Page 54 - RCM - A practical Guide_V1

RCM - A Practical Guide

Positive first impressions will help smooth any negativity, of which there may be some, and build
confidence.
The Facilitator should listen, take notes (usually the job for a technical secretary), ask questions (open
questions like WHY? to initiate debate rather than YES/NO type questions), use visual aids (i.e. flip
charts allow emphasis and act as reminders of comments or decisions made), try to involve all team
members and recognise when a break is necessary.
At the end of the meeting it is beneficial to summarise any achievements, re-emphasise important
points and discuss any burning issues or ways to improve for the next meeting and, of course, to
inform the team of the topic, location and timing of the next session.

Summary
The main advantage of the desktop approach is that the analysis team can work off-line, however,
effective lines of communication to experts and tight management of the programme is vital for its
success. The downside is that access to equipment is limited and time spent with experts is also
restricted. Although this latter aspect is countered somewhat by regular visits delays can occur and
often assumptions made during initial analysis have to be revisited in-light of information gained
during a visit.
The advantages of the facilitated approach are that all relevant interested parties are in the same
meeting so each item is put to bed with consensus throughout at the time of analysis. The downside is
that it brings together expensive resources but in reality it may be difficult to keep those resources
available for the duration of an analysis programme. If this can’t be done then the value of the ensuing
analysis is degraded. The pace of the programme is also important where typically completing 4-5
failure modes per hour including functions, functional failures, failure effects and task analysis would
be the norm.
As to which method to apply will depend on a number of factors not least of which will be the
instructions from the organisation whose analysis is being undertaken. The second factor will be the
availability of personnel to assist in the work. However, in the opinion of the author both approaches,
if properly applied and managed, will achieve a satisfactory result.

AUDIT PROCEDURE
This section of the handbook highlights the importance of the audit process in ensuring the
completeness and compliancy of the RCM analysis with respect to the process and the technical
content.
A process audit will provide documented evidence that the RCM analysis has been completed
satisfactorily in compliance with the methodology used.
A technical audit provides documented evidence that the technical content is reasonable and
accurate. It may also be expanded to ensure that any recommended tasks are feasible.
It is likely that the audit process will be carried out in stages throughout the RCM analysis with
acceptance of completion at key points being a requirement for moving forward. Such key points
could be, for instance:
• project set-up, identification of system boundaries and completion of an operating context and a
list of functions
• functional failure, failure consequence and task analysis
• final deliverable

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