Economic considerations underlying the adoption of reliability-centred maintenance

Despite suggestions which claim substantial benefits can be realized by embracing reliability-centred maintenance (RCM), serious difficulties have been encountered during its application. In many industries, including electricity transmission, implementation is forestalled by an inability to obtain quantitative results from the pilot study phase. This inability can, in part, be attributed to a general failure by would-be practitioners to suitably address the fundamental argument surrounding the introduction; whether RCM will, or will not, prove economically beneficial. To ensure profitable RCM applications, a rigorous financial evaluation must serve as a prelude to implementation; by regarding its introduction as an investment decision, by identifying, and subsequently quantifying, the true benefits of RCM, more successful applications can ensue. Such an evaluation framework, developed by the National Grid Company ple (NGC) and the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), designed to address the shortcomings of traditional methods of RCM appraisal, is described