Insights

The case for reliability-centered maintenance

Many hospital systems are seeking a competitive advantage in operating costs and service quality, and they're finding that effective operations and maintenance (O&M) practices have a significant impact on business outcomes.

The hidden cost of "run-to-failure"

One area gaining industry-wide attention is eliminating reactive maintenance, also known as "run-to-failure": performing maintenance only after a physical asset malfunctions. Few organizations rely on it as their standard operating model, yet many find they spend most of their time in reactive mode due to poor planning and management. That leads to excess costs from disruptive events:

Beyond the expense, a maintenance team stuck in reactive mode can't adequately support patient-facing operations, exposing the organization to service lapses.

What reliability-centered maintenance is

Organizations that minimize reactive maintenance gain control of their workload and unplanned expenses. That thinking led to reliability-centered maintenance (RCM): practices that stress reliable system components with fewer failures and less maintenance over their lifecycles.

RCM was developed in the early 1970s by United Airlines engineers improving maintenance procedures for the Boeing 747, and was soon adopted across aviation, defense and aerospace, where tolerance for failure is low. Today healthcare and manufacturing rely on it to raise productivity, reduce costs and prevent downtime.

RCM integrates three analyses (failure, consequence and task) focused on the causes, impacts and cures of asset failures, followed by preemptive action to minimize failure rates among critical components. Its adoption has driven three trends: linking effective maintenance to productivity gains, using maintenance as a competitive strategy, and emphasizing reliable components to reduce reactive maintenance over time.

Where steam traps fit

Steam traps are automatic valves that remove condensate, air and other non-condensable gases while minimizing steam loss. Conventional traps are prone to fatigue and failure, letting steam escape and driving up fuel, water, chemical, labor and replacement costs, along with environmental impact.

SMS applies reliability engineering to trap design. TECH-FITT® traps are built to perform at maximum efficiency over an extended lifetime, avoiding unplanned maintenance while saving energy. Full-scale conversions often pay back in under two years, and facility managers can focus their resources on the core mission: patient care.

Talk to us about RCM

Further reading