Summary
In short
- A reliability centred maintenance study is an assessment used in KnowMaintain that decides the right maintenance strategy for each failure mode, from run to failure through to condition monitoring. It is built against SAE JA1011 and forms part of the Reliability and Predictive Maintenance programme.
- Run on critical assets. Carried out by a facilitated reliability team.
- The template holds 49 fields across 5 sections, with analysis repeating for each entry.
- Scoring is strategy assignment.
- SAE JA1011 is reliability centred maintenance criteria. What a process must do to be called RCM rather than a maintenance review.
- It connects to the rest of the library: links Asset, FMEA; feeds PM Plan.
What it is
What it is
What is a reliability centred maintenance study?
A reliability centred maintenance study is an assessment used in KnowMaintain that decides the right maintenance strategy for each failure mode, from run to failure through to condition monitoring. It is built against SAE JA1011 and forms part of the Reliability and Predictive Maintenance programme.
When is a reliability centred maintenance study completed?
A reliability centred maintenance study is completed when the task, area or population being assessed is new or has materially changed. Run on critical assets.
When to use it
When to use it, and when not to
This assessment is one step in a larger programme. Using it for work that belongs to a neighbouring template produces records that are hard to report on later.
Use it for
- The event or activity this assessment covers has occurred, or is about to
- A new record is needed; each one gets its own ID in the form RCM-2026-000
- You are running the Reliability and Predictive Maintenance programme and this is one of its steps
- A linked record needs this one to exist: links asset, fmea; feeds pm plan
Not for
- Equipment FMEA, which works through how an asset could fail, what the effect would be and how likely it is to be detected.
- MTBF Review, which reviews mean time between failures for an asset or asset class over a period.
- PM Optimization Review, which reviews whether preventive tasks are set at the right frequency, using actual failure and finding data.
- Anything outside KnowMaintain, which belongs in the workspace that owns that process
Standards
What it is built against
SAE JA1011Reliability centred maintenance criteria
What a process must do to be called RCM rather than a maintenance review.
SAESociety of Automotive Engineers
Engineering standards for vehicles and mobile equipment.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is the reliability centred maintenance study template based on?+
It is built against SAE JA1011. SAE JA1011 is reliability centred maintenance criteria. What a process must do to be called RCM rather than a maintenance review. SAE is society of Automotive Engineers. Engineering standards for vehicles and mobile equipment.
What sections does the reliability centred maintenance study contain?+
There are 5 sections: header, operating context, analysis, related records, result. Together they hold 49 fields, 35 of which are required.
How often is a reliability centred maintenance study raised?+
A new record is raised when the task, area or population being assessed is new or has materially changed. Each one is given an ID in the form RCM-2026-000, so it can be traced and referenced from other records.
Which programme does the reliability centred maintenance study belong to?+
It is part of Reliability and Predictive Maintenance. Intervals set by failure behaviour rather than by the calendar.
How is a reliability centred maintenance study scored?+
Scoring is strategy assignment. Scores exist to make the form tell you something, not to produce a percentage for its own sake.
Can the reliability centred maintenance study template be changed?+
Yes. Every field, option, score and conditional rule is editable, and the links to other templates come with it. Most teams install it as it is, run it for a cycle, then adjust.
The agents
What the agents do with it
The form is the easy part. Keeping it current, routing it to the right owner and holding the evidence together is the work that actually slips.
Holds the reliability centred maintenance study library against your registers, routes each record to its owner, and keeps the evidence trail together.
Coordinates the crew, rolls completion and exceptions into one view, and holds every write for your approval before it touches a record.
This template lives in KnowMaintain — asset maintenance. Work orders, planned maintenance, calibration, reliability and shutdowns.
Meet KnowMaintain→Sources
Sources
- SAE JA1011 — Reliability centred maintenance criteria
- SAE — Society of Automotive Engineers