Reliability centred maintenance

• US 9,120,271 B2
• Filed: 02/23/2012
• Issued: 09/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: BAE Systems Plc
• Original Assignee: BAE Systems Plc
• Inventors: Bell, Matthew Derek
• Primary Examiner(s): JARRETT, RYAN A
• Application Number:
  US13/403,314
• Publication Number:
  US 20120221125A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,286 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 70/10 characterised by the structure of fibrous reinforcements , e.g. hollow fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 5/24 made predominantly of plastics surf boards B63B32/57
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 71/00 Designing vessels; Predicting their performance
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2045/0085 Devices for aircraft health monitoring, e.g. monitoring flutter or vibration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/80 Management or planning

Abstract

A maintenance method and apparatus based on reliability centered maintenance, applied for example to a military aircraft, include the following steps performed in a feedback manner: i) performing RCM; ii) feeding outcomes derived from performing the RCM to an update process; iii) performing the update process to provide update data for performing the RCM; and iv) inputting the update data into the performing of the RCM. The method can carry out a maintenance action selected by and/or or at a time and/or extent specified by the performing of the RCM; the outcomes that are fed to the update process including outcomes from the maintenance action that is carried out. The maintenance method thereby can provide a continuously updating RCM process.

Claims

1. A maintenance method based on reliability centred maintenance (RCM), the maintenance method comprising:

performing RCM, producing RCM outcomes;

feeding the RCM outcomes to an identify preventive maintenance requirements process, producing identify preventive maintenance requirements process outcomes;

feeding the identify preventive maintenance requirements process outcomes to a maintenance repair organisation process, producing maintenance repair organisation process outcomes;

feeding the maintenance repair organisation process outcomes to a maintenance approved organisation process and an update process,

the update process comprising

a trigger mechanism process;

a baseline review process;

a continuous review process;

an RCM study process,

wherein the trigger mechanism process receives input from the maintenance repair organisation process and provides input to the baseline review process, the continuous review process, and the RCM study process;

performing the update process to provide update data for performing the RCM; and

inputting the update data into the performing of the RCM.

2. A method according to claim 1, comprising:

carrying out a maintenance action selected by the performing of the RCM; and

wherein the outcomes derived from performing the RCM that are fed to the update process comprise outcomes from the maintenance action that is carried out.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the carried out maintenance action is performed as part of the maintenance repair organisation process.

4. A method according to claim 1, comprising:

carrying out a maintenance action performed at a time specified by the performing of the RCM, and wherein the outcomes derived from performing the RCM that are fed to the update process comprise outcomes from the maintenance action that is carried out.

5. A method according to claim 1, comprising:

carrying out a maintenance action performed to an extent specified by the performing of the RCM, wherein the outcomes derived from performing the RCM that are fed to the update process comprise outcomes from the maintenance action that is carried out.

6. A method according to claim 1, comprising:

a continuously updating RCM process.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the maintenance method is applied to a military aircraft.

9. A program stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium or plurality of programs stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium that will, when executed by a computer system or one or more processors, cause the computer system or the one or more processors to perform the method of claim 1.

8. Apparatus for performing a maintenance method based on reliability centred maintenance (RCM), the apparatus comprising:

one or more processors configured to perform the following function in a feedback manner;

i) performing RCM, producing RCM outcomes;

ii) feeding outcomes derived from performing the RCM to an identify preventive maintenance requirements process, producing identify preventive maintenance requirements process outcomes;

iii) feeding the identify preventive maintenance requirements process outcomes to a maintenance repair organisation process, producing maintenance repair organisation process outcomes;

iv) feeding the maintenance repair organisation process outcomes to a maintenance approved organisation process and an update process, the update process comprising

a trigger mechanism process;

a baseline review process;

a continuous review process;

an RCM study process,

wherein the trigger mechanism process receives input from the maintenance repair organisation process and provides input to the baseline review process, the continuous review process, and the RCM study process;

v) performing the update process to provide update data for performing the RCM; and

vi) inputting the update data into the performing of the RCM.