Engineering Management Journal

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Reliability-Centered Maintenance: A Case Study

Randall G. Wilmeth & Michael W. Usrey

To cite this article: Randall G. Wilmeth & Michael W. Usrey (2000) Reliability-Centered
Maintenance: A Case Study, Engineering Management Journal, 12:4, 25-31, DOI:
10.1080/10429247.2000.11415089

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Engineering Management Journal Vol. 12 No. 4 December 2000
RELIABILITY-CENTERED MAINTENANCE:
A CASE STUDY
Randall G. Wilmeth, P.E., Xcel Energy
Michael W. Usrey, P.E., University of Colorado
Abstract
Energy markets are deregulating rapidly, and the price of energy
is expected to decrease. Energy suppliers that traditionally
operated as regulated monopolies must now find ways to improve
their productivity. Energy utilities are typically asset-intensive,
so maintenance activities present a potential area for productivity
improvement.
Reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) was developed in
the commercial aerospace industry approximately 3 decades ago.
In the 1980s, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) initiated
studies for the application of RCM to generating facilities .
Recently, EPRI has begun supporting the investigation of RCM
methodology for the transmission and delivery of electric power.
The origins and evolution of RCM, and the benefits of using
RCM as the basis for a maintenance plan, are discussed. Successes
and failures experienced by utilities attempting to implement
RCM, and corresponding insights, are outlined. Results of a pilot
implementation at Xcel Energy are presented. Management issues,
including those related to recent merger and acquisition activity,
are examined.
Introduction
The anticipated deregulation of the electric utility industry has
prompted numerous utility mergers. Xcel Energy was formed in
May 2000 from the merger of Northern States Power (NSP) and
New Century Energies (NCE). In turn, NCE was the result of the
1997 merger of Southwestern Public Service Co. (SPS) and Public
Service Company of Colorado (PSCO). The combined service
territory of Xcel Energy stretches across thC' U.S. from the
Canadian border to the Mexican border. Unless otherwise stated,
the examples presented herein arc from the SPS operating unit of
Xcel Energy.
These and other electric power industry mergers are intended
to better position organizations for electric power deregulation.
When deregulation is completed and utilities arc competing at'
the wholesale and retail levels, only the most efficient utilities
will prevail. During the SPS/PSCO merger, teams reviewed all
business processes for potential cost savings. Numerous areas
were identified for downsizing or outsourcing, and the new
company was separated into functionally based business units.
Since operation and maintenance cost<> arc a major item in every
utility cost structure, the delivery business unit was charged with
creating new processes to reduce operation and maintenance costs.
Similar reviews arc now under way as a result of the NSP/NCE
merger.
One area that the SPS/PSCO merger team identified for post-
merger savings was substation equipment maintenance. The team
suggested that a combined substation equipment maintenance
program for both operating companies be developed. The Electric
Refereed case study. A previous version was presented at ASEM 2000.
25
Power Research Institute (EPRI) reliability-centered maintenance
(RCM) platform was recommended as the basis for the NCE
program. A team was formed to develop a combined maintenance
program for both operating companies based on RCM
methodology.
Xcel Energy recently completed the first phase of a pilot
RCM-based maintenance program for power delivery equipment.
Results from the first-phase pilot indicate that previous
maintenance strategies resulted in instances of both under- and
over-maintenance of the subject equipment. Opportunity cost
savings are illustrated, though it will be necessary to implement
RCM on a larger scale before these savings can make a significant
impact on the bottom line.
RCM Origin and Evolution
RCM was developed by the commercial aircraft industry about
30 years ago. In the process of obtaining type certification for the
new Boeing 747 jumbo jet, it was determined that applying the
maintenance strategies of that time made the jet impossible to
operate profitably (Smith, 1993). The new technologies employed
on the 747 led to the development of new approaches to aircraft
maintenance. Maintenance engineers at United Airlines led the
effort to reevaluate preventive maintenance strategy and helped
develop the basic concepts and processes that have become known
as RCM (Matteson, 1995).
