to ignore the problem for the time being; (2) to
switch to alternate equipment; or (3) to perform cor-
rective maintenance immediately. Impact evaluation
information is provided in the CSTOM.
The CSTOM provides fault-isolation procedures,
both for faults that were detected during operations
and for faults that were known before the operations.
After a fault has been isolated to a specific unit or
interface, corrective action (repair, replacement, or
alignment) must be taken. In the integrated mainte-
nance concept, alignment is considered as corrective
maintenance only and, like other corrective action,
should be performed only when a fault is indicated.
Fault isolation leads to corrective maintenance.
The corrective maintenance performed may or may
not bring the system back to an operating condition.
There may have been more than one fault contribut-
ing to the out-of-tolerance condition that started the
fault-isolation process. (The SERT’s responsibility
for fault isolation was discussed earlier in this chap-
ter under the heading “SERT Corrective Maintenance
Management.”)
The possibility of faulty replacement parts and
incorrect adjustment or alignment also exists. Cor-
rective maintenance may not have solved the prob-
lem; it may even have added to it. Therefore, each
corrective action must be followed by verification.
Verification normally is done by re-creating the test
environment and rechallenging the function. Where
alignments are concerned, the verification process is
complicated by a requirement that the effect of the
maintenance upon other elements of the combat sys-
tems be determined.
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