We are concerned in the estimation of lifetime distribution of a component having a few observed failure data and we demonstrate that we can use the maximum likelihood estimation utilizing the censored data when the number of components in use is quite large. Weibull distribution is assumed for the lifetime and a simple estimation procedure is introduced. We also propose the method of determining the optimal number of spares required for a specified period without introducing cost functions. The proposed methods are applied to the photon stop and the water-cooled flange which are major components in Pohang Light Source.