (phm) is the key to the optimization and the realization of sustained value of the investment into both diet and exercise.
P + HM ≠ PHM P + ISDD + HM = PHM