The initial RCM development was based on failure history
databases that the commercial aviation industry had accumulated.
By studying documented failure histories, United Airlines proved
that the classic "bathtub"-shaped failure curve of time vs number
of failures was not accurate for the aviation industry's nonstructural
equipment. They determined that only II ao of all non structural
About the Authors
Randall G. Wilmeth, P.E., is a substation engineer with
Southwestern Public Service Company, an operating unit of
Xccl Energy. He has a B.S. in electrical engineering from
Texas A&M and an M.Eng. in EM from the University of
Colorado.
Michael W. Usrey, P.E., Ph.D., C.P.I.M., is a professor
in the Lockheed-Martin EM program at the University of
Colorado . He is also on the board of directors for
EncrgyWindow, Inc. He has a B.S. in mathematics and an
M.S. in industrial engineering from New Mexico State
University and a Ph.D. in industrial engineering from the
University of Minnesota.
Contact: Dr. Michael W. Usrey, Lockheed-Martin
Engineering Management Program, University of Colorado,
433 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0433; phone: 303-492-1211;
fax: 303-492-1443; michacl.usrcy@colorado.cdu
26
components experienced an aging characteristic, while 89% failed
for reasons other than fatigue (Smith, 1993). From this
observation, the percentage of components replaced on "hard-
time" units has been reduced from 58% in 1964 to 9% in 1987,
while "condition-monitored" component replacements went from
2% in 1964 to 51% in 1987. The cfTct.:ts of these t.:hangcs allowed
the commercial airline industry to reduce maintenance costs and
hold them at a flat rate through the early 1980s.
The Federal Aviation Administration accepted the new
approach to aircraft maintenance, and it has been used on virtually
every new or retrofitted aircraft to obtain licensing (Smith, 1993).
In 1977, the Department of Defense labeled the new methods
"reliability-centered maintenance" and directed that RCM be
adopted for all major military systems (Matteson, 1995). In the
mid-1980s, EPRI initiated RCM pilot studies of nuclear power
plants.
Since that time, RCM has been adapted for application at all
types of facilities. Over the past 5 years, EPRI has funded RCM
pilot projects in the power delivery sector and has developed
supporting technical references and computerized maintenance
management systems (CMMS). Approximately 40 EPRI member
utilities arc in various stages of implementing RCM in the power
delivery sector.
RCM Defined
RCM is a resource optimization method that is used to develop
and refine maintenance programs. The RCM process is a tool
that allows a maintenance manager to focus scarce maintenance
dollars on supporting only the critical functions of a piece of
equipment required to ensure reliable operation. Maintenance
tasks generated from RCM analysis arc justified by actu al
equipment performance data, rather than relying solely on
manu facturcrs' speci ficat10ns or past company practices .
According to Schwan ( 1999), "the goal of RCM is to create routine
maintenance strategies that preserve important system/equipment
functions in the most cost-cfTective manner."
Traditionally, substation equipment maintenance has been
time-directed and scheduled on specific hard-time intervals. When
it is time to do maintenance, the equipment is tested, inspected,
cleaned, lubricated, and recalibratcd. Maintenance tasks scheduled
on hard-time intervals arc based on the premise that equipment
wears out at a specific rate and requires periodic overhauls to
return the equipment to like-new condition. EPRI and its member
utilities researched fa ilure histories of utility equipment and proved
that utility equipment. like mrlinc equipment, often docs not have
defined age-related failure rates.
As maintenance budgets arc cut, maintenance managers arc
realizing that they do not have a ha:-.is to justify their current time-
directed maintenance programs. Since the RCM process requires
each piece of equipment or system to he analyzed and every
maintenance task to be justified, a maintenance program based
on RCM has documented technical justification for each
maintenance task .
RCM Analysis Process
The original RCM model is now called classical RCM and is still
commonly used by the aerospace and nuclear power industries.
As RCM methodology has been applied to different industries,
the process has evolved to fit the needs of each application (August,
Engineering Management Journal Vol. 12 No.4 December 2000
1999). Most RCM applications outside of heavily regulated
industries utilize a streamlined version of RCM.
Streamlined RCM skips the time-consuming process of
building a failure history database for each piece of equipment
