Anthony M. Smith and Glenn R. Hinchcliffe

World-class maintenance: Opportunities and challenges

Most discussions of world-class maintenance have a rather lengthy list of ingredients that must be in place to qualify as such. Our experiences suggest which key ingredients should be pursued to establish a world-class maintenance program. We include five simple ingredients in our proposed approach: 1.

A ‘living’ RCM program requires continuing measurement

The RCM process steps are one-shot efforts that essentially provide a baseline definition of the PM program for the system in question. However, we need to recognize three technical factors where some continuing RCM program activity is required in order to continuously harvest the full potential of the RCM process: A fourth and equally important factor is to measure actual versus planned improv...

Carrying RCM implementation to the manufacturing floor

First-class RCM project planning begins with asking and then finding the answers to the following four questions: Let’s address these questions collectively and suggest some answers. Simply put, you have to determine where it is you wish to be when the journey is over. Is this just a trial balloon, to see if RCM is for you, or have you decided on using RCM as one of the primary tools in d...

Find the right timing to perform preventive maintenance work

Selection of the correct interval to perform a preventive maintenance task is, by far, the most difficult job confronting the maintenance technician and analyst. We need to understand how physical processes and materials change over time, and how those changes ultimately lead to what we call failure modes.

RCM systems analysis process requires step-by-step effort

The systems analysis process is used to implement the four basic features which define and characterize RCM. This process is comprised of seven steps that have been developed from experience as a most convenient way to systematically delineate the required information: Step 1:System selection and information collection.

Beware of the fallacy of the bathtub curve

As this title suggests, all may not be totally well with the bathtub curve. True, some devices may follow its general shape, but the fact is that more has been assumed along those lines than has actually been measured and proven to be the case. The commercial aviation industry, however, does have fairly large populations of identical or similar components in its aircraft fleets.

Four features used to define RCM

We could say the overriding preventative maintenance motivation can currently be simply characterized as "preserve equipment." Almost without fail, our current maintenance planning process starts directly with the equipment, and its sole purpose is to specify actions required to "keep it running." But recognize from the outset that Reliability-Centered Maintenance is not just another cleverly ...

Develop good strategies for effective preventive maintenance

Experience has clearly shown that some confusion does exist over just what people mean when they use the term preventive maintenance. One significant factor stems from the evidence that a vast majority of our industrial plants and facilities have been operating for extended periods, years in many cases, in a reactive maintenance mode.

Identify barriers to effective maintenance programs

With the O&M spotlight occupying center stage, it is instructive to look at some industry-wide maintenance history of the past three decades, especially with respect to some of the more classic maintenance problems that we need to address. It is recognized that the list of problems discussed here is not all-inclusive, nor are these problems necessarily common to everyone.

Maintenance as a profit center takes a change in thinking

Whenever we initially meet with a new client, the first (and ultimately most important) point that we introduce at the meeting is the fact that there is only one reason for our discussion — money. When your initial focus is on money, your perception of O&M improvement changes from reduced PM cost to an increased ROI from your maintenance expenditures.