1. Home
  2. TRID
  3. View Record
https://www.trb.org/AnnualMeeting/Registration.aspx

RELIABILITY-CENTERED MAINTENANCE

This paper describes a logical discipline that enables the development of efficient scheduled (i.e. preventive) maintenance programs for complex equipment, and the ongoing management of such programs. Such programs are called reliability-centered maintenance programs because they are centered on achieving the inherent safety and reliability capabilities of equipment at a minimum cost. There are only four types of tasks in a scheduled maintenance program. Mechanics can be asked to: (1) Inspect an Item to detect a potential functional 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 operating crew. Two or more types of tasks are applicable to some equipment items. There are other items to which only one type of task is applicable. And there are many items to which no type of preventive maintenance task is applicable. Very often a task which is applicable is not effective and should not be included in the scheduled maintenance program. The problem, therefore, is to determine which types of maintenance tasks, if any, should be applied to an item. The reliability-centered maintenance program designer solves this problem by using decision diagrams to lead to quick, consistent and correct identification of the type of maintenance task that is both applicable and effective for each significant item of the equipment. The decision diagrams are similar in concept to those used by the air transport industry since 1968 (and described in Air Transport Association publications MSG-1 and MSG-2) but are more fully developed to enable more complete and accurate analyses. This discussion is based upon recent developments which have occurred during the preparation of two books, one on the philosophy and theory of reliability-centered maintenance and the other on application of the theory to the design of maintenance programs for specific types of complex equipment. /Author/

  • Supplemental Notes:
    • IEEE Reliability and Maintainability, Annual Symposium, Proceedings, Los Angeles, California, January 24-26, 1978.
  • Corporate Authors:

    Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

    3 Park Avenue, 17th Floor
    New York, NY  United States  10016-5997
  • Authors:
    • NOWLAN, F S
    • Heap, H F
  • Publication Date: 1978

Media Info

  • Features: References;
  • Pagination: 7 p.

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00172453
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: Conf Paper
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Apr 26 1978 12:00AM