and allows the user to rely on the experience and knowledge of
subject matter experts for failure modes and causes. The
streamlined RCM process allows a utility to start the RCM process
quickly and then add changes later through a formaliLcd feedback
process called a living maintenance program.
Below arc the seven main steps of performing a streamlined
RCM study using the EPRI model for power delivery applications
as defined by Schwan ( 1999).
I. Establish the scope of the study. Boundaries arc established
to define the limits of the work.
2. Identify interfaces. Interfaces arc identified to further define
the limits of the study by specifically listing the required inputs
or connections that will not be studied.
3. Specify important functions. RCM seeks to preserve only
the most important functions of a system or equipment.
4. Identify dominant failure modes. Dominant modes of failure
for important functions arc identified for evaluation.
5. Identify critical failure modes. The consequences of failure
arc evaluated for each dominant failure mode to determine their
severity. If severe, the failure mode is deemed critical. Noncritical
failure modes arc not considered further in the study.
6. Identify dominant f~tilurc causes. Dominant causes of failure
arc identified for only the modes of failure deemed critical. Only
maintenance-preventable causes of failure arc considered.
7. Select maintenance tasks . Using dec isiOn log ic, routine
mamtenancc tasks arc selected to directly and cost-effectively
address each dominant cau: e of failure. Changes in design and
operation arc also considered, as is allowin g equipment to operate
until failure. This process i~ discussed in more detail below (sec
Maintenance Task Selection) .
CMMS and Living Maintenance Program
The maintenanc.c tasks developed during an RCM study arc driven
hy multiple mechanisms that have unique frequencies. To create
and manage the various tasks, a CMMS is required. A CMMS
database should be three dimensional, with information on the
equipment asset, equipment type, and location of the asset
(Picknell and Steel, 1997).
Equipment asset database. The equipment asset database should
contain nameplate data and other required physical attributes. By
including equipment failure symptoms, cause codes, fmlurc modes,
and corrective action codes. an equipment failure history can be
built. When the incurred costs arc included, a cost history of the
equipment item can he produced.
Equipml'nt type database. The equipment type database contains
information such as parts lists, specifications, and standard
maintenance procedures to be stored only once for a particular
type of equipment. An integrated CMMS will allow the user to
chct.:k if parts on the parts li ~ t arc in stock .
Location database. A locat ion database allows the u. er to track
environmental and operating condition effects on equipm e nt
performance. Cost and performance can then be shown hy
location, district, division, and operating company.
Engineering Management Journal Vol. 12 No. 4 December 2000
In order to manage the mechanisms that set the frequency of
tasks selected in the RCM process, EPRI has developed a
maintenance management workstation (MMW). The MMW is
designed to work with any existing CMMS and consists of four
major clements (Vujovic, 1999): historical information warehouse,
performance assessment module, maintenance ranking assessor
module, and universal data integration
The MMW integrates operating and condition-monitoring
data from numerous sources, including supervisory control and
data acquisition systems (SCADA) and test equipment. As
maintenance triggers arc hit, the MMW ranks the resulting
maintenance tasks and can automatically issue work orders.
EPRI has also developed a living maintenance program for
continual optimization of a maintenance program. They define a
living maintenance program for substations as "a programmatic
approach to maintaining and improving the PM [preventive
maintenance] program such that the functionality of equipment
and systems is preserved m a cost-effective manner" (Schwan ct
al., 1996). The living maintenance program is used to measure
the effectiveness of the individual maintenance ta-;ks and of the
whole maintenance program. New maintenance technologies arc
evaluated, and feedback from the mmntcn ancc personnel is
reviewed . Recommendations for design and operat ion changes
arc made through the living maintenance program.
RCM Examples
The utilities discussed below arc examples ofhoth successful and
unsuccessful attempts at basing a maintenance program on RCM.
Puget Sound Energy. Pugct Sound Power & Li ght Company
was moti vated to develop new way: to mamtain equipment after
large budget cuts were made hy management. They started the
