Maintenance Engineering: Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM)

Maintenance Engineering
Resource Person: SADIYA MUSHTAQ
Reliability Centered Maintenance

(RCM)
Reliability Centered Maintenance
(RCM)
Reliability centered maintenance (RCM) is a systematic process used to

determine what has to be accomplished to ensure that any physical
facility is able to continuously meet its designed functions in its current
operating context.
RCM Purpose
RCM Goals
Some of the important goals of RCM are as follows:
1. To develop design-associated priorities that can facilitate PM.

2. To gather information useful for improving the design of items with
proven unsatisfactory, inherent reliability.
3. To develop PM-related tasks that can reinstate reliability and safety to
their inherent levels in the event of equipment or system deterioration.
4. To achieve the above goals when the total cost is minimal.
RCM Principles
1. RCM is system/equipment focused.
2. Safety and economics drive RCM.
3. RCM is function-oriented.
4. Design limitations are acknowledged by RCM.
5. RCM is reliability-centered.
RCM Principles
6. An unsatisfactory condition is defined as a failure by RCM.
7. RCM is a living system.
8. Three types of maintenance tasks along with run-to-failure are

acknowledged by RCM.
 Failure-finding, Time-directed, And Condition-directed
 Run-to-failure is a conscious decision in RCM
9. RCM tasks must be effective. RCM uses a logic tree to screen

maintenance tasks.
10. RCM tasks must be applicable.

RCM Process And Associated
Questions
1. What are the functions and associated expected levels of the facility
performance in its current operating context?
2. How might it fail to meet its assigned functions?
3. What are the reasons for each functional failure or failure mode?
4. What are the effects of each failure?
5. How does each failure matter?
6. What remedial measures should be taken to prevent or predict each failure?
7. What measures should be taken in the event of not finding a suitable
proactive task?
RCM Process Steps
1.
• Identify important items with respect to maintenance
2.
• Obtain appropriate failure data
3.
• Develop fault tree analysis data
4.
• Apply decision logic to critical failure modes
5.
• Classify maintenance requirements
6.
• Implement RCM decisions
7.
• Apply sustaining-engineering on the basis of field experience
RCM Process Steps
The basic RCM process is composed of the following steps:
1. Identify important items with respect to maintenance. Usually, maintenance

important items are identified using techniques such as failure, mode, effects,
and criticality analysis (FMECA) and fault tree analysis (FTA).
2. Obtain appropriate failure data. In determining occurrence probabilities and
assessing criticality, the availability of data on part failure rate, operator error
probability, and inspection efficiency is essential. These types of data come
from field experience, generic failure databanks, etc.
3. Develop fault tree analysis data. Probabilities of occurrence of fault events—
basic, intermediate, and top events—are calculated as per combinatorial
properties of the logic elements in the fault tree.
RCM Process Steps
4. Apply decision logic to critical failure modes. The decision logic is designed to lead,
by asking standard assessment questions, to the most desirable preventive
maintenance task combinations. The same logic is applied to each crucial mode of
failure of each maintenance-important item.
5. Classify maintenance requirements. Maintenance requirements are categorized into
three classifications: on-condition maintenance requirements, condition-monitoring
maintenance requirements, and hard-time maintenance requirements.
6. Implement RCM decisions. Task frequencies and intervals are set/enacted as part of
the overall maintenance strategy or plan.
7. Apply sustaining-engineering on the basis of field experience. Once the
system/equipment start operating, the real-life data begin to accumulate. At that time,
one of the most urgent steps is to re-evaluate all RCM-associated default decisions.
RCM Components
Predictive Testing and Inspection
Technologies
 Predictive testing and inspection (PTI) is an important component of the RCM.
 This section describes the PTI technologies in detail. These technologies may
be described as a variety of approaches used to determine item/equipment
condition for the purpose of estimating the most effective time to schedule
maintenance.
 These technologies include intrusive and nonintrusive approaches in addition to

using process parameters to assess overall condition of equipment.
Predictive Testing and Inspection
Technologies
Six PTI technologies/approaches are described below.
1. Vibration monitoring and analysis

2. Electrical condition monitoring
3. Thermography
4. Lubricant and wear particle analysis
5. Passive (airborne) ultrasonic
6. Nondestructive testing
1. Vibration monitoring and analysis
 One of the most widely used PTI approaches, it is useful in assessing the condition of
rotating equipment and structural stability in a system.
 The techniques of vibration monitoring and analysis include spectrum analysis,

torsional vibration, waveform analysis, shock pulse analysis, and multichannel
vibration analysis.
 Vibration monitoring effectiveness depends on such factors as analyst’s ability,

complexity of equipment, sensor mounting, resolution, and data collection methods.
 The vibration monitoring and analysis approach is applicable to items such as engines,
shafts, motors, pumps, gearboxes, bearings, turbines, and compressors.
2. Electrical condition monitoring
 This includes various technologies and approaches that provide a comprehensive
system evaluation.
 By monitoring important electrical parameters it provides useful data to detect and

rectify electrical related faults such as phase imbalance, insulation breakdown, and high
resistance connections.
 Electrical faults are costly and present safety concerns because in systems they are
seldom visible. Table 6.2 lists several electrical condition monitoring methods.
 These methods can monitor equipment such as electrical motors, electrical distribution
cabling, generators, electrical distribution transformers, electrical distribution
switchgear and controllers, and distribution systems. The specific electrical condition
monitoring methods for these six types of equipment are presented in Table 6.3.
3. Thermography
 Infrared thermography (IRT) may be defined as the application of infrared
detection instruments for identifying pictures of temperature differences
(thermogram).
 The test instruments used include noncontact, thermal measurement, line-of-

sight, and imaging systems.
 The noncontact nature of the IRT technique makes it particularly attractive for
identifying hot/cold spots in energized electrical equipment, large surface areas
such as boilers and building walls, and so on.
4. Lubricant and wear particle analysis
 Three reasons for performing this type of analysis are:

