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Together with EPRI and Loma Consulting, CA Advisors conducted a pilot study to assess
the applicability of Analytical RCM in the electric power industry. We chose one part to analyze: circuit
breakers. One of the utilities provided the historical maintenance data for this part.
We then chose the maintenance records for one model, 15VKH500 manufactured by ABB. The maintenance records
related to different serial numbers of this one model.
The objective of this pilot study concerned with applying Analytical RCM to abstract the reliability
characteristics for that model. In particular, we wanted to find out about the accuracy of the methodology
and the corresponding computational stability.
The results were solidly impressive. We demonstrated that the abstraction of the inherent reliability
characteristics could be effectively brought about through Analytical RCM. This abstraction proved not
only accurate, but the calculations showed a remarkable stability. As a result, various maintenance events
can be accurately forecasted by applying the reliability parameters, in turn leading to a significantly
improved planning for resources.
One of the key issues addressed in this pilot study was the data requirement for developing tools that
capture uncertainties and risks. It was verified that the needed data was routine and normally available
in production databases. It was also confirmed that such data could be exported to Microsoft Excel. As
a result, additional decision-support tools can be developed in the Excel environment, and results can be
put into Excel spreadsheets for further analysis or graphical display.
We have presented the results of this pilot study in two EPRI-sponsored conferences:
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Washington, DC, October 2000 (download presentation)
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Chattanooga, TN, October 2002 (download presentation)
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