As I’ve said and written for decades, “Maintenance is the least defined of all industrial activities.” There is no common set of standards that defines maintenance standards, practices, methods, or job descriptions. Yet, there are some industry-specific standards and regulatory requirements. There are even some maintenance best practices. But no universal definition of industrial maintenance exists. Unfortunately, in an attempt to bolster the importance of maintenance over time, we, ourselves, have been contributing to much of the misunderstanding around it.
MAINTENANCE & RELIABILITY CONFUSION
In the past 30 years or so, we have merged common terminology, adapted terms, even created buzz words to define or label what we do in the scope of industrial maintenance. I credit the term “Reliability-Centered Maintenance” (RCM) for the morphing of our traditional maintenance vernacular by combining the words “reliability” and “maintenance” in the same label. The problem is that we’ve basically joined two words into a single term to describe something that actually has two completely different meanings:
♦ “MAINTENANCE” is an action or set of actions aimed at preserving a desired state. The word also refers to an organization or group of people that maintains equipment and facilities.
♦ “RELIABILTY” is a goal and an end-state or condition, i.e., the probability that the equipment will do what
it’s supposed to do. Reliability is not an action or set of actions.
Thus, when we use the term “maintenance and reliability” (M&R) in our plants and facilities, we are confusing the two meanings.
It’s important to remember that the reliability of equipment (or systems) is determined long before maintenance comes into play. The ultimate equipment (or system) reliability is determined in the design, engineering, procurement, and build phases, well before it goes into operation. This is why the entire life cycle of physical-asset management is important.
ASSET-MANAGEMENT CONFUSION
Assets and asset-management terms have been used in business to reference something of value, i.e., financial assets, property, estates, holdings. In the business world, capital assets represent property, facilities, and equipment. We frequently refer to the equipment and facilities as “physical assets.” Historically, the use of “asset management” in the business world has referred to the process of protecting and investing financial assets such as cash, stocks, bonds.
Over the past two decades, we’ve also heard the term “asset management” used in the context of equipment and facilities maintenance. Then, in 2014, “asset management” took on yet another meaning in the global business community with the release of the ISO55000:2014 Asset Management Standard. This standard defines an “asset” in the following very broad terms:
“An asset is an item, thing, or entity that has potential or actual value to an organization. The value will vary between different organizations and their stakeholders, and can be tangible or intangible, financial or non-financial.”
NAVIGATING THE TERMINOLOGY
See what I mean about confusion in our workplaces? Let’s be clear: Words do matter. Accordingly, let’s be careful to explain the meanings of the terms we use rather than assume that they are universally understood. They are not.TRR
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bob Williamson is a long-time contributor to the people-side of the world-class-maintenance and manufacturing body of knowledge across dozens of industry types. His background in maintenance, machine and tool design, and teaching has positioned his work with over 500 companies and plants, facilities, and equipment-oriented organizations. Contact him directly at 512-800-6031 or [email protected].
Tags: reliability, availability, maintenance, RAM, asset management, skills training, ISO 55000, training and qualification, workforce development
