Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) is a logical approach developed in the 1960s that helps companies improve equipment reliability by determining potential failure modes and maintenance plans. RCM analyzes a system's functions, potential failures, and failure effects to develop a maintenance plan. Implementing RCM increases maintenance effectiveness by ensuring the right type and frequency of maintenance, and increases efficiency by comparing maintenance costs to equipment downtime costs. RCM also provides benefits like upskilling maintenance technicians and operators through cross-training on equipment operation and failure analysis.

1. Introduction to
Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM)
Background
Why now?
Benefits

2. Background
Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) is a proven,
logical, approach that helps companies improve
equipment reliability.
Developed by the US Aviation Industry in the 1960’s
Has successfully been implemented in many other
industries.

3. Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM)
What a system is supposed to do? (Function)
How can it fail to do that? (Functional Failure)
What can cause it to fail? (Failure Modes)
What happens when it does fail? (Effects)
What can be down to predict or prevent the failure
from happening? (Maintenance Plan)

4. Why Now?
The increasing drive towards Lean Manufacturing, 5s
etc has resulted in less equipment redundancy and
ever increasing equipment uptime (reliability)
expectations.

5. Benefits
Increases Maintenance Effectiveness
 Ensuring equipment is neither over or under
maintained.
o doing the right kind of maintenance.
o getting the right balance between Planned and Un-Planned
maintenance.
Increases Maintenance Efficiency
 Compares the cost of Running Equipment to Failure
against the cost of performing Preventative
Maintenance.
o performing maintenance at the right frequency.

6. Maintenance Tech Benefits
 Significant Up-Skilling Opportunity;
 gain a detailed understanding of how the process is supposed to operate.
(Cross Training)
 become as proficient as a vendor in the maintenance of critical equipment.
o maintenance departments are being forced to reduce costs by eliminating their dependence
on outside vendors for routine equipment servicing.
 learn about and get training in the latest Predictive Maintenance PdM
techniques and technologies.
o Vibration analysis
o Thermo graphics
o Oil analysis
o Acoustic leak detection
o Motor monitoring systems
 learn how to identify and justify equipment design changes.
 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
 PM content, duration and spares requirements are optimized
o less risk of PMs becoming overdue; having to use up more annualised hours or having to
work overtime to clear the backlog.

7. Operator Benefits
 Up-Skilling Opportunity;
 gain a detailed understanding of how equipment can fail and it’s effect on
process uptime /reliability. (Cross Training)
 identify non technical maintenance tasks that can best be performed by
operators. (Owner Asset Care – visual inspections)
 learn how to identify and justify equipment design changes.