This SAE Aerospace Information Report (AIR) addresses the following:

1. Captures previous experience and lessons learned in the application of PM.

2. Tabulates public-domain applications, and several representative examples discussed in detail.

3. Notes relative merits and barriers to implementation.

The document does not contain technical details of probabilistic methods, benchmarking of specific approaches or legal aspects. These subjects are covered in other AIRs, referenced in Section 2 and prepared by the Probabilistic Methods Committee of the G-11 Reliability, Maintainability, Supportability and Logistics (RMSL) Division of SAE.

Purpose: The purpose of this SAE Aerospace Information Report (AIR) is to capture previous experience and lessons learned in the application of PM, and to provide examples and points-of-contact for initiating new applications. Known public- domain applications are tabulated, and several representative examples will be discussed in detail. Relative merits and barriers to implementation will be noted.

Relation to Other PM Documents: This AIR is one of six documents, being actively written or already completed that attempts to capture the overall scope of PM technology and some of the more salient general issues. Specifically, "Integration of PM into the Design Process' (AIR5080, published Dec. '96) provides an overview, with brief reference to methods, numerical limitations, applications, and implementation barriers. "Engineering Probabilistic Methods' (AIR5083, expected June '00), "Numerical Review of PM' (AIR5110, expected March '01), this document (AIR5109), and "Perceptions and Limitations Inhibiting the Application of Probabilistic Methods,' (AIR5086) each provide greater detail on one of these four topics.

The sixth general document is "PM Needs/Goals' (ARD50047, expected April '97), related to industry, government, and academia. A separate class of PM AIR/ARD document are those which are focusing on the potential use of PM in a specific industry or technology segment. Examples of these documents include "Integration of PM with Manufacturing,' "Airworthiness,' and "Probabilistic Diagnostics.' The PM Applications AIR is thus an integral part of the general technology documentation, as well as providing an initial resource or historical reference for the development of industry/technology-based PM documents.