Click here for the Uptime RCM-2006 Special Publishers Feature (188K PDF)

RCM-20006 brings the intelligence, innovation and leadership of the maintenance and reliability industry together in one place at place at one time.

RCM Lessons Learned

Last March, over 250 maintenance and reliability professionals met in Clearwater Florida for the first Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) Managers' Forum to share RCM knowledge and experiences.  This was the first event dedicated to RCM since F. Stanley Nowlan and Howard F. Heap seminal Department of Defense report published in 1978.    

The general lessons learned over the course of 12 RCM case studies were that:

• A little RCM is better than no RCM
• The RCM Process you select is not as important as ensuring your site is ready for RCM
• RCM often fails to get implemented even after a successful analysis
• It is OK to blend different RCM derivations based a your own decision criteria
• Leadership and strong management commitment are required
• The payback from successful RCM is 10:1 to 15:1
• Implementing RCM requires a different talent and skill set than running a maintenance program based on RCM

Now it is time to bring a new group of people who are interested in Reliability Centered Maintenance together again for RCM-2006, a focused 3 day “community of practice” event held March 8-10, 2006 in Las Vegas Nevada.  The audience will include some of the world’s leading RCM experts along with people who are just beginning to explore the subject.

One of the learning zone session leaders is RCM pioneer Anthony “Mac” Smith,  co-author of RCM- Gateway to World Class Maintenance who states “Instead of a traditional maintenance focus of preserving equipment operation, the primary objective of Reliability Centered Maintenance is to preserve system function.”    

 The 4 primary features of RCM include:

1)      Preserve system functions

2)      Identify the failure modes that can defeat the functions

3)      Prioritize function need 

4)      Select only effective PM/PdM tasks

To create a logical starting point and shape the context of the sessions to follow, RCM-2006 invited Jack Nicholas Jr., who managed the original RCM project for the US Naval Submarine program to lead a brand new full day RCM workshop titled Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) Methodologies, Metrics, Readiness Factors and Relationships to Other Elements of Asset Management.  His intent is to educate prospective users and services providers to take a new look at RCM principles, various approaches available in the marketplace and potential benefits. His presentation describes pitfalls to avoid in order to improve the chances for a successful outcome. For the first time, readiness factors to consider before entering into an RCM project are described and discussed. He has developed for presentation in this workshop a logical description, partially based on actual applications, of how RCM fits with other major maintenance and reliability initiatives such as Total Productive Maintenance (TPM),  6 Sigma and Procedure Based Maintenance (PBM). In addition he will present for the first time a Preventive Maintenance Optimization logic, developed in 2005, that provides a screening tool for assessing current tasks, task periodicity and assignment criteria prior to preparation of procedures for their execution.

For attendees who are may need to brush up on Reliability Engineering principles, the event also offers Reliability Engineering for Maintenance Managers by Vee Narayan, Author of Effective Maintenance Management. This full day workshop addressed aspects of equipment failure: both physical degradation mechanisms as well as their statistical treatment. You will learn when and how to apply a variety of reliability tools for their most cost-effective use. The emphasis is on practical application of the concepts, so that you can use them in your work situations.

This workshop examines the role of maintenance in minimizing the risk of safety or environmental incidents, adverse publicity, and loss of profitability. In addition to discussing risk reduction tools, it explains their applicability to specific situations, thereby enabling you to select the tool that best fits your requirements. Intended to bridge the gap between designers/maintainers and reliability engineers, this guide is sure to help businesses utilize their assets more effectively, safely, and profitably. 

To enhance your learning experience, RCM-2006 includes a deep selection of short courses including:

·         Introduction to Reliability Centered Maintenance by Alan Katchmar, certified RCM2 facilitator

·         Reliability Incident Management by Steve Turner

·         Successful RCM Application - Lessons Learned by Anthony M. (Mac) Smith and Glenn R. Hinchcliffe, Co-Authors RCM-Gateway To World Class Maintenance

·         RCM - A Way Forward by Neil Bloom Author Reliability Centered Maintenance - Implementation Made Simple

·         When to template an RCM Analysis by Doug Plucknette

·         Using the RCM Scorecard by Jack Nicholas Jr.

·         Using Failure Mode databases to speed RCM Analysis by Glenn Hinchcliffe and David Worledge

·         Detective Maintenance by Vee Narayan

Short courses are designed to provide a more in depth learning experience and are scheduled at the beginning and end of each learning day.  A series of RCM case studies are also included as part of the learning zone sessions including:

·         An Introduction to the US Naval Air System Command RCM Process and Integrated Reliability Centered Maintenance Software by JC Leverette

·         Human error in maintenance by Derek Burley & Rick Baldridge, Cargill;

·         RCM Supports USPS Automation Strategy by Ray Darragh, US Postal Service and  Anthony Mac Smith Co-Authors RCM-Gateway To World Class Maintenance

·         Chemical Lime RCM Case Study Using RCM tools to improve PM Frequency by Steve Lindborg

·         U.S. Navy Analysis of Submarine Maintenance Data and the  Development of Age and Reliability Profiles by Timothy M. Allen

·         RCM For Facilities by Alan Pride Smithsonian Institute

·         Using RCM Calculations Rich Overman

·         RCM at the Y-12 National Security Complex by Nancy Regan

The Society of Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP) will also offer the CMRP Certification Exam at RCM-2006 to enhance your professional development.  RCM-2006 provides a certificate for credit toward re-certification for those who already are Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professionals.

As a bonus, RCM-2006 attendees can also participate in the Enterprise Asset Management Summit – EAM-2006 taking place at the same time.  With a focus on the strategies, techniques and technologies available for managing physical assets across the enterprise, there is a close relationship between the two focus areas. A Solutions Expo will also feature over 40 Reliability and Enterprise asset Management vendors. 

Both events are produced by Reliabilityweb.com and supported by Uptime Magazine, Reliability Magazine, MRO-zone.com and The International Proactive Maintenance User Group (IPMUG) and the Council of Certifying Organizations.

As with many Reliabilityweb.com learning events, attendance is limited to maintain a community setting that fosters dialogue and information exchange among all participants.

Special $60 hotel rooms are available on a first come – first serve basis at the 4 star Orleans Hotel and Casino.  Register now, and be part of the conversation at RCM-2006 

Register Today: www.maintenanceconference.com