Combine RCM and PHM to impact on logistics system

Abstract

Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) is an approach to incipient fault detection, predict impending faults and estimate remaining useful life, which is significant to improve operational readiness and reduce support acquisition costs. Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) is a systematic methodology used to identify the maintenance tasks at the lowest possible cost. After PHM-technology is introduced to materiel in the design and development phase, the PHM technology will exert a profound influence on the maintenance concept for the capability of fault prediction. The impact could be seen from corrective maintenance and preventive maintenance. As corrective maintenance is concerned with fault mode and operation requirements, it chooses the preventive maintenance as the important context to analyze in this paper. In the development phase, it is necessary to develop a scheduled preventive maintenance program, which is considered as a significant task subsequent after PHM-technology has been applied to materiel. However, there are some differences with traditional support system after PHM technology application. In this paper, it talks about these differences and raise some new issues about RCMA process. To solve these issues, the paper gives the corresponding solutions. Comparing with traditional Reliability-centered Maintenance(RCM) process, it obtains a new RCMA logical decision analysis process. Simultaneously, in order to overcome the weakness of PHM such as the uncertainty of fault diagnosis, the paper provides an appropriate approach to achieve maintenance scientifically and support accurately. Furthermore, an approach for determining the items of preventive maintenance intervals in system design and development phase is outlined. After PHM-technology is used in aero materiel, the paper proposes a basis for making support decision about preventive maintenance which is benefit for making preventive maintenance program.