RCM Rules of thumb

I thought I might just post some of the rules of thumb I have learned to use for RCM over the years.

I hope they are useful to you, feel free to add your own in the comments section at the end of the post.

Operating Context

Anything nearing a page or more is generally wrong, over technical and focused on the process description or functions instead of how the assets are used.

Functions

Anything less than 16 shows an analysis at too low a level, or a highly inexperienced facilitator.

Much more than (say) 28 functions means you are generally in too high and the analysis risks becoming superfluous.

Omitting functions is often a tool used by facilitators with a vested int erest in making the analysis agree with what they had developed in the past.

Failure Modes

An analysis filled with human errors and containing little in the way of engineering failures (Mech/Elect) generally indicates two things:

1. The analysis team is inexperienced and probably has no right being involved in the analysis from a technical standpoint.
2. Their is an incredible level of distrust between maintenance and operations which is being made worse by conducting the analysis without operations involvement and over sight. 

If you have more than (say) 30 failure modes for the primary function then you are going in at too high a level and risk an analysis that is superfluous and devoid or real ability to deliver results.

If you have doubts over the level of causality of the failure modes the question to ask is, "what causes that?" If there is a plausible answer that the team could deal with, then the analysis is at risk of being a waste of time.

Strategies

Strategies that are shoe horned in and do not comply with technical feasibility or effectiveness criteria are generally because the facilitators want them to be included and is unable to justify them on the logic. It means things are not headed in a good way.

Developing strategies is the best point to include corrective actions and develop the zero based budget, as well as the whole-of-life framework.

Starting out

Money generally speaks louder than risk. If you select assets where their are revenue improving or cost reduction opportunities then you are more likely to get corporate support, and more likely to gain the momentum required to turn a pilot into a project, and ultimately into "the way we do things here".

Most (not all) variations from SAE JA1011, the RCM standard, are due to the limitations of software sold by vwendors, as opposed to any true scientific or logical divergence. Your question needs to be - are they selling you their solution - or are they selling you your solution. 

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Not a Moubray-esque summary of rules of thumb - just a short note on some of the things I have noticed during my career running around doing these things. Feel free to add to it in the comments below.