Equipment Performance is "Predictable" and Risk is "Manageable"

Ask any maintenance engineer  working in a reactive maintenance environment if they believe equipment performance is predictable and risk manageable and they will almost always answer, ?No, those statements are not true!? Even those who do agree will usually add the disclaimer that they simply don't have the time to do anything about either of them.
For those who claim they don't have the time to implement a reliability program, I ask them this question, ?Why is it you can always find time to fix the equipment, but never the time to engineer out the problems and prevent them from recurring ?? For as many times as I've asked this question, I've yet to hear a good answer.
The reality is equipment performance is predictable, risk is manageable and maintenance organizations can and should set forth the necessary time and effort to do something about it. It is the only way a maintenance organization will ever break out of its reactive maintenance environment.

No Pain, No Gain

Make no mistake about it, implementing a Reliability-Centered Risk Management program will require time, additional effort, cultural changes and an increase in short-term maintenance costs. It makes me cringe when I hear so-called experts tell maintenance organizations otherwise because it paints an unrealistic picture and companies become completely disillusioned when they find out it is not the case.
The old adage of ?no pain, no gain? is very much applicable to implementing a Reliability-Centered Risk Management program, as is the case with any major program implementation. However, the pain is short-lived and the gain is well worth the upfront investment of time, money and effort. Let me explain?
An Implementation Will Take Time ? Depending on the starting point a maintenance organization must elevate itself from, it can take upwards of two years to establish a credible Reliability-Centered Risk Management program. That's not to say benefits won't be realized during the start-up period, because they will. Results generally materialize in as little as 3-6 months. Of course, this is somewhat dependent on the amount of time and effort a maintenance organization is willing to invest in the implementation? the more focused and concentrated the effort, the quicker the results.
An Implementation Will Require Additional Effort ? There's no doubt that implementing a Reliability-Centered Risk Management program will require additional upfront effort. After all, a maintenance organization can't forego its responsibilities to maintain plant equipment during the implementation. Maintenance organizations often must choose how they will assimilate the additional work during the start-up phase of the program. Some choose to mandate overtime, some reorganize trying to free up key maintenance personnel, while others bring in temporary contractors to assume some of the workload.
An Implementation Will Require Cultural Changes ? There will be shifts in responsibilities, either within the maintenance organization itself or between maintenance and operations during the implementation of a Reliability-Centered Risk Management program. These cultural changes will need to be well managed to overcome the fear of change, keeping a clear vision of the end result in mind. Handled correctly, the cultural changes will be accepted and embraced. Handled incorrectly, and it can become a political hot potato.
An Implementation Will Increase Short-Term Costs ? There are always upfront costs when implementing any program with proven long-term rewards and benefits. That's also true of implementing a Reliability-Centered Risk Management program. Typical upfront costs include purchasing new Predictive Maintenance equipment, training, higher labor costs because of increased overtime and/or supplemental contract labor and the costs of refurbishing older equipment to return them to a like-new condition again.
Maintenance costs may well increase during the first 12-18 months of the program as it ramps up and begins to gain momentum. After that, costs will quickly fall, dipping well below what they were before the onset of the implementation.
It has been my experience that the return on investment (ROI) from any upfront investment in a Reliability-Centered Risk Management program will be realized within 2-3 years. Of course, this is dependent on the level of commitment a maintenance organization demonstrates toward achieving a successful implementation