1. Leadership in Engineering
Systems Engineering Program
Department of Engineering Management, Information and Systems
EMIS 7305/5305
Systems Reliability, Supportability and Availability Analysis
Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) Analysis
Dr. Jerrell T. Stracener, SAE Fellow
Leadership in Engineering

2. Introduction
RCMA is a disciplined approach to determine systems Preventive Maintenance (PM) programs.
Candidate items are selected for analysis as early as possible, and re-applied when needed.
For each item, an attempt is made to identify potential failures that are correlated with usage or time passage.
PM tasks may result, depending on criticality and feasibility.
Calculated intervals for identified PM tasks are determined using the best-known life characteristics.
Results are documented.

3. Sources of information
Introduction
Approach
History of requirements documents
Key Tenets
Conclusions
Sources of information
WWW
Military standards/handbooks
Journal articles
Experience

4. Commercial Documentation History
MSC-1 (1968, by Boeing Maintenance Steering Group, to support 747 scheduled maintenance program)
MSC-2 (1970, by (ATA) Air Transport Association (ATA) of America and task force of appropriate stakeholders, to support other A/C)
Reliability-Centered Maintenance, Stan Nowlan and Howard Heap, 1978
MSG-3 (published by the ATA in 1980 to support more-complex A/C, like the 757/767, and address more-stringent FAA regulations and economic issues) Latest revision 2001.
SAE JA1011 (1999) and JA1012 (2002) are “sister” specs

5. Military Documentation History
Early efforts used commercial docs/reqts
DA PAM (USA 1980)
MIK-HDBK-266 (DOD 1981)
MIL-STD-1843 (USAF 1985 (cancelled 1995, no superseding doc.))
MIL-STD-2173 (USN 1986 (cancelled 1999))
MIL-STD-2173(AS) (USN 1998 (cancelled 1999))
NAVAIR
Late efforts tend to use commercial docs/reqts

6. Key Tenets
“This process can only address maintenance preventable failures, i.e. it cannot defend against unlikely events, non-predictable acts of nature, etc. ” Wikipedia
Candidates are identified early in a development using Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA).
Each FMEA candidate is subjected to RCMA. An example of early Army RCM logic tree attached at end of this package.
RCMA can be used with Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) per MIL-STD-1629 to identify and assign criticality to potential failures.

7. Key Tenets (cont) Results are documented in some fashion.
Existing tool
In-house tool
Logistics Support Analysis Record (LSAR) is a formal data documentation process that can be used to collect results of RCM logic application.
See cancelled MIL-STD B
Tools developed per US MIL-STD B or MoD can be used rather than developing an in-house tool.

8. Key Tenets (cont) Application of RCMA may result in: Servicing Task
Lubrication Task
On-Condition (scheduled inspection) Task
Hard-Time (scheduled removal) Task
Failure-Finding (scheduled inspection of hidden function) Task
No PM Task (if “No PM Task” is unacceptable, then redesign, operational restrictions, change in maint procedures, etc., may be necessary).
Age Exploration
In short, RCMA results in a PM task of some type, system redesign, or an item is allowed to fail.

9. Conclusions
Generally applied to aircraft and power plant acquisitions.
Generally not applied to US acquisitions that are not new significant systems.
Applied more heavily to smaller acquisitions by UK, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, ROC
RCMA is generally not applicable to electronic items. It applies to items that have increasing failure rate over time, or have inherent wear-out characteristics.
In personal experience, it has not been rigorously applied to any small US system since approximately 1994.

10. References Websites Documents http://assist.daps.dla.mil/quicksearch
Wikipedia
Documents
MIL-STD-2173, MIL-STD-2173(AS) RCM (cancelled)
NAVAIR RCM
MIL-STD B LSAR
MIL-STD-1629 FMECA
Logistics Spectrum, Apr-Jun 2002, Richard W. Anderson

11. RCM Process Diagram
Reference: NAV (Navy)

12. RCM Logic Diagram
Reference: DA PAM (Army). Detailed use instructions are provided (1982).

13. Full RCM Program Task Sequence Flowchart

14. Full RCM Program Task Sequence Flowchart (cont)

15. Full RCM Program Task Sequence Flowchart (cont)

16. Full RCM Program Task Sequence Flowchart (cont)
Collect
test and in-service data
STEP 28
Does new data support current FMECA and RCM entries?
STEP 29
Go to
STEP 6 F
Implement
PM tasks
STEP 27 NO
YES
NAVAIR RCM website: