Reliability
Centered Maintenance Software
RCMCost Version 4.0
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New Features for RCMCost
Version 4 can be found here.
RCMCost is
a 32-bit application which runs under Microsoft Windows and provides
the data management, reporting and analytical facilities for developing
and maintaining a Reliability-Centred Maintenance (RCM) programme. These
facilities include :
- Graphically constructed system hierarchy diagram
- Failure Mode Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA)
- Identification of critical failure modes
- Advice for decision making based on performance simulation
- Redundancy modelling
- Weibull analysis of field data
- Optimisation plots for alternative maintenance strategies
- Group maintenance modelling
- Flexible reporting providing customised worksheets
- Copy and paste facilities for data transfer
- Import/Export to databases and spreadsheets
RCM is a procedure
for determining maintenance strategies based on reliability techniques
and encompasses well-known analysis methods such as Failure Mode Effects
and Criticality Analysis (FMECA). RCM procedures take into account the
prime objectives of a maintenance programme :
- Minimise Costs
- Meet Safety and Environmental Goals
- Meet Operational Goals
The RCM process begins with a failure
mode and effects analysis which identifies the critical plant failure
modes in a systematic and structured manner. The process then requires
the examination of each critical failure mode to determine the optimum
maintenance policy to reduce the severity of each failure. The chosen
maintenance strategy must take into account cost, safety, environmental
and operational consequences. The effects of redundancy, spares costs,
maintenance crew costs, equipment ageing and repair times must be
taken into account along with many other parameters.
Once optimal maintenance policies have
been recorded the RCM process provides system performance predictions
and costs, expected spares requirements and maintenance crew manning
levels. The RCM process may be used to develop a living strategy with
the plant model being updated when new data is available or design changes
take place.
The RCMCost computer program provides the
full framework for building the RCM model to represent your plant. It
provides facilities for storing RCM data and analysing maintenance alternatives.
It provides simulation algorithms to predict lifetime maintenance costs,
spares costs and usage, maintenance crew manning requirements, safety
and environmental risks and operational performance. In addition RCMCost
identifies critical failure modes and compares the cost, safety and
operational benefits of different maintenance intervals. The program
is designed to combine well-established reliability prediction techniques
with engineering experience. The program does not decide on which maintenance
policy or combination of policies to adopt. Instead it advises the individual
user or workgroup based on the operational data provided. The program
may be used to filter the most critical item (component) failures before
detailed maintenance decisions are made.
RCMCost provides interactive graphical
facilities for constructing a block diagram representing the logical
connection between the sub-systems and items constituting the overall
plant or system. This diagram may be extended to represent critical
functions, their functional failures and their causes (engineering failure
modes). System effects are identified which contribute to outage and
operational costs as well as safety and environmental risks. The relative
severity of different effects is identified by the user. This structured
method for identifying failure modes and linking them with their effects
on the system is known as Failure Mode Effects and Criticality Analysis
(FMECA) and is a powerful analysis process in its own right. RCMCost
allows flexible user-defined reports to be produced highlighting the
most important contributors to operational costs and safety and environmental
risks.
RCMCost provides a database facility for
storing failure data, maintenance parameters, spares information and
maintenance crew details. This data is used to provide advisory information
based on simulation models incorporated in the program. For example,
different maintenance intervals may be compared for their effect on
maintenance and operational costs. The user may then record the decision
on which maintenance policy (if any) to adopt. This decision may include
combinations of :
Once the maintenance policy has been decided
for all the critical system components RCMCost will provide predicted
spares requirements, maintenance crew manning levels, system costs and
operational performance data.
As new data is gathered during the plant
lifetime or system design changes are made RCM related data may be easily
modified and maintenance procedures may be adjusted to reflect the living
status of the plant.
RCMCost supports RCM standards such as
MSG-3 and MIL-STD-2173(AS) by providing a structured method for entering
FMECA data and simulating the effects of different maintenance strategies
on cost, safety the environment and operational issues. The RCM decision
making process is therefore substantially enhanced by the ability to
quickly simulate the effects of preventive tasks, inspection tasks and
condition monitoring taken into account ageing, hidden failures, maintenance
crew costs, spares costs and availability etc. RCM decision diagrams
are utilised in MSG-3 and MIL-STD-2173(AS) to provide a logical process
for workgroups to determine what type of maintenance strategy to adopt
for a given failure cause. The diagrams ask questions which often require
analysis before a conclusion may be reached. In addition these diagrams
follow a sequential process which may not be appropriate in identifying
the optimal task or combinations of tasks for a given failure cause.
However, RCMCost provides the full flexibility required to allow users
to quickly compare the effects of different practical maintenance strategies
and condition monitoring using well-known scientific methods.
RCMCost may be used to produce reports
similar to those in the MSG-3 and MIL-STD-2173(AS) standards. Reports
may contain FMECA data, maintainability data, RCM decision data etc.
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Program Functionality