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Original Date: 11/06/2007
Revision Date: / /
Best Practice : Reliability-Centered Maintenance Training and Education
In 2001 the Naval Sea Systems Command awarded CACI its first Reliability-Centered Maintenance training contract to bring consistency and know-how to the Navy maintenance practitioners. Because of CACI’s highly qualified personnel, the company was able to develop and implement comprehensive Reliability-Centered Maintenance training and education courseware that has standardized the process, reduced surface ship planned maintenance man-hours by 30% and submarine planned maintenance man-hours by 10%.
Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) was initially introduced as a methodology for developing cost-effective maintenance requirements that preserve system operational functions. Originally developed by the commercial aerospace industry in the mid-1960s, the methodology found its way into the military in the early 1970s. In 1976, MIL-P-24534 mandated RCM for the Navy Planned Maintenance System (PMS). Under this mandate, RCM involved a more systematic analysis approach during which the system is evaluated for possible failures, the consequences of these failures are analyzed, and an appropriate course of action is determined in view of these potential failures. Through this analysis, planned maintenance procedures for in-service ships, systems, and equipment are established and implemented.
Although the RCM development approach was based on sound principles, there was a large disparity of application know-how across the services. The P-24534 mandate became more of a paper process, with little focus on a highly effective maintenance process. Many practitioners reverted to the old “run-to-failure” mentality. Maintenance plans often called for maintenance too early, resulting in wasted resources, or too late, causing equipment downtime. In many cases, a thorough understanding of equipment functions, effects of failures, and consequences of failure was not performed. As a result, the Navy experienced excessive cost and downtime.
In 1998, the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) directed a Navy-wide review to reduce surface ship and submarine planned maintenance man-hours. Realizing that RCM had not been adequately utilized by the Navy, NAVSEA took steps in 2001 by awarding CACI its first RCM training contract to bring consistency and know-how to the Navy maintenance practitioners. Because of CACI’s highly qualified personnel, the company was able to develop and implement comprehensive RCM training and education courseware that has standardized and provided rigor to the process. The courseware addresses the maintenance life cycle (Figure 2-8) and consists of three classes:
Level I - Backfit RCM: Designed to review and validate existing maintenance requirements on equipment reliability when operational experience exists
Level II - Classic RCM: Designed to identify initial maintenance requirements when little or no operational experience exists for a piece of equipment.
Level III - Train the Trainer: Designed to provide experienced individuals with the skills to conduct RCM training classes.
The training is delivered by experienced CACI RCM trainers/facilitators who work with companies to assess their planned maintenance programs. Training materials and delivery can be tailored appropriately at the company’s site or at CACI’s well-equipped training facilities. The RCM process provided by CACI to trainees follows a set of clearly defined rules, a detailed RCM Logic Tree, and a repeatable analysis process to determine true maintenance needs. Upon successful completion and testing, trainees receive RCM certification based on established standards of knowledge and application. This certification is required of all key government and contractor personnel involved in providing Navy-planned maintenance products, which ensures Navy-wide application of RCM best practices.
CACI has successfully developed and applied RCM competencies for training, facilitization, and analysis. RCM follows a standard process that is adaptable to any environment and has a proven track record of success. CACI RCM training and education has successfully provided an RCM certification program that is also easily adaptable to other services and agencies, including the Army, the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Figure 2-8. Maintenance Life Cycle
For more information see the
Point of Contact for this survey.
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