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1. Reliability-Centered Maintenance Analysis
A Description of the RCM Process and an Explanation of the Reports
A Description of The RCM Analysis Process consists of seven clearly defined steps
the RCM Process that lead an analyst to the conclusions of the best maintenance
strategy for a particular asset or system. These seven steps are
summarized here, and described in more detail below.
• Gather and document basic information about the asset
• Perform a failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA)
• Identify potential risks and consequences of failure
• Determine maintenance actions for mitigating risk
• Generate a cost-benefit analysis and justify recommendations
• Compile the results and generate draft documents for review
• Incorporate review comments and generate a final report
Preliminary Step Prior to performing the analysis, it is necessary to select the
-------------------------------- system to be analyzed. Each organization will have their own
Select System for Analysis approach for making these selections, and usually the factors that
are considered include past history of failure, economic impact as a
result of failure, availability of information, and the availability
and experience of the analysis team with respect to the individual
asset or system.
Because there is such an abundance of equipment, and typically so
few people to perform analysis work, it is vital that this selection
process be conducted carefully.
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Software Tools to Support While it is possible to document this process in simple word
the RCM Process documents or spreadsheets, the premier tool for performing this
-------------------------------- analysis is RCM Strategy Plus™. The use of this tool enables the
RCM Strategy Plus™ following benefits:
• consistent sharing of information between all agency
centers, including subcontractors,
• extensive knowledge base of equipment analyses,
• conformance to approved RCM methodologies,
• advanced techniques for assessing risk and potential
consequences of failure,
• integration with CMMS and on-line monitoring and
expert diagnostic tools, and
• automatic generation of reports.
RCM Analysis Process Page 1

2. Reliability-Centered Maintenance Analysis
Graphical View of the RCM Process
Define Boundaries
Gather Information and Describe Operating Context
Generate Basic System and Document Equipment and Nameplate Data
Œ
Step
Equipment Information Describe General History
Describe References
Generate Basic Information
Describe Codes and Regulations
Perform Failure Modes and Identify Functions and performance criteria
•
Step
Effects Analysis (FMEA) Identify Failure Modes
Identify Failure Causes
Generate FMEA Identify Failure Effects
Identify Potential Risks and Define Seriousness and Likelihood of Failure
• For Every Failure Cause
Consequences of Failure Ž
Step
• For All Defined Risk Criteria
Use Risk Matrix
Identify Hidden Failures
Determine Maintenance Actions
Determine Maintenance Tasks (CM,TD,FF)
Step •
for Mitigating Risk
Determine Optimum Frequency for Tasks
Determine Policy Requirements
Decision Support Diagram
Identify Redesign Requirements
Generate Cost-Benefit Analysis
and Justify Recommendation
Step • Perform Cost - Benefit Analysis
Cost - Benefit Analysis
Compile Analysis Results into Prepare Executive Summary
Draft Documents for Review
‘
Step Generate Summary Reports
Generate Detail Reports
Generate Draft Reports
Technical/Management Review
Review Technical Strategy
Issue Final Reports
Review Cost-Benefit Analysis
Define Implementation Strategy
’
Step
Incorporate Review Adjustments
Review Generate Final Reports
Generate Implementation Strategy
Generate Final Reports
RCM Analysis Process Page 2

