There is a significant difference between repair and maintenance. A repair is reactive, it is done when something fails, is broken or needs to be fixed, whereas maintenance is proactive, and a measure to limit, or even stop something breaking. Reactive maintenance or repair is far more costly than proactive maintenance, and ideally, you want to be doing ample amounts of the correct maintenance to not have to do repairs.
Understanding the behavior of equipment over its full lifetime helps you understand the importance, and the need, for proactive maintenance.
The alternative would be to do nothing and leave your maintenance strategy to chance and only repair equipment when it breaks. This method is called reactive maintenance. Reactive maintenance is by far the least cost effective, and the most unsafe and inefficient method of maintenance a company can employ.
In our previous blog, Function and Failure Modes - Important Factors in Reliability Centered Maintenance, we looked at the first two factors Equipment Function, and Function Failure. Now let’s look at Failure Modes, their effects and consequences.
Equipment and manufacturing has been changing dramatically since the Industrial Revolution acted as a catalyst in the early 1800s, leading to evolution inmaintenance engineering. For example, re-thinking the idea of simply replacing worn out parts, with figuring out what would actually lengthen service life, like lubrication to reduce friction and wear and tear.
Asset Management is broadly defined as the management of a company’s property so it maximizes the return on investment. Asset Management is governed by certain standards, the newest of which are ISO 55000, ISO 55001 and ISO 55002, broken down below:
Reliability Centered Maintenance or RCM, is a process to determine the most efficient maintenance approach for a company, minimizing downtime and keeping physical assets running.
Originally a commercial aviation term, RCM was then adopted by the United States Military, later by the commercial nuclear power industry and finally by other commercial fields and industries years later.
Larry Johnson is the founder and president of Fractal Solutions. He is an internationally known consultant, lecturer, and trainer in asset management and equipment reliability programs.
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