Best Reasons to Use RCM - Optimizing Lean Manufacturing

 Publicado el 31 de julio de 2015

Carlo Odoardi, MEng

The objective of this post is to explain why RCM is a complementary - not a competitive
– service offering that Operational Efficiency managers will benefit from. In fact, using
RCM is arguably the best tool to achieve optimal cost-effectiveness in asset-intensive
businesses[1]. Besides the tremendous cost-savings benefits RCM offers, it also
inherently focuses on reducing or eliminating the consequences of two other important
aspects worth considering in any Lean program – Safety and the Environment.

As we know, Lean Manufacturing and, of late, Lean Maintenance target the identification
and elimination of waste through continuous improvement. The problem of under-
maintaining physical assets is often addressed through loss elimination and continuous
improvement programs. The problem of over-maintaining by comparison receives little
attention. Left unattended, the over-maintaining of physical assets silently and
continuously squanders precious maintenance resources (time, tools, parts and labor),
reduces production availability and can actually cause failure to occur – sometimes
catastrophically! – because we intervene when we should not. These problems of under
and over maintaining plant equipment can be resolved through the proper use of RCM
which optimizes PM programs.

A good definition for Lean Manufacturing is "A systematic approach to identifying and
eliminating waste in business processes through continuous improvement”. Waste can
be further defined as “Anything that adds no value to the manufacturing process”.

Lean Maintenance is all about eliminating waste from the maintenance process. Some
estimates are between 18% and 30% of every dollar spent on maintenance is wasted[2].
Others have reported that maintenance operations may be wasting up to 25 percent of
available labor and that up to 60 percent of this waste result from activities that add no
value to the performance of the plant[3].

Applying the categories of waste identified for Lean Manufacturing to Lean Maintenance,
results in the following common sources of waste in manufacturing maintenance that
RCM can help eliminate:

1. Overproduction –

 Lean Manufacturing: Producing product quantity in excess of requirement or

demand. RCM requires that the Production Department complies to set production
quantity ‘Performance Standards’ established by Subject Matter Expert (SME)
groups in RCM analyses.
 Lean Maintenance: Performing preventive and predictive maintenance activities
at intervals more often than optimal. RCM requires that the wear-prone assets be
 replaced/restored before end-of-life (not sooner), condition of complex assets be
inspected at 1/2 their P-F interval (not sooner & certainly, not later), & protective
devices be tested for functionality at their Failure-Finding Interval (not sooner nor
later).

2. Inventory –

 Lean Manufacturing: Producing levels of end product or work in progress above

the optimum. RCM requires that the Storeroom & Inventory Control complies to
set production quantity ‘Performance Standards’ established by SME groups in
RCM analyses.
 Lean Maintenance: Overstocking maintenance spares with slow moving parts and
secret inventories. RCM analysis groups uncovers ‘emotional spares’ stashed away
- "Just in case" - due to lack of confidence in the Storeroom, etc.

3. Waiting -

 Lean Manufacturing: Delays in the production process. RCM functions define what
performance standard minimum and maximum delay times are tolerable in
production cycles.
 Lean Maintenance: Waiting for tools, parts, documentation, transportation,
etc. RCM requires that all necessary tools, parts, documentation are all pre-
planned BEFORE the asset is operated.

4. Transportation –

 Lean Manufacturing: Transporting end product or work in progress

unnecessarily. RCM requires that production logistics are pre-planned BEFORE the
asset is operated.
 Lean Maintenance: Time spent walking, running, driving, and flying associated
with maintenance work. RCM requires that maintenance logistics are pre-planned
BEFORE the asset is operated.

5. Motion –

 Lean Manufacturing: Unnecessary motion of workers, assets or materials

associated with production. RCM reviews failure effects specifying exact sequence
of events leading to Human Error and unnecessary actions.
 Lean Maintenance: PM performed that adds no value to the prevention of
downtime. RCM requires peer groups validate all Original Equipment
Manufacturers (OEM) and current PMs are both technically feasible and worth
doing.