 To assess wear condition of equipment
 To assess the lubricant condition
 To assess if the lubricant is contaminated.
 The test used for the above purposes will depend on factors such as cost,
sensitivity and accuracy of the test results, and the equipment construction and
application. A list of standard analytical tests is presented in Table 6.4
5. Passive (airborne) ultrasonic
 Airborne ultrasonic devices (AVD) function within the frequency spectrum of
20 to 100 kHz and heterodyne the high frequency signal to the audible level so
that the operator is able to hear changes in noise associated with leaks,
discharges, etc.
 Two typical examples are bearing ring and housing resonant frequency
excitation due to inadequate lubrication and minor defects.
 Some specific equipment application examples are: heat exchangers, boilers,
and bearings.
 One of the main limitations of the airborne ultrasonic (AUs) technique is that
AUs are subjective and dependent on perceived differences in noises.
 This technique can determine material properties and quality of manufacture for
high-value parts/assemblies without damaging the product or its function.
 Usually, nondestructive testing (NDT) is practiced when approaches such as

destructive testing are cost-prohibitive or ineffective.
 NDT is associated with welding of large high-stress parts such as pressure vessels
and structural supports.
 In addition, oil refineries and chemical plants use NDT methods to assure
pressure boundaries’ integrity for systems processing of volatile substances.
NDT techniques include:
1. Ultrasonic testing (imaging)
2. Magnetic particle testing
3. Dye penetrant inspections
4. Hydrostatic testing
5. Eddy current testing
6. Radiography.
It would incorporate factors such as the technique to be used, number and

orientation of samples, frequency, location, the failure mode each sample should
address, and the information to be gained from each sample.
 The interval between inspections and the location of sampling points are
two of the more difficult variables to address.
 In the case of time interval between inspections, in establishing sample

intervals or frequency, the factors that must be examined include system
operating cycle, type of contained substance, major corrosion
mechanisms, historical failure rate, expected corrosion rate, proximity of
existing material to minimum wall thickness, erosion mechanisms, and
expected erosion rate.
Similarly in the case of location of sampling points, some of the guidelines for
locating NDT sampling points are as follows:
 Welds, high stress fasteners, and stressed areas
 Areas susceptible to cavitation
 Dissimilar metals’ junctions
 Areas with identified accelerated corrosion/erosion mechanisms
 Abrupt changes in direction of flow (elbows) and changes in pipe diameter
 “Dead-heads”
RCM Advantages and Reasons for
its Failures
 The application of RCM has many benefits, including improvement in safety and
environmental protection, improvement in product quality, improvement in the useful
life of costly items, a maintenance database, improvement in teamwork, improvement
in maintenance cost-effectiveness, greater motivation of individuals, and higher plant
availability and reliability.
 Occasionally, application of RCM has resulted in failure. Some reasons for its failure
were: an analysis conducted at too low a level, too much emphasis placed on failure
data, the application was superfluous or hurried, computers were used to drive the
process, only one individual was assigned to apply RCM, only the maintenance
department on its own applied RCM, and manufacturers/ equipment vendors were
asked to apply RCM on their own.

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Maintenance Engineering

Resource Person: SADIYA MUSHTAQ

Reliability Centered Maintenance

Reliability centered maintenance (RCM) is a systematic process used to

Some of the important goals of RCM are as follows:

1. To develop design-associated priorities that can facilitate PM.

1. RCM is system/equipment focused.

2. Safety and economics drive RCM.

4. Design limitations are acknowledged by RCM.

7. RCM is a living system.

8. Three types of maintenance tasks along with run-to-failure are

9. RCM tasks must be effective. RCM uses a logic tree to screen

10. RCM tasks must be applicable.

1. Identify important items with respect to maintenance. Usually, maintenance

 These technologies include intrusive and nonintrusive approaches in addition to

1. Vibration monitoring and analysis

 The techniques of vibration monitoring and analysis include spectrum analysis,

 Vibration monitoring effectiveness depends on such factors as analyst’s ability,

 By monitoring important electrical parameters it provides useful data to detect and

 The test instruments used include noncontact, thermal measurement, line-of-

 Three reasons for performing this type of analysis are:

 Usually, nondestructive testing (NDT) is practiced when approaches such as

It would incorporate factors such as the technique to be used, number and

 In the case of time interval between inspections, in establishing sample

 Welds, high stress fasteners, and stressed areas

 Areas susceptible to cavitation

 Dissimilar metals’ junctions

 Areas with identified accelerated corrosion/erosion mechanisms

 Abrupt changes in direction of flow (elbows) and changes in pipe diameter

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