3. Reliability-Centered Maintenance Analysis
Step ΠThis step gathers and starts documenting basic information
Basic Information about the system being ana lyzed. By understanding the
process fluid flow from a Piping and Instrumentation Diagram
(P&ID) or diagrams and electrical schematics, it is possible to
establish boundaries and identify the equipment that is contained
within those boundaries. It is then necessary to describe and
document certain basic information about the system that will be
instrumental in developing the ultimate maintenance strategy for
that system.
The basic information that must be generated for the system
includes the following:
• Equipment Boundaries,
• Operating Context,
• Equipment Nameplate Data,
• General History about the System and Equipment,
• References that will be helpful in performing the analysis,
such as: operator manuals, maintenance manuals,
drawings, diagrams and schematics, codes and regulations,
photographs, and other miscellaneous references.
Step • This step defines and describes all of the possible ways that the
Perform a Failure Modes system can fail, and drills down to specific causes leading to those
and Effects Analysis failures and their associated effects. The process of generating
(FMEA) FMEA’s first defines the functions of the system, which then leads
to identifying the modes by which the system can fail to provide
those functions. The specific mechanisms by which those modes
of failure occur are called failure causes. The final step in the
FMEA analysis is to describe the “effects” of failure, which are the
physical events that take place when the failure happens.
Step Ž This step determines why each failure cause matters. It evaluates
Identify Consequences of the seriousness of the failure with the likelihood that the failure
Failure using a Risk will occur. The result is the rank of potential risk or consequence
Matrix associated with that failure cause.
In order to be comprehensive in the analysis, evaluation criteria
typically considers such factors as personnel safety, public health
and environmental issues, economic factors, foregone revenues
associated with lost opportunity, maintenance cost, and impact to
mission. Each failure cause is ranked into common categories of
risk (i.e. high, medium, low, no). User organizations are able to
define their own categories and use their customized terminology.
RCM Analysis Process Page 3

4. Reliability-Centered Maintenance Analysis
Step • This step uses a decision support diagram to determine the best
Determine Maintenance maintenance actions for mitigating the risk associated with each
Actions for Mitigating and every failure cause. In addition to identifying hidden failures,
Risk using a Decision this step will also determine policy requirements, and when there
Support Diagram are no cost effective and applicable actions that can mitigate risk, it
will identify redesign requirements as the last opportunity for
creating an acceptable situation. When the potential risk of failure
is acceptable and there are no cost effective actions, there will be
many times that a “run-to-failure” philosophy will be the
recommended approach.
The types of actions that are identified by the Decision Support
Diagram include the following:
• Time Directed (Health Restorative)
• Condition Monitoring
• Condition Directed
• Failure Finding
• Training Program
• Administrative Policies or Procedures
• Redesign
• No Scheduled Maintenance (Run-To-Failure)
Determine Task This step determines the best fr equency by which to perform the
Frequency maintenance actions identified in the above process. There are
several methods by which this frequency can be determined. If the
task is associated with a hidden failure, then there are
mathematical equations that will help calculate this frequency. For
all other tasks, the user must understand the nature of the failure as
it pertains to a common degradation curve (often known as the P-F
curve) in order to make the best frequency judgment.
There are advanced reliability calculations that can be performed
associated with failures for which accurate failure and consequence
data is available. These advanced reliability calculations normally
only apply to a very small number of equipment.
Regardless of the method used for determining the frequency of
the recommended action, the analyst should document the
reasoning behind the entire decision support process and how the
frequency was determined. The Failure Analysis Report displays
this information.
RCM Analysis Process Page 4

5. Reliability-Centered Maintenance Analysis
Step • This step provides justification for the resulting recommendations.
Generate a Cost Benefit It compares the cost of performing the maintenance actions with
Analysis the translated cost of risk to arrive at a financial benefit. This cost-
benefit analysis provides an excellent tool supporting the decision
making process for approving the recommendations.
Step ‘ This step generates the package of reports that a review team uses
Compile Results and to review all of the analysis information for technical content,
Generate Draft Reports financial impact, and ability to implement. It also includes an
For Review executive summary which highlights the key information of the
analysis.
Step ’ This step incorporates all of the comments and necessary
Final Report adjustments from the previous step and generates a final, complete
package of reports. Accompanying this final report should be a
description of how the analysis was created and a plan for
implementation.
Explanation of The entire set of reports for this analysis consists of 16
Reports individual reports, compiled into one comprehensive package. The
reports are organized into the following categories:
Overview Reports
• Executive Summary Report
Operating Context and Support Information
• Operating Context Report
• Analysis Boundaries Report
• General History Report
• Codes / Regulations Report
Analysis Reports
Failure Summary
• Failure Modes and Effects (FMEA) Tree Report
• Functions and Failure Modes Report
Failure Details
• Decision Support Diagram Response Summary Report
• Failure Analysis Report
Maintenance Action Information
• Summary of Maintenance Costs vs. Task Costs Report
• Summary of Maintenance Actions by Frequency report
• Summary of Maintenance Actions by Skill Code Report
• Details of Maintenance Actions Report
Appendices
• Drawings, diagrams and Photographs Report
• Risk Matrix Report
• List of Abbreviations Report
RCM Analysis Process Page 5