RCM process in 1991 and have applied it to substation equipment,
circuit breakers, transformers, voltage regulators, and transmission
and distribution line maintenance. ln 1995, they reported that the
planned maintenance for substation equipment had been reduced
significantly. The drivers of their transformer maintenance
program had changed from time to operational, loading, and
condition monitoring. For circuit breakers, they reported that
maintenance intervals had been extended considerably, with more
emphasis being placed on the operating mechanisms (Skog, 1995).
Puget Sound Power & Light felt that their liability due to
equipment failures decreased hy using the RCM process to
document their maintenance program. Their insurance companies
viewed the process as a risk management approach and were
comfortable with the new maintenance plan (Skog, 1995).
In 1997, Puget Sound Power & Light Company merged with
Washington Natural Gas Co. to fonn Puget Sound Energy, Inc.
The new organizational structure of Puget Sound Energy did not
include RCM. Most preventive maintenance has been eliminated,
and a run-to-failure approach is being used . The company has
discussed revisiting the RCM approach; however, no formal action
has been taken.
Bonneville Power Administration. Bonneville Power
Administration (BPA) participated in the 1994 EPRI substation
RCM project to develop RCM methods for transmission and
distribution facilities. The existing maintenance program at BPA
had been primarily time-based (Sarkinen et al., 1996). For the
27
EPRI project, BPA chose to use the RCM system approach for a
pilot project at Santiam Substation.
The results of the BPA pilot project convinced BPA to
recommend implementation of an RCM -hased substation
maintenance program for the rest of their system. They estimated
that cost savings of up to 40% would be realized and that the
benefits would provide a payback within I year. In order to
implement the project, BPA felt that they would require a
management steering committee to oversee the RCM project, a
four- to six-member RCM analysis team, and basic scheduling
tools (Sarkinen et al., 1996).
Today, BPA feels that their RCM implementation has been a
success. A key finding was that their previous maintenance
program included many maintenance tasks that were of no value
(Sarkincn et al., 1996). As it turned out, BPA found that their
maintenance personnel had already realized that some tasks were
not productive and had stopped performing them. Even with their
maintenance personnel not performing all the wntten maintenance
tasks, a large maintenance backlog was on the books. The large
backlog kept BPA from realizing the estimated 40% in cost savings
originally predicted (Sarkinen, I 999).
Buy-in from maintenance personnel was enham:cd when they
understood that the RCM-based maintenance tasks were efficient
tasks with a technical purpose. BPA is not currently using a living
maintenance program, but has implemented a trouble-reporting
database. The database will be used to trend failures and modify
the current RCM-hascd maintenance tasks as needed (Sarkinen,
1999).
Even though the cost savings goal of 40% was not realized,
the RCM program at BPA is still viewed as a success because of
the reduction of maintenance tasks and maintenance backlog. Due
to the difficulty of measurement, additional benefits from
reliability and equipment availability improvements have not been
identified.
BC Hydro and Power Authority. Since 1995, BC Hydro has
been implementing an RCM program. They reported savings of
20% to 50% in job site hours on circuit breakers and about 15%
on transformers . BC Hydro is evaluating impedance testing of
batteries in an effort to prove that discharge tests are not required
and to reduce battery maintenance costs (Fernihough, I 999).
Fcrnihough ( 1999) suggests that the cheapest way to start an
RCM program is to buy maintenance procedures from a company
that has already implemented RCM, but he does not recommend
that approach because employee buy-in might not occur. The
continued success of the RCM program is dependent on buy-in
from the maintenance personnel. To achieve this, he recommends
that knowlcdgeahlc field personnel he included in the RCM
analysis.
A company must develop a formal process of organizing RCM
tasks into maintenance documents, distributing them, and
incorporating them into the CMMS. If the CMMS is not capable
of integrating the RCM results, implementation will fail
(Fernihough, I 999).
TXU. TXU started evaluating an RCM-based program in I 994.
At that time, TXU did not have a CMMS, and most substation
maintenance tasks were scheduled by time only. Over the past 5
years, TXU has implemented a CMMS and now bases most
28 Engineering Management Journal Vol. 12 No. 4 December 2000

