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Storytime: What is Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM)? This is the best definition of RCM I ever heard.

In this video, I share a story that has stuck with me throughout my 26-year journey with Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM). It all started when I was working as a civilian employee at the US Navy’s Naval Warfare Center in Lakehurst, New Jersey. One evening, during a dinner with the British Royal Navy’s RCM team in Bath, England, Commander Andrew Matters shared a simple yet profound definition of RCM: “RCM is nothing more than common sense applied to physical assets.” That definition has guided my understanding of RCM ever since.

RCM might seem complex, but at its core, it’s grounded in practical, common-sense principles. In this video, I explain how RCM helps us identify safe and cost-effective maintenance tasks, manage failure modes, and build a strong reliability culture. When applied correctly, RCM has the power to transform organizations—and I’ve seen it happen firsthand.

What’s keeping you from carrying out a couple of RCM pilot projects? Why not see for yourself how RCM can make a difference for your equipment and your reliability team?

I’m Nancy Regan. Thank you for watching!

In this video, I dive into the concept of Failure Effects and why they’re important to the Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) process. A Failure Effect tells the story of what would happen if we did nothing to predict or prevent each Failure Mode, allowing us to properly assess the consequences and formulate the right maintenance strategies. I break down the essential components of writing a Failure Effect, including:

• A description of the failure process from the occurrence of the failure mode to the functional failure
• Physical evidence that the failure has occurred
• How it adversely affects safety and/or the environment
• How it affects operational capability
• Specific operating restrictions as a result of the failure
• Secondary damage
• What must be done and how long it takes to repair the failure.

Understanding this zero-based approach is key, even though it can feel counter-intuitive to RCM Working Group members who are used to managing equipment proactively. That’s why an experienced RCM Facilitator is essential to guide the process. I also share an example of a Failure Effect in the video—feel free to pause and read through it.