Reliability Centered Maintenance Definition:

Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) is the strategy process of ensuring that systems will continue to operate and complete tasks within a standard pre-set. Commonly used by Maintenance Managers to achieve improvements within the system and to reduce the over-all maintenance required. In a successful implementation of Reliability Centered Maintenance, the system will experience reduced overall down-time, an increase in cost-effectiveness , and a greater understanding of potential risks associated within the system as a whole.

History & Background:

This strategy is defined by the technical standard SAE JA1011, ‘Evaluation Criteria for RCM Processes,’ setting the minimum criteria that a process should be meeting before it can be referred to as a RCM. The process begins with the seven questions outlined below, in their perspective orders:
1. What is the item’s purpose (main action) and how is it associated performance standards?
2. What are the ways it can fail to provide the required functions (previously dictated purpose)?
3. What events are the cause of each failure?
4. What happens when each failure occurs?
5. How or In what way does each failure matter to the system?
6. What task can be performed proactively to prevent, or to lessen the impact to satisfaction, the consequences of a failure?
7. What are the actions that must be taken if a preventive task can’t be found?

CMMS / EAM tools are commonly used for this type of qualifying standard and utilizes both Preventive Maintenance and Predictive Maintenance strategies

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