Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) is an approach towards asset maintenance that determines how to maintain equipment safely and economically. With RCM technique we identify which scheduled maintenance tasks needs be assigned to equipment and at what frequency. It helps us to employ Preventive Maintenance (PM), Predictive Maintenance and Proactive Maintenance techniques in an integrated manner. This increases the probability that a machine or component will function in the required manner with minimum required maintenance. Hence we understand RCM is a key technique to define maintenance strategy that leads to optimal asset performance.

Our approach towards RCM Implementation:

• Prepare for the Analysis:

We make sure that all members of the analysis team understand and accept the rules and conditions of the analysis like scope of the analysis, gathering and reviewing relevant documentation, etc.

•  Select the Equipment to Be Analyzed:

Since RCM analysis requires an investment of time and resources, the organization may wish to focus analysis on selected pieces of equipment. Hence we select the equipment to be analyzed based on standard methods like Selection Questions and Criticality Factors.

• Identify Functions and Potential Functional Failures:

Our objective for maintenance activities are focused toward preserving equipment functionality. Therefore, we first identify the functions that the equipment is intended to perform. Then Equipment functional descriptions are referred to identify potential functional failures. This may include failure to perform a function, poor performance of a function, over-performance of a function, performing an unintended function, etc.

• Identify and Evaluate the cause Effects of Failure:

This step helps us to prioritize and choose the appropriate maintenance strategy while addressing a potential failure.

• Identify Causes of Failure:

The cause of failure represents the specific cause of the functional failure and helps us to apply a maintenance strategy to address the potential failure.

• Select Maintenance Tasks:

Once we have identified the functions that the equipment is intended to perform, the ways that it might fail to perform, the next step is to define the appropriate maintenance strategy for the equipment. Our RCM analysis team’s decision of which strategy to employ for each potential failure is based on judgment/experience, pre-defined logic diagram, cost comparisons and combination of other important factors.

• Maintenance Plan:

Once the appropriate schedule maintenance tasks have been identified, the final step is to package them into a workable maintenance plan. This involves majorly scheduling of Preventive maintenance plan effectively and efficiently.

Key techniques used for RCM:

• RCA; FMEA

This helps our customer achieve:

• Maximized equipment availability, Equipment Reliability, Increased cost effectiveness, Reduced repairing time