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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe how a risk‐based dependability approach can be used to link maintenance performance measurement and management to overall objectives within an organization. Design/methodology/approach – The applied study approach is a case study at Trafikverket (the Swedish Transport Administration). Qualitative data were collected through interviews, workshops and document studies, while quantitative data was collected through data bases. As a framework for analysis, international standards within the risk and dependability areas were applied. Finally, the conclusions of the study were verified by key informants. Findings – Through the proposed risk‐based dependability approach, critical availability goals are communicated with and involve top management. The approach also contributes to enhanced data and information quality by pinpointing critical data and information for dependability management activities. The proposed availability indicator can be used to monitor the effect of dependability management activities aimed at different indenture levels of the infrastructure and related to the responsibility of different hierarchical levels of the organization, e.g. different maintenance echelons. Practical implications – The proposed approach strengthens the internal control of an organization by supporting the achievement of: objectives that are aligned with and support the mission; operations with an effective and efficient use of resources; reliable operational and financial reporting; compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Originality/value – By integrating risk management in the work with availability goals included in the balanced scorecard, a more holistic and risk‐based dependability management practice is achieved.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to describe an information logistic framework for continuous dependability improvement that is applied within Sweden to improve the operational availability performance of the railway system. Design/methodology/approach -The applied study approach is a case study of the Swedish iron ore transports, described from the perspectives of the infrastructure manager and the operator of the rolling stock. Qualitative data were collected through interviews, workshops and document studies, while quantitative data were collected through databases. As a framework for analysis, international standards within the dependability area were applied. Finally, the conclusions of the study were verified by key informants. Findings -Information logistics provides methodologies and technologies to support continuous dependability improvement through monitoring of the operational availability performance and its included aspects of reliability performance, maintainability performance and maintenance support performance. Practical implications -The operational availability performance of technical systems is crucial to provide a quality of services that fulfils the requirements of stakeholders. Hence, continuous dependability improvement is necessary to keep pace with increasing stakeholder requirements and ongoing system degradation to enable stakeholder satisfaction. The framework is based on best practices and international standards. Originality/value -The proposed framework includes an integration of methodologies and technologies from the information technology and dependability management areas that considers both railway infrastructure and rolling stock.