6. Processing–

 Lean Manufacturing: Redundant steps or activities in the production

process. RCM identifies required Standard Operating & Maintenance Procedures
 (SOPs & SMPs) exist and are accurate and assigns them for creating or updating,
respectively, if not.
 Lean Maintenance: Opportunity to improve the quality of the maintenance
function. RCM reviews all analysis asset PM, PdM & Failure-Finding Interval (FFI)
tasks for correct frequency, proper description, trade done by, etc.

7. Defects –

 Lean Manufacturing: Producing defective products. RCM requires that products

are made to the desired performance standards of the manufacturing system – all
else constitutes failure.
 Lean Maintenance: Asset failure caused by under-maintaining assets or
maintenance rework. RCM requires all analysis assets be considered for a PM, PdM
or FFI task (proactive) rather than be allowed to run-to-failure (reactive).

What is RCM?

“RCM is a process used to determine what must be done to ensure that any physical asset
continues to do what its users want it to do in its present operation context.”[4] The goal
of RCM is to avoid or reduce the CONSEQUENCES of equipment failure - not necessarily
to avoid the equipment failures. If we correctly apply RCM to identify the most suitable
and effective maintenance tasks to ensure the performance of a system or component,
it will lead to optimal Operational Efficiency/Effectiveness from the perspective of Safety,
Environmental and Economic consequences. In other words, a truly LEAN organization!

What is the History of RCM?

In the 1960's, the Civil Aviation industry introduced wide body aircraft such as the 747,
DC-10, and the L-1011. Operating these new aircraft with traditional maintenance
methods led the airline carriers to the conclusion that the maintenance philosophies
being used were inappropriate and unsustainable – many times with deadly
consequences. Early maintenance programs were based on the premise that everything
had a life. They believed that periodic overhauls were essential to sustain performance
and reliability. The FAA and the commercial aviation industry formed a group named the
MSG led by Stanley Nowlan and Howard Heap to study the preventive maintenance
approach used at the time. The conclusion was that, in many cases, fixed-interval
overhauls had little or no effect on overall reliability and safety. Actually, in most cases it
caused more failures than it prevented – “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it!”

Since then, RCM has been used very successfully and extensively around the world.
However, the term ‘RCM’ has been unfairly associated with a number of processes that
differ significantly from the original and fail to achieve the goals of Nowlan and
Heap. Some are counterproductive and downright dangerous. Fortunately, before John
Moubray’s untimely death in 2004, he was able to establish the SAE Standard
JA1011/1012. This responded to the growing international demand for a standard that
sets out the criteria that any process must comply with in order to be called ‘RCM’.
Briefly, the RCM process involves the following:

1. Defining systems functions, performance standards and system analysis boundary

2. Determining the ways or 'states' how the system functions may fail
3. Determining the most reasonably likely root causes (modes) of failure
4. Assessing the results, effects and consequences of the failures
5. Identification of suitable maintenance tasks that are technically feasible and
worth doing by means of a decision-logic flowchart to choose one of the following
for each failure mode:Predictive (PdM) or condition-based maintenance (CBM) –
look for potential failures
6. Preventive maintenance (PM) – fixed interval, time or usage based, restorations
or replacements
7. Failure finding interval tasks (FFI) – function tests that look for multiple (i.e.
‘Hidden’) failures
8. No scheduled maintenance – Classic ‘Run to Failure’ but Planned rather than
Unplanned
9. Redesigns or 1-time changes to the physical configuration of the system, (Re-
)Training of personnel and/or to the way it is operated (SOPs) and/or maintained
(SMPs)

What Does RCM Achieve?

