The successful management of physical assets needs much more than technical skill. In all sectors of industry and across the public sector, growing mechanization and automation, greater technological complexity and continual pressure to reduce unit cost, demand more precisely focused asset management strategies. In the modern industrial environment inadequate operating policies or unsuitable maintenance procedures can prove very costly. Automation and “Just-in-time” manufacturing models are increasing the cost of downtime while missed production deadlines, quality lapses and safety/environmental violations are simply unacceptable. Intense competitive pressures from Globalization and public sector budget constraints mean companies and organizations must maximize performance in every part of the operation.

People at all levels of the organization — in maintenance, operations, engineering and senior management — must understand modern maintenance concepts and incorporate this thinking into the way they do business. Acquiring the right skills by trial and error is no longer acceptable — trial takes too long and error is simply too expensive. Operating with Reliability-centered maintenance is now universally accepted as the methodology to optimize maintenance programs – it is the scientifically sound method to ensure the right maintenance is done at the right time. There are lots of debates on how to approach RCM but the underlying seven-step process is well established.