Everyday RCM

There are two main ingredients for a successful reliability centered maintenance (RCM) analysis:

1. First-hand knowledge of the asset and its operating environment.
2. Strong understanding of the RCM process and its associated principles.

Let’s dispel five common myths about reliability centered maintenance, including:

1. RCM is a maintenance program.
2. You must choose to do FMEA or RCM.
3. You must choose to do CBM or RCM.
4. If you do RCM, you must do it on all your assets.
5. RCM has serious weaknesses in an industrial environment.

CBM or Condition-Based Maintenance is a maintenance approach that includes these five facts:

1. CBM doesn’t prevent failure.
2. How often a CBM task is done is based on the P-F interval.
3. How often something fails or the criticality of failure does not dictate how often a CBM task is performed.
4. When it comes to CBM task intervals, what matters is how quickly falure occurs once the Potential Failure Condition is detectable.
5. CBM is powerful because it allows impending failure to be identified before the failure occurs so that proactive action can be taken in enough time to manage the consequences of failure.

In this episode, we talk about the more personal (or human) aspect of equipment Reliability. Who is responsible for Reliability? We know the answer is “everyone” – from top management to the experts who operate and maintain our machines. So it’s vital that we understand one another’s perspectives and responsibilities. We discuss how invisible obstacles can personally affect us – Comfort, the Prison of Perfection, Overwhelm, Our Thoughts, The Voices, and Fear. Fear can be the deadliest one of all. In this episode we discuss a simple – yet powerful technique – to manage fear. When we properly manage the obstacles, we free ourselves up to become more productive and effective equipment custodians.

In this episode, we explore what Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) is (aka On-Condition Maintenance). We’ll talk about : – What CBM is – The biggest trap you can fall into when implementing CBM – And what governs how often you do a Condition Based Maintenance task. As asset managers, we know that most Failure Modes occur randomly, and that can seem a little intimidating or maybe even a little scary, but it doesn’t have to be because that’s where Condition Based Maintenance can be very helpful. The whole point of Condition Based Maintenance is to detect a Potential Failure Condition and take action before failure occurs. That interval is called the P-F Interval and that is explained in this episode.

In this episode, we talk about what preventative maintenance is and what two criteria determine if a preventive maintenance task should be assigned. The biggest pitfall that organizations often fall into when defining intervals for preventative maintenance tasks is revealed.

In this episode, we talk about what a Failure Mode is and why Failure Modes are so important to equipment Reliability. As responsible custodians, it’s up to us to identify the plausible Failure Modes that could occur so that we can figure out if and how we should manage each one. If we don’t, it can end up in disaster.

In this episode, we answer two questions: 1) What is Reliability? 2) How do we get the Reliability we need from our machines? Nancy also discusses how we design our Reliability both literally and figuratively. The quality of our proactive maintenance and Default Strategies largely determines the Reliability we get from our equipment. Inherent Reliability is explained.

What does asset management have to do with TIME? Everything.

My mentor, John Moubray, taught me that our most valuable resource is TIME. Time is WAY more valuable than money. 

How you spend your TIME determines IF and HOW your asset management efforts will pay off. In other words, will your efforts help you achieve the kind of equipment Reliability you’re looking for?

How I applied all seven steps of Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) on my drive home from the Reliable Plant Conference

I just can’t seem to get away from Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM).

(And that’s okay with me. After all, my (technical) heart and soul belong to RCM!)

I was driving home from Indianapolis, Indiana after speaking at the Reliable PlantConference ~ 399 miles.

I know.  I’m a lady.  But it’s not my expression. That’s what my mentor, John Moubray, called it.

And he didn’t apologize for it when he used exactly that term during a one-on-one mentoring session with me.

And to this day, it’s one of the most valuable (and profitable) lessons he ever taught me.

In fact, it helped me win $1,428 in a poker tournament.

You must have comprehensive “historical data” in order to carry out Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) (misconception)

Historical data is important for a Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) analysis. But the kind of data that is generally collected isn’t sufficient to answer all the questions in the RCM process – and thereby formulate specific solutions.

The most valuable advice John Moubray ever gave me applies to everyone no matter who you are, what you do, or where you’re from. It took me twenty years, but I finally got it. 

When John gave me this gift, he simply made two statements.

Here they are: I don’t own a television. I won’t allow one in my house.

Simple – yet VERY complex. 

My not-so-dirty-little-secret, the Essence of Reliability Centered Maintenance, and Risk Assessment all at once…

I’m going to tell you a not-so-dirty-little secret about myself. I love No-Limit Texas Hold-‘Em poker. 

I’m a tournament poker player – not cash. Every year at Thanksgiving, my husband and I journey to Las Vegas to indulge in my favorite hobby.

Absolutely not! That is a big misconception of the process. You get to decide how broadly or how narrowly you apply Reliability Centered Maintenance.