on Maintenance Reliability

RCM in a Nutshell | Free RCM Overview Course – Understand the RCM Process, what RCM (really ) is, How to Apply it Properly, and What Can Be Achieved

Welcome to Hartley Whitney, England—a charming town dating back to the 12th century, whose enduring beauty inspires our discussion on Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM). In this first unit of our RCM overview course, we explore the pressing issues that gave birth to RCM over 50 years ago in the commercial airline industry. Discover how catastrophic failures led to groundbreaking research, revealing that equipment failure behaves in unexpectedly random patterns, contrary to the then-prevailing belief that failures mainly occurred due to aging. This revelation paved the way for the development of RCM principles, fundamentally changing maintenance strategies to better align with reality. Join me in this picturesque setting as we delve into the history and transformation brought about by RCM.

At the SMRP Conference, a panel discussion about workforce development — and the value of college versus the trades — reminded me of a lesson I’ll never forget.

When everyone around me said I had to go to college, my mother said something that changed the course of my life forever.

In this story, I share a moment from high school that taught me the power of intuition, trust, and having someone who believes in you enough to say, “It’s okay to wait.”

What is Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM)? Learn the basics of RCM in under 90 seconds. This short explainer covers the 7 steps of the RCM process:

1. Functions
2. Functional Failures
3. Failure Modes
4. Failure Effects
5. Failure Consequences
6. Proactive Maintenance and Intervals
7. Default Strategies.

What makes Failure Effects so powerful in Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM)?

In this video, I dive into step four of the RCM process: writing Failure Effects. I explain how these “little stories” of what happens if we do nothing to predict or prevent a failure mode are essential for assessing consequences—whether they impact safety, the environment, operations, or have non-operational consequences.

I also share a real-world example from the nuclear industry, where identifying specific operating restrictions in a failure effect uncovered an opportunity to improve reliability by rethinking how procedures impact operations.

Writing failure effects isn’t just about documenting failure—it’s about uncovering opportunities to improve your reliability.

Can Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) reduce proactive maintenance? The answer is: It depends.

In this video, I share real-world examples of organizations that reduced proactive maintenance by over 50% after implementing RCM. But there’s more to the story—what if your organization is reactive and struggling with downtime? In that case, RCM might actually increase proactive maintenance to improve reliability and reduce chronic issues.

The key is to focus on identifying proactive maintenance tasks that are technically appropriate and worth doing. RCM helps ensure your equipment serves you reliably, whether that means reducing or increasing proactive maintenance.

Should you use Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM), Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Failure Modes Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), or Condition Based Maintenance (CBM)?

In this video, I explain how RCM incorporates all of these processes into one comprehensive approach. By following the RCM process — steps like identifying Functions, Failure Modes, Failure Effects, and assessing Consequences — you naturally create an FMEA, a FMECA, and consider CBM as a potential failure management strategy.

With RCM, you don’t have to choose — you do it all! Watch to learn how this powerful methodology ensures you get exactly what you need from your equipment.