maintenance tasks on equipment operations. The transformation Exhibit 1. DC power supply system block diagram
from time- to operations-based maintenance has yielded large cost r--------------------------------------,
I I
savings. TXU is now evaluating how to incorporate the RCM I I

process into their existing program to develop a "smart

maintenance program." An additional 10% to 15% in savings is
expected after RCM implementation.
TXU is splitting the power grid into sections, and a reliability
goal will be set for each section. A minimum level of maintenance
for continued operation of equipment will be set, and additional
maintenance tasks will be performed in areas where higher
reliability is cost-justified. A maintenance guide task force is
leading the overall effort, and sub-teams are being used for
evaluations of each section. The EPRI RCM workstation is•
currently being evaluated.
SPS RCM Pilot Study
DC power supplies were chosen for an RCM pilot study at SPS.
They were selected, in part, because of their relative simplicity
and correspondingly low cost of RCM analysis. In spite of their
simplicity, DC power supplies are considered to be the most
important piece of equipment in any substation, because they
provide the power needed to operate protective equipment.
AC lnput--+-1 Battery Battery :
SCADA Charger :
I
I
were then compared to the dominant failure modes listed in EPRI's
Reliability Celltered Maintenance ( RCM) Technical Reference for
Substations (Schwan et al., 1996). The dominant failure modes
are shown in Exhibit 2.
Failure Mode Criticality. A criticality determination for each
dominant failure mode was made so that maintenance resources
would only be applied where the consequences of failure warrant.
The criticality levels used in this study are shown in Exhibit 3.
The failure effects for the DC power supply are shown in Exhibit
2; all failures shown were determined to be critical.

Scope of Substation DC Power Supply. The DC power supply Dominant Failure Causes. The dominant failure causes listed
in a substation includes a battery charger and a storage battery. by Schwan et al. ( 1996) for batteries and battery chargers were
The DC power supply is defined as a system because it consists reviewed and assigned to all failure modes. For example, the
of two distinct pieces of equipment. During normal operating dominant failure causes for "loss of battery conduction path" are
conditions, the battery charger powers DC-operated equipment shown in Exhibit 4.
in a substation and keeps the battery fully charged. If the battery
charger fails or AC input power is lost, the storage battery provides
emergency DC power to the equipment. Exhibit 2. Failure modes and effectsa
Two substations are considered here; the only major difference
between them is that one is equipped with remote alarms while Dominant failure
the other is not. A system walk-down was completed for both Failure effects
mode
types of DC power supplies to learn about their design, operation,
and the actual maintenance tasks being performed. The first author Loss of battery • Circuit breakers will not
and the person responsible for battery maintenance performed the conduction path trip for faults
walk-downs. • Possible public/employee
safety hazard
System Boundary and Interfaces. The battery, battery charger,
• Possible damage to
and interconnecting cables encompass the physical boundaries of
protective equipment
the system.
The interfaces are items that originate outside of the Loss of battery • Shortens duration that
equipment boundary and arc assumed to always be available to capacity storage battery can carry
support equipment or system operation. The following interfaces load
were identified for the battery system: • Circuit breakers will not
• AC input to battery charger trip for faults
• Ground connection to battery charger Incorrect/no • When charger fails,
• Cable to DC bus output from storage battery is only
• Remote SCADA alarms (at one substation only) battery charger source of DC power
Exhibit I illustrates the system boundaries and interfaces. • After battery is exhausted,
circuit breakers will not
Important System Functions. A DC power supply has only one trip for faults
important function, and that is to provide DC power to substation
Monitor fails to • Unaware of battery
equipment (Schwan et al., 1996). provide alarm condition
(Indiana only)
Dominant Failure Modes. During the equipment walk-downs,
known failure modes were discussed. The failure modes identified 8
All failure modes are critical.
Engineering Management Journal Vol. 12 No. 4 December 2000 29

