Welcome to the 55^th Annual Reliability and Maintainability Symposium more commonly referred to as the RAMS^®. The Symposium theme this year could not be more relevant given the economic challenges we are all facing. Recent events have clearly shown the strong interdependencies of regional economies and the reality of a global economy. Reliability in its many forms, shares this global importance. The RAMS Technical Sessions and Tutorials have been developed to provide you with the latest, research, applications, and ideas. The primary objective of the RAMS Technical Program is to help you apply your skills to help your company, division, department, agency, or just you - deliver more reliable products and services at competitive costs.

For the Tutorial Program, RAMS 2009, attendees can choose from an offering of twenty tutorials. The topics of these tutorials range from the basic concepts of R&M engineering to advanced topics in cutting-edge areas of R&M research and applications. This year also marks the beginning the RAMS Certificate Program open to all tutorial attendees. RAMS attendees can enroll in this two-level certificate program online or at the Symposium Registration Area for a fee of $75. Completing the first level of the certificate program requires attendees to attend five core concept tutorials. The five core tutorials are (titles subject to minor change):

• Introduction to R&M Modeling
• Introduction to Life Data Analysis
• Introduction to Failure Modes and Effects Analysis
• Introduction to Fault Tree Analysis
• Introduction to R&M Management

The tutors for the core tutorials were solicited by the RAMS Management Committee based on their successful experience in preparing and presenting RAMS tutorials. The structure of the RAMS 2009 program is such that an attendee can attend all of these tutorials on Monday and Tuesday of the Symposium.

Completing the second level of the certificate program requires attendees to attend an additional ten tutorials across at least two Symposia. Attendees are free to choose these ten tutorials based on their own professional needs and interests. Upon completion of the program, attendees receive a RAMS certificate and a letter of completion including a list of tutorials attended. Due to the currency of the material, the Certificate Program must be completed within 4 years of the attendance of the first core tutorial.

The 2009 Keynote Speaker this year is the Honorable William E. Wright from the United States Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. Mr. Wright will share with us several actual situations through computer animation of how organizational, equipment, and human reliability influence the complex nature of reliability in the chemical process industries. The title of his keynote address is: Reliability – At what price?

The Technical Program consists of over 90 research papers in 23 sessions. The Symposium-wide RAMS Advisory Board Panel, composed of risk and reliability management leaders, will be available for your direct questions and will also address the topic: Why Is Reliability Discussed Only After a Major Failure or Disaster?

Over the years, RAMS has provided an opportunity for graduate students to showcase their research in reliability and maintainability. At the 2009 RAMS, three paper sessions are dedicated to student research. All the papers in these sessions have at least one author who is a student, and all of the papers in these sessions will be presented by a student author. These papers and the corresponding presentations will be evaluated by a panel of reliability and maintainability experts for the purpose of identifying the recipients of the first-ever RAMS Students Paper Awards.

At the Wednesday night Banquet we will be awarding the Best Paper and Best Tutorial from the 2008 RAMS and Best Student Paper Awards for the 2009 Symposium. The featured speaker for the event is Martin Craighead, Group President, Baker Hughes Drilling and Evaluation. He will share pictures and video of the current technologies used in this highly equipment intensive industry. The title of his presentation is: Deeper, Faster, Hotter: Reliability's critical role in the search for oil and gas.

RAMS is unique in the field of international conferences around the world in that it is produced and supported by ten professional societies that share the common objectives of improving safety, reliability, and efficiency. Enjoy a week of learning and new professional relationships in a unique, historical setting.