6. Reliability-Centered Maintenance Analysis
Executive Summary This report provides a high level summary of the project and the
analysis. It describes the team of people involved in the project,
the objective of the analysis, the scope of the analysis, a summary
of the results of the analysis, a summary of the recommendations, a
summary of the benefits associated with executing the
recommendations, and a description of the proposed
implementation plan.
Operating Context This report provides a description of the operating context
Report associated with the asset or system. It may also include a
description of the operating context of the hierarchical elements
above the asset or system being analyzed, such as the building,
area, plant or organization that is associated with this system.
General History This report provides a description of any known failures and
Report degradation issues with the system or asset. It also includes any
pertinent information that should be documented with the analysis
such as age of the equipment, operating behavior of the equipment,
and unique characteristics that should be documented, or anything
else that the analyst feels may be of value that contributes to an
improved understanding or current of past performance.
Codes / Regulations This report provides a description of all known codes and
Report regulations that should be documented which contribute toward
decisions associated with the recommendations. Such codes and
regulations should include federal, state, regional, municipal, and
local as well as any internal organizational policies and procedures.
OSHA and DOT and other related codes and regulations should
also be included in this report.
Failure Modes and This report provides a summary of the functions, failure modes
Effects (FMEA) and failure causes of the analysis. It also displays the risk ranking
Tree Report results of each failure cause.
Functions and Failure This report provides a detailed description of the functions,
Modes Report failure modes and failure causes. It includes a numbered listing of
each item so that they can easily be referenced throughout the
entire package of reports.
Decision Support This report provides a single page tabulation of the responses
Diagram Response that were documented for each failure cause while navigating
Summary Report through the Decision Support Diagram. It also provides a graphical
display of the Decision Support Diagram itself. This report
provides an appreciation for the overall flavor of the types of
maintenance action recommendations that were made for the
analysis.
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7. Reliability-Centered Maintenance Analysis
Failure Analysis This report provides a description of the maintenance action
Report recommendations that are made for each failure cause, as well as
documenting all of the Decision Support Diagram responses. In
addition, the report includes any comments associated with why or
how the Decision Support Diagram responses were made, as well
as the frequency of the recommended maintenance action and any
justification related to those frequency selections.
Summary of Failure This report provides a description of the risk mitigated and the
Costs vs. Task Costs benefit achieved as a result of the recommended maintenance
Report actions. It shows specifically which category of risk is mitigated,
and it provides a dollar savings associated with that mitigation. It
also shows the cost of performing the maintenance actions in order
to generate an entire savings associated with each and every failure
cause.
Summary of Maintenance This report provides a summary of all the maintenance actions that
Actions by Frequency are recommended. The actions are organized by frequency, and
Report for each action, it shows all the failures causes that are associated
with that action.
Summary of Maintenance This report provides a summary of all the maintenance actions that
Actions by Skill Code are recommended. The actions are organized by the skill code that
Report they are assigned to.
Details of Maintenance This report provides the details of each of the recommended
Actions Report maintenance actions.
Drawings, Diagrams and This report provides a printout of any drawings, diagrams,
Photographs Report photographs, or any other digitally captured file or document
associated with the asset or system.
Risk Matrix Report This report provides a description of the entire configuration of the
risk matrix. It includes all definitions of seriousness, likelihood of
failure, definitions of risk, and details about the risk matrix itself.
List of Abbreviations This report provides a listing and reference of the all the
Report abbreviations that are used in the entire package of reports.
RCM Analysis Process Page 7