In this post, we explore how a well-implemented Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) program can bring your company a wide range of benefits.
A well-implemented Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) program can bring your company a wide range of benefits. RCM focuses on maintenance planning. In other words, making sure that systems or processes are operating efficiently and effectively. This is a critical practice that can be costly and dangerous if not properly addressed. In this article, we will cover seven benefits an effective RCM program can help you achieve. Furthermore, we will share tips from industry experts from Shell and Cenosco on how to get an effective RCM program up and running.
The Benefits of Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM)
1. Setting Realistic Expectations
A well-implemented RCM program can help set realistic expectations on various levels. Since it will provide you with insights on the maintenance needed throughout your equipment’s lifecycle, you can create an optimal maintenance plan. In return, this also keeps your budgeting activities realistic and keeps you ahead of the curve for planning necessary replacements down the line.
2. Providing Insights on Business Risks
Your RCM program will provide a lot of data, especially on risk levels. If this information is used correctly, it can be useful for a variety of tasks. In particular, it can help you identify where you need to increase or decrease your maintenance, based on risk. This is an important practice that can help you make sure that you focus your attention on the right processes and equipment. This can have a significant impact in larger processes, where it is not realistic to invest the same amount of time and budget for maintenance on each part of the system.
3. Managing Environmental, Health, and Safety Risks
There are various benefits related to health and safety. For example, a well-implemented RCM can reduce your company’s carbon footprint. It will also help reduce health hazards for your employees. By effectively monitoring and maintaining your equipment and processes, you prevent leaks that could harm the environment and other failures which could be catastrophic for your team.
4. Improving Relationships
If your maintenance plan adheres to the company’s mission and vision, then you can expect to see improved relationships with clients, neighbors, and even the government.
5. Providing Quantitative Risk Reduction Data
By comparing the risk reduction with the cost of maintenance, the value of preventive maintenance can be quantitatively assessed. This is valuable data that you can use for a range of further analyses.
6. Preventing Loss of Essential Knowledge
RCM requires the documentation of degradation in a scenario, which results in employees gaining a better understanding as to why certain maintenance is needed. This helps prevent important knowledge from being lost, while also educating your staff further.
7. Overall Cost Reductions
Through identifying where your efforts need to be focused, you avoid overspending on unnecessary maintenance, while still preventing costly malfunctions and keeping your employees safe.
Industry Expert Tips to Implement an Effective RCM Program
We brought together two subject matter experts, Dilip Morje (Reliability Engineer, Projects and Technology at Shell) and Harry van Teijlingen (Reliability Engineer at Cenosco), to deep dive into the value of Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) for a webinar. You can submit the form below to watch the full webinar now, or continue reading for a quick overview.
Soure: Cenosco