Exhibit 3. DC power supply failure criticality levels
Criticality
Criteria
level
Noncritical • Minor operational
inconvenience
• Effects of failure costs less
than $250
Critical • Public/employee safety risk
• Customer outages
• Damage to adjacent
equipment
• Adverse publicity
Maintenance Task Selection. The task selection logic mentioned
in a preceding section (see RCM Analysis Process) was used to
determine if a cost-effective maintenance task exists for each
dominant failure cause. A brief description of the decision logic
follows : If cost-effective condition monitoring is available, then
a predictive maintenance program is indicated. If condition
monitoring is unavailable, then a time-based, preventive
maintenance task is recommended. If a preventive maintenance
task is not applicable, then one decides if the failure can be
tolerated. When a failure cannot be tolerated, a system design
change is requested from engineering. If a failure can be tolerated
and is not evident, a periodic failure finding task is specified. When
a failure can be tolerated and is evident, the item is run to failure
and a corrective maintenance task is performed. This decision
process is followed for each dominant failure cause. The resulting
list is reviewed to verify that each task is the most cost-effective
and technically correct to prevent the associated failure cause.
While the RCM process does an excellent job of creating an
optimum task list, it cannot set task frequencies. Selection of the
optimum maintenance interval for a system or device is dependent
upon a thorough understanding of how periodic maintenance tasks
prevent a failure mode and the ability to accurately model a
device's aging process. Failure costs including customer impact
costs and the probability of failure should also be included (Skog,
1995). The goal is to find the maintenance interval where total
costs are minimized.
When a utility does not have all the information that Skog
(1999) recommends, employee knowledge, documented failure
histories, and vendor recommendations appear to be the best
sources of information for setting task frequencies. The RCM-
recommended task type, task description, and task frequency for
the DC power supply are shown in Exhibit 4 .
Task Comparison. After the RCM analysis and recommendations
are finished, a comparison is made between the RCM -
recommended tasks, the existing maintenance tasks, the vendors'
recommendations, and regulatory requirements. During the
comparison, the tasks from each source are evaluated to see if
they address critical failure modes. If a task does not support a
critical failure mode, is not mandated by a regulatory authority,
and does not invalidate a warranty, then the task is deleted .
The remaining set of tasks and their frequencies arc
consolidated so that maintenance personnel can efficiently
complete the tasks . The resulting set of tasks will usually identify
some areas where former practices were deficient and show other
areas where the previous maintenance approach was excessive
(Fernihough, 1995).
Comprehensive Maintenance Strategy. Comprehensive
maintenance strategies for the DC power supplies at the two
substations were recommended.
At one substation, the discontinuation of one task and the
addition of one new task were recommended. Recommendations
were made that would modify six of the remaining 13 tasks. In
each case, the modification was to reduce task frequency.
At the other substation, the discontinuation of one task and
the addition of two new tasks were recommended.
Recommendations were made that would modify five of the
remaining 12 tasks. Again, each modification was to reduce task
frequency.

