Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM)

Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) remains one of the key tools in the asset manager s arsenal in the effort to develop strategic advantages. As indicated by the quote at the top of this page, the method is one of the fundamental elements of any asset management strategy and provides a base for future quantum leaps in asset performance. When implemented correctly, RCM forms an engine room for driving continuous improvement initiatives. Despite widespread knowledge of its existence, however, it remains widely misunderstood. The intention of this chapter is to give a brief overview of the method and then analyze how its success could be measured.

The origins of RCM have now become an integral part of the evolution of the asset management discipline. RCM emerged out of a report published by the U.S. Defense Department in 1978. Stanley Nowlan and Howard Heap, both of United Airlines, wrote a report called Reliability-Centered Maintenance. The benefits of this organized system were immediately recognized throughout the maintenance management industries of the world. Today, unfortunately, there are a number of methods that are called RCM which have little to do with the original concepts within the report. In some cases these methods are even dangerous.

For this reason primarily, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), through a group of pioneers and leaders in RCM, developed...