Maintenance Planning – An essential part support system optimisation
Scheduled maintenance is a necessity for most modern equipment; it requires us to make a trade-off between the positive effect of the maintenance and its inevitable impact on equipment downtime and through life cost. The effective application of Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) ensures that the benefits always outweigh the costs. If RCM is not applied, or applied badly, for example if the all too common practice of reviewing the existing maintenance schedule is applied instead of a full systems review, there can be a considerable negative impact on long term costs and efficiencies. A full systems review requires a detailed analysis of the equipment in its operating context and the identification of all potential failure modes.
Aspîre applies RCM as part of a Continuous Improvement Review (CIR) to comply with statutory requirements (e.g. all MAA Regulatory Publication Regulatory Articles (MRP RA)). This process identifies all system Maintenance Significant Items (MSI) to be analysed revealing those preventative maintenance gaps at system or component level and dormant or hidden functionality often not identified in the master maintenance list.
In addition, the current Operating Context is considered taking into account all data inputs. The Aspîre full system review is the most appropriate and effective methodology for addressing all possible functional failures and probable engineering failure modes; it result in the optimal maintenance schedule as well as reducing the (airworthiness) risk to ‘As Low as Reasonably Practicable’ (ALARP).
RCM: an effective, proven methodology for optimising maintenance across all domains
The application of RCM to deliver maintenance optimisation isn’t limited to air platforms, it is just as relevant in the Land and Marine environment where Aspîre are again active.
Inherent within the maintenance planning capability is the application of Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA), Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), Maintenance Task Analysis (MTA) and Level of Repair Analysis (LoRA). Aspîre has also developed an advanced toolset (Astar) that facilitates the RCM analysis process and the cost effective production of maintenance schedules via the use of xml technologies.
Where organisation are looking to enhance their RCM capability, training courses are available from Aspîre PDT (Performance Driven Training) which can be supported by on-site mentoring by RCM practitioners. A full list of available courses and dates are available on the Aspîre PDT website and include various levels of RCM courses to fit the experience of the delegates.
Proven experience in maintenance planning from the experienced Aspîre team
Aspîre has an established team of RCM facilitators and analysts applying the Aspîre RCM methodology to our customers’ businesses and we are contracted to provide RCM support to the UK MoD and Defence Primes. When applied effectively and efficiently RCM will reduce Through Life Cost, increase availability and improve system safety. Our team at Aspîre has extensive experience across all three operating domains addressing both new procurements and in-service systems.
To find out more about how we can apply our knowledge and experience to benefit your organisation, contact Aspîre today on 01827 723 820.
We welcome your questions