Accelerating Reliability Analysis with SysML, Teamcenter, & MADE

Turning MBSE Investment into Reliability Outcomes

Organizations across aerospace, defense, and complex industrial systems have made substantial investments in Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) using SysML. These models capture functional intent, logical architectures, and system interactions early, where design decisions matter most.

Yet in many programs, reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety (RAMS) analysis remains disconnected from that work.

Reliability engineers are often forced to recreate system architectures manually inside downstream tools, duplicating effort and introducing lag between design intent and reliability insight. The result is predictable: RAMS analysis arrives late, costs more than it should, and struggles to influence decisions when change is still affordable.

New capabilities in Siemens Teamcenter 2512, combined with Maintenance Aware Design Ecosystem (MADE) software, finally allow organizations to close this gap by reusing SysML MBSE models as the foundation of reliability models for RAMS analysis.

This page explains why that matters, what value it unlocks, and how Skypath Analytics helps organizations realize it.

Why Reliability Digital Twins Struggle to Scale

A reliability digital twin, which is a reliability model of a system, is only as good as its underlying system model. In theory, MBSE should provide that model. In practice, several barriers have historically stood in the way:

• SysML models were difficult to consume outside MBSE tools

• PLM systems stored geometry and documents, not system logic

• Reliability tools required custom-built functional architectures

As a result, reliability modeling became a parallel activity, disconnected from the authoritative product definition.

This disconnect has real consequences:

• Time: Reliability models take weeks or months to build

• Risk: Architecture interpretation errors creep in

• Relevance: Analysis lags behind design evolution

• ROI: MBSE investment fails to compound downstream

The issue was never reliability methodology. It was model continuity.

Reliability Digital Twins: More Than a Prediction Model

A reliability digital twin is not a static reliability calculation. It is a living analytical representation of system behavior over time, incorporating:

• Functional and logical architecture

• Failure modes and rates

• Maintenance and operational concepts

• Usage profiles and environmental conditions

When built early and kept in sync, reliability digital twins enable:

• Design trade studies with quantified availability impact

• Sustainment strategy evaluation before fielding

• Early identification of reliability drivers

• Faster, more defensible decision-making

But these benefits depend on speed and alignment, both of which suffer when models are rebuilt manually.

How Teamcenter Enables MBSE Reuse for Reliability

Teamcenter 2512 introduces a critical capability: enterprise system data models derived from SysML.

When SysML MBSE models are stored and managed in Teamcenter:

• Functional and logical system structures are captured in a system data model

• These structures are configuration-controlled alongside the product definition

• Downstream tools can consume them directly

This transforms SysML from an engineering artifact into enterprise data.

For reliability teams, this means:

• No blank-sheet modeling

• No manual re-interpretation of architectures

• No guesswork about design intent

The system definition becomes shared, authoritative, and reusable. This is one of the goals of digital engineering.

Why This Matters for MADE and RAMS Analysis

MADE is purpose-built for RAMS analysis and reliability digital twins, but model creation has traditionally been the bottleneck.

With Teamcenter acting as the bridge:

• Functional architectures and logical components flow into MADE

• Reliability engineers start with a structured, MBSE-derived foundation

• RAMS analysis builds directly on system intent

This changes the economics of reliability modeling.

Instead of spending the majority of effort on model construction, teams focus on:

• Failure behavior

• Maintenance strategy

• Operational impact

• Decision insight

In short: less modeling overhead, more engineering value.

Quantified Benefits Organizations See

Across programs leveraging SysML-to-Reliability-Model workflows via Teamcenter, organizations typically realize:

Faster Time to Insight

• 40–60% reduction in reliability model development time

• RAMS analysis initiated earlier in the design lifecycle

Improved Model Fidelity

• Direct alignment with system architecture

• Reduced interpretation and translation errors

• Higher confidence in results

Better Configuration Control

• Reliability models stay aligned with evolving designs

• Less rework when architectures change

• Clear traceability to product definition

Higher ROI on MBSE

• MBSE models drive downstream analysis, not just documentation

• Engineering data compounds across lifecycle phases

Strategic Value for Aerospace and Defense Programs

For aerospace and defense organizations, reliability is not an abstract metric, it is a mission enabler.

Late reliability insight leads to:

• Expensive redesigns

• Sustainment cost growth

• Availability shortfalls

By leveraging SysML MBSE models to accelerate reliability digital twins:

• Reliability becomes a design input, not a post-hoc assessment

• Sustainment strategies are evaluated earlier

• Decisions are supported by quantified risk

This is how digital engineering delivers operational value—not just compliance.

Why This Is Different from Past MBSE–RAMS Efforts

Many organizations have attempted to connect MBSE and reliability before—and failed.

Common reasons:

• One-off integrations

• File-based handoffs

• Manual synchronization

• Lack of enterprise ownership

What’s different now is structural integration:

• Teamcenter manages the authoritative system definition

• MADE consumes system architecture as data

• Synchronization replaces manual rebuilds

This is not a workaround. It is a scalable pattern.

SkyPath’s Role: From Models to Outcomes

SkyPath helps organizations capitalize on this integration, without forcing internal teams to become tool-integration experts, or waiting on their enterprise systems to catch up to the latest capabilities.

Our focus is not software configuration for its own sake. It is:

• Accelerating reliability digital twin development

• Reducing modeling effort and cycle time

• Improving RAMS decision quality

• Ensuring alignment with enterprise digital engineering strategy

We work where MBSE, PLM, and RAMS intersect, so reliability insight arrives faster, earlier, and aligned.

MBSE Isn’t Complete Until Reliability Is Quantified

SysML models capture how systems are intended to work.
Reliability digital twins reveal how they actually behave over time.

With Teamcenter and MADE, those worlds no longer need to be separate.

Organizations that connect them will:

• Make better design decisions

• Reduce lifecycle cost and risk

• Extract real ROI from MBSE

That’s the difference between modeling systems and engineering outcomes.

Turn MBSE into Measurable Reliability Outcomes

Many defense programs already have SysML MBSE models in place. Far fewer are extracting real value from them in reliability, availability, and sustainment decisions.

SkyPath helps DoD organizations and defense contractors bridge that gap.

We specialize in leveraging existing MBSE artifacts to rapidly develop reliability digital twins in MADE, reducing model build time, improving fidelity, and keeping RAMS analysis aligned with the authoritative product definition in Teamcenter.

What SkyPath Delivers

• Accelerated creation of reliability digital twins using existing SysML MBSE models

• RAMS analysis that stays synchronized with evolving system designs

• Earlier, defensible reliability insight to support design trades and sustainment planning

• Reduced modeling rework and improved configuration traceability

Who We Support

• Program Offices and PEOs seeking earlier reliability insight

• Sustainment and logistics organizations focused on availability and lifecycle cost

• Prime contractors implementing MBSE and digital engineering at scale

Why SkyPath

SkyPath brings deep experience at the intersection of MBSE, PLM, and RAMS analysis in defense environments. We don’t just understand the tools—we understand how reliability decisions are made, reviewed, and defended across the lifecycle.

Our work helps programs move reliability left (earlier), reduce downstream risk, and extract real ROI from digital engineering investments.

Contact Us!