Tag: Terminology
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Diagnostics versus prognostics
Where is the divide between the process of troubleshooting and that of predictive condition based maintenance? Both sets of procedures require condition data and knowledge of failure behavior. How do these distinct processes work with one another? Some confusion in the purchase and application of maintenance technology tools can arise when the particular problem lacks sufficient…
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Service vs. maintenance
There is a noteworthy distinction between the activities of “maintenance” on one hand and “service” on the other. Maintenance is a partial or total renewal of an item. Maintenance reduces the physical age of an item or can even “zero time” the item by rejuvenating some or all of its components. By contrast, Nowlan and…
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What is PM?
PM is a general term that encompasses all forms of pro-active maintenance including: scheduled overhaul scheduled inspections (CBM) CBM is the prominent form of maintenance today. Although all scheduled activities are called “PM” (for example, in the CMMS or EAM), they are predominantly CBM activities (inspections) performed, often, at the same time as scheduled service…
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RCM vs RA
Is RCM a form of Reliability Analysis (RA)? RA is the counting of failure and suspension events in order to understand the behavior pattern of a component or failure mode. RCM practitioners sometimes refer to the Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) process as “reliability analysis”. However, this is confusing. RCM Analysis (as opposed to RA), precisely…
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FMEA according to Wikipedia
FMEA stands for “Failure Modes and Effects Analysis”. It begins with a thorough functional analysis. FMEA is the core process of RCM. However, the FMEA article in Wikipedia is misleading. It uses outdated terminology that renders the subject of FMEA vague, confusing, and even mystical. FMEA depends on clarity. Maintenance depends on clear and simple terms…