Exhibit 4. Failure causes and maintenance tasks for loss of battery

conduction path in DC power supply

RCM-rccommcndcd task:
Dominant
failure cause
Type Description Frequency

Loose connection Condition Resistance test Annually

monitoring (micro-ohm)
Corrosion Time-directed Clean corroded Quarterly
connections and
coat w/ oxidation
inhibitor
Grounding Time-directed Measure voltage Annually
from+ & -
terminals to
ground
30
Analysis of DC Power Supply Study Pilot Results
The station inspection personnel consulted for this project
estimated that savings of 3 man-hours per year would be gained
by adopting the recommended maintenance strategy. Although
these savings sound insignificant, they arc in fact quite substantial
when repeated across all of the DC power supplies utilized by
SPS.
Exhibit 5 shows the estimated savings and expenditures that
would result from RCM implementation at the 437 SPS DC power
supplies. The estimated first-year net savings is $38,727. The
return on the initial investment is an estimated 640% in the first
year.
Substation inspections at SPS arc being performed on a
monthly basis, and many items besides DC power supplies arc
being checked. The current research indicated that the time per
inspection could immediately be reduced. The current research
also indicates that in situations where battery alarms arc available,
DC power supply inspection frequency can be reduced from 12
per year to 4 per year. The opportunity to reduce the actual number
of inspection trips per year cannot be rcali.lcd until more types of
equipment are managed via RCM.
While the simplicity of a time-based program allows for easy
implementation, tracking, and supervision, it leads to over-
maintenance of some equipment and leaves others susceptible to
failure. With the implementation of CMMS, the difficulty in
implementing RCM can be reduced.
Lessons Learned
As expected, the RCM process has been proven to be an effective
analysis tool upon which to base a substation equipment
maintenance program. The RCM studies for the two substations
indicate that some components of the DC power supplies arc being
over-maintained, while others are not being maintained at all.
These results concur with typical RCM study results (Fcrnihough,
1995).
There arc several important items that need to be addressed
for organizations to successfully implement RCM-bascd
maintenance programs. First is the company's culture and
willingness to accept and support change. Without acceptance
Exhibit 5. Maintenance strategy financial analysis
No. of hours Hourly
Cost category
(estimated) rate
Maintenance 1311
personnel
Supervision 24
Clerical 24
RCM analyst 32
(initial study)
RCM analyst 112
(migration)
TOTAL
Engineering Management Journal Vol. 12 No. 4 December 2000
and support from management and maintenance personnel, any
new program will be difficult to implement. Second is developing
a way to measure success. Third is establishing realistic goals
and expectations. Fourth is developing and maintaining a CMMS,
and a living maintenance program for continual optimization.
Organizational change is nontrivial. This is especially true
in industries where companies have traditionally enjoyed the
protection of regulated monopoly status. Such organizations must
learn to adapt from a "cost-plus" mentality to a profit-oriented
approach. Uncertainties introduced by merger and acquisition
activity must not be allowed to impede the implementation of
fundamental process improvements. Evaluation ofRCM at SPS,
PSCO, and NSP has been significantly delayed as a result of
uncertainties arising from the recent mergers.
If the success of an RCM program is to be measured, there
has to be a process available to make a baseline measurement.
i.e., to measure the effectiveness of the existing maintenance
program. According to Richardson and Giesecke ( 1999), an ideal
measurement system would include:
• Preventive and corrective maintenance costs accounted for
on an individual equipment basis,
• Outages caused by equipment failures (including total outage
costs and failed equipment ID),
• Failure rates and reliability of equipment,
• Equipment availability,
• Avoided costs prevented by maintenance program, and
• Estimated cost of worst case, possible case, and probable case
multiplied by the probability of each.
At most utilities, information is not available for many of the
items listed above (Skog, 1995). Also, the relevant costs often
aren't appropriately analyzed below the level for the general
manager. For example, the marketing executive would typically
want to minimize the lost revenues that would result from an
outage and demand higher levels of maintenance, while operations
managers would typically focus on cost control and on minimizing
the maintenance budget.
Expectations must be managed to avoid the pitfall of assuming
that estimated cost savings will be realized automatically. Since
Savings
Year I Annual
$33 $43,263 $43,263
$42 $1,008 $1,008
$21 $504 $504
$42 $1,344 $0
$42 $4,704 $0
$38,727 $44,775
Engineering Management Journal Vol. 12 No. 4 December 2000
payroll is typically a significant component of operation and
maintenance budgets, the only way to immediately achieve
significant cost savings is to eliminate positions. The RCM
analysis of virtually all equipment should he completed before
the maintenance staff requirements arc reviewed.
Before the benefits of RCM can be fully realized, a CMMS
needs to be in place. The utility must verify that the CMMS that
is being used will be able to handle the output of the RCM studies
and accommodate the different tasks between equipment types.
The CMMS should also be able to store and interpret test data
from condition-monitoring tasks.
Once an RCM-based program has been implemented, the
maintenance program should be periodically revisited. Additional
failure modes and failure causes will be found, and maintenance
tasks and frequencies should be adjusted. A process to modify
the existing preventive maintenance program needs to be available.
The living maintenance program provides a formal two-way
communication path between field personnel and the maintenance
steering group or task force. Infonnation flows must easily allow
maintenance-related equipment failures to be analyzed. When
problems arise, decisions must be made quickly and maintenance
task changes must be redistributed to remote areas easily.
Conclusions
The RCM analysis of DC power supplies illustrates that the
existing battery maintenance program at SPS can be improved by
applying RCM . Some critical failure modes were not guarded,
while other maintenance tasks did not provide benefits. These
results are consistent with those found in other RCM
implementation efforts. To realize the full benefits of RCM, the
process must be applied across the spectrum of substation
equipment.
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