SysLinks™—System Optimization and Network Linkages

Understanding Complex Systems

Today’s systems are complex and interrelated. They depend on the performance of their components to achieve a larger common objective. While this interdependency improves functionality, it also increases risk. If one link fails, the mission fails. SysLinks™ helps planners assess the performance of such complex systems and balance logistics requirements against operational risk.

Analyzing Tradeoffs to Optimize Investment

Traditional reliability tools model performance of a single system. SysLinks™ is unique because it assesses the performance of all related subsystems and the tradeoffs between inventory investment in those subsystems and overall uptime. It executes this analysis by leveraging several modeling and simulation methods, including LMI’s ASM® sparing model, Monte Carlo simulation, and a user-friendly version of stochastic Petri nets called Abridged Petri Nets (APN). The combination of these tools results in a more accurate representation of reliability and operational availability.

Managing Scarce Resources

As system complexity increases, it also becomes more difficult to know where to invest limited resources. SysLinks™’ ability to analyze tradeoffs makes it a powerful tool. Managers can use SysLinks to recommend investments that achieve the greatest performance gains. 
  
The methodology’s visualization capabilities also enable users to graphically model failures and see how they propagate throughout the system. In the animation mode, SysLinks™ visually illustrates where bottlenecks occur or processes break down, thus enabling decision-makers to quickly spot system weaknesses. 
  
SysLinks™ differs from static reliability tools in that it can model complex systems as they age. Planners can use the methodology in all life-cycle phases—acquisition, deployment, sustainment, and retirement. 
  
During implementation, LMI experts help users distill system complexities and integrate those realities into ASM and APN models. Starting with a high-level concept of operations to initialize the models, SysLinks™ visualization enables users to employ the models as an analytical sandbox to explore system operations and refinements.