A Guide to Getting Started with RCM

A Guide to Getting Started with RCM

Reliability-centred maintenance (RCM) is a solid conceptual framework for maintenance management. For a start-to-finish rundown, there’s a technical SAE standard and even entire books about RCM. This one-pager will refresh your memory about the questions to ask when you’re getting started. Explore our guide to getting started with RCM.

Definitions

Assets are the things that you and your team maintains.
System is what the delivers the value that your company offers customers, workers, and others.
Context is the value you offer and your network of people.
Failure is when an asset (or your system) stops doing its bit to deliver value.

Questions to ask before putting your RCM plan together

How are our assets, system, and context related?

  1. How are our assets, system, and context related?
  1. What is your organisation producing?
  2. Who do you produce it for?
  3. How does your system of production work?
  4. What is your organisation sensitive to?
  5. Why do we have this asset?
  6. What’s it worth to us?
  7. How could the failure of this asset prevent us from achieving our goals?
  8. What do your people really want in relation to this asset?
  9. Who else needs this asset or system to function, and why?
  10. What do your people need the asset to do? For example:

a. What safety considerations do they have?
b. How do they operate the asset?
c. Do they have up-time requirements?
d. What does it mean for them when it fails?
e. Why do they operate it that way?
f. Where and how does this asset relate to other assets?

Related Articles

Leading vs Lagging Indicators Checklist

Training

This checklist will help you establish and use the right indicators for your projects. Set-up Review relevant data and reports of your last five projects …

How Much Can You Bend HDPE Before It Ruptures

Civil

Polyethylene pipe has a lot of benefits: It’s lightweight, it’s easy to handle, it’s non-corrosive and it isn’t going to snap. And if it’s installed …

Setting the Standard: PIPA Guidelines

The PIPA guidelines are a handy resource for engineers, project managers and plumbers across Australia. Find out why.

How to Prevent Wear on Your PE Pipeline’s Bends

Fittings

When it comes to wear prevention, the approach that you take will vary from someone else’s. It comes down to the use case for your …