Reliability-Centered Maintenance

Abstract
This book explains basic concepts, principles, definitions, and applications of a logical discipline for development of efficient scheduled (preventive) maintenance programs for complex equipment, and the on-going management of such programs. Such programs are called reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) programs because they are centered on achieving the inherent safety and reliability capabilities of equipment at a minimum cost. A U.S. Department of Defense objective in sponsoring preparation of this document was that it serve as a guide for application to a wide range of different types of military equipment. There are essentially only four types of tasks in a scheduled mainenance program: (1) Inspect an item to detect a potential failure; (2) Rework an item before a maximum permissible age is exceeded; (3) Discard an item before a maximum permissible age is exceeded; (4) Inspect an item to find failures that have already occurred but were not evident to the equipment operating crew. A central problem addressed in this book is how to determine which types of scheduled maintenance tasks, if any, should be applied to an item and how frequently assigned tasks should be accomplished. The use of a decision diagram as an aid in this analysis is illustrated. The net result is a structured, systematic blend of experience, judgment, and operational data/ information to identify and anlayze which type of maintnence task is both applicable and effective for each significant item as it relates to a particular type of equipment.

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