1. Greater safety and environmental integrity

 Personal / Process safety and Community / Societal consequences (i.e. land /

water / air pollution) are considered before the effects on economic operations
(i.e. profit or revenue)

2. Improved equipment operating performance

 Typical economic factors include: more up-time, more machine/system output,

higher product quality, better customer service, lower operating costs

3. Greater maintenance cost-effectiveness

 Most companies perform 'Cost Cutting Maintenance' by looking at the direct cost
and reducing it without considering the impact on safety or production. RCM's
focus is to ensure the maintenance budget is spent in the right place/area where
it will do the most benefit and have the greatest impact. In other words, to reduce
the Unit Cost of Maintenance!

4. Reduced cycle time and non value-added activity

 Focuses on the 'safe minimum' work necessary to meet operational objectives

5. Longer useful life of expensive capital equipment

  Extends asset life-cycles by considering condition-based/predictive maintenance
tasks before scheduled restoration and replacement tasks

6. Clearer view of capital & operational resource requirements

 Defines what critical spares, tools & labor are required for planning & scheduling
throughout the assets’ life-cycle

7. Catalyst for organizational culture change

 RCM's objective is to move from a reactive or ‘break-fix’ attitude to a proactive or

‘consequence mitigation’ mentality/mindset

8. Captures the knowledge of the aging workforce

 RCM harvests and produces a comprehensive and fully documented

Management Of Change (MOC) record of maintenance and operations
requirements for all the company’s assets before craftspeople retire. After all,
who paid them for their knowledge (good AND bad) of your plant assets?
Shouldn't you retain the rights to that 'legacy' knowledge so future generations
of company employees may benefit? This is true 'Responsible Stewardship'.

9. More knowledgeable, motivated, satisfied staff

 Fosters a 'collegiality' spirit motivating people to learn more and behave

effectively in teams

10. Creates an audit trail for Safety, Environmental and Quality

 Regulators and management can readily track performance and measure/report

compliance, etc.

11. Enables continuous improvement of Operational Efficiency/Effectiveness program

 Forms the foundation for a standardized, living, sustainable program

12. Reduced business insurance costs

 Insurance companies will reduce premiums as a result of Reliability Improvement

Programs because it decreases their exposure to and organizations operational
risk

These results are only achievable if the RCM analysis is conducted by a competent RCM
facilitator. Without asset reliability, your efforts to achieve lean, cut costs, improve on
safety and environmental performance will be compromised.

FINAL NOTE
In his book on Lean Maintenance, one of the most sought after experts in the
Maintenance and Reliability field, Joel Levitt, has this to say about RCM:

“…RCM is the most rigorous method we have to analyze a maintenance event and come up
with definitive answers about tasking, frequency, and redesign.”

Levitt goes on to say that:

“…RCM offers Lean Maintenance efforts a level of rigor not available in other programs. It
also offers mental models of maintenance beyond anything else. We can learn a great deal
from a systematic study of RCM. Keep in mind, RCM is one of the most powerful ways to
improve maintenance because it addresses the core of the customer need, that is, an
increasingly reliable system. The technology is an outgrowth of deep investigations into
reliability that were performed on behalf of aircraft manufacturers and airlines.[5]”

Carlo Odoardi, M.Eng.

Principal Member, The Aladon Network

COCO NET Inc. (http://www.thealadonnetwork.com/)

Tel: (905) 536-0865

Email: carlo.odoardi@cogeco.ca

References:

[1] Ricky Smith, Bruce Hawkins, “Lean Maintenance – Reduce Costs, Improve Quality and
Increase Market Share”, ©2004, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Burlington, MA USA

[2] K. Bever, “Enterprise Systems Integration: Opportunities & Obstacles Developing Plant
Asset Management Systems”, March 13, 2000 (Presented at National Manufacturing
Week, Chicago, Illinois)

[3] Terrence O'Hanlon, “Reliability Goes Nonfat With Lean Maintenance”, February 2002,
ReliabilityWeb.com, http://www.mt-online.com/current/0202_leanmaint.html

[4] John Moubray, “Reliability-Centered Maintenance”, 2nd Ed., © 1999, Butterworth-

Heinemann, New York, USA

[5] Joel Levitt, “Lean Maintenance”, © 2008, Industrial Press Inc., New York, USA