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I–ORIGINES :
The MBF or RCM was introduced in aviation in the United States around 1960 to determine the programs of
maintenance. The publication of a document called MSG established the foundations of the development method of a
maintenance program for all stakeholders in aeronautical maintenance. The evolution of directives
MSG translates into a regression of planned maintenance in favor of conditional actions, then
economic optimization while prioritizing safety.
In France, it was in 1984 that the RCM concept was introduced under the impetus of EDF, which wanted to apply it to its
nuclear installations. It is the OMF project which is defined as a maintenance policy aimed at "to
define a preventive maintenance program to help maintain or even improve the reliability of functions
systems that are important for the security and availability of nuclear slices." The objectives of the OMF
are the maintenance and improvement of nuclear safety, cost control, and economic optimization of the
maintenance, the implementation of a structured method through the analysis of functional failures, the use of
feedback to readjust maintenance programs.
The idea of adapting RCM to industry was developed in France around 1996. The approach is based on analysis.
techniques of equipment and a strong involvement of maintenance personnel. The goal is always to improve the
availability of equipment

II–DEFINITIONS AND PRINCIPLES:

21–Definitions:
RCM: global maintenance strategy of a system using a structured analysis method to ensure
the inherent reliability of this system.
MBF: method intended to establish a preventive maintenance program designed to gradually improve the
level of availability of critical equipment. The method is essentially based on precise knowledge of
functional and dysfunctional behavior of systems.
22–Objectives:
The main objective is to improve availability (more important at the industrial level than mere reliability) of
critical equipment (for safety or quality).
Improving availability involves:
A reduction of failures through the implementation of effective preventive maintenance
A reduction in production loss durations through a distribution of tasks between production and the
maintenance
Other objectives are also sought:
1. Mastery of costs through the optimization of maintenance plans by interventions 'in the right place at the right time'
moment", thus by eliminating preventive maintenance operations found to be unproductive.
2. Implementation of a structured approach to failure modes analysis.
3. Implementation of a participatory approach by creating MBF working groups that include stakeholders.
of production and maintenance.
23–The 3 principles of the MBF:
1. Principle of self-limitation: or systematic selection. It applies to the criticalities of equipment and to
successive levels: critical equipment fragile subsets their failures the causes the
maintenance tasks.
2. Principle of subordination: maintenance tasks depend necessarily on reliability knowledge.
failures and their causes; which implies a functional and dysfunctional understanding of
equipment.
3. Principle of participation: the MBF is based on working groups involving all stakeholders related to the process.
(production, maintenance, quality).

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Ranked list of
equipment

Ranked list of Feedback

failures
functional

Ranked list of
causes of
failures

Ranked list of
preventive actions

On-site application of the plan

MAINTENANCE PLAN
of maintenance

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III–THE STAGES OF THE MBF:

Remarks:
Selection of equipment: the 3 criteria to consider are safety S, availability D, and quality Q.
The information on these 3 parameters is collected through historical data and production records. With these 3
parameters, we will then be able to express the criticality of each equipment.
The selection of preventive actions will follow the approach outlined on the next page.

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I–INTRODUCTION :
To establish effective maintenance programs, it is essential to have a good understanding of the behavior of the equipment in
the time and ensure that the interventions made improve the situation regarding safety, reliability, and
overall costs.
The following history presents how new maintenance philosophies have developed in aviation.
Important concepts about hidden functions and types of failures are explained before moving on to
the very principles of the MBF.
Historique
It was mainly between 1960 and 1980 that the new maintenance philosophies developed in
aviation. In the 1960s, maintenance programs were based on fixed replacement intervals.
of components calculated empirically.
To make programs smarter, the 'Maintenance Steering Group' has been formed with experts.
operators and aircraft designers. This resulted in the MSG methodology, which became MSG-2 after
experience.
MSG-2 has the philosophy: what can we do to prevent a replaceable component from failing?
In 1978, the American Navy commissioned a group of engineers to study reliability behavior of
aircraft components. For a long time, reliability theory has utilized the bathtub curve as the
reference model. However, their study shows that 4% of the components follow this rule, these are the components that
They wear out like ball bearings. Other modes of behavior are then developed. The most significant fact
Remarkably, 68% of the components show a curve indicating early youth problems, but subsequently a
stable failure rate, for example electronic components, software.
A methodology for establishing maintenance programs called MBF (maintenance based on the
reliability) has been developed.
The significant increase in fuel costs and the improvement in the reliability of new components have exerted
a pressure to revise the approach to give more importance to cost reductions. It has become
MSG-3, which used the logical approach of the MBF.

II–THE FOUNDATIONS OF MBF:

21–The hidden functions:
An obvious function is a function whose failure will be apparent to the crew during normal operations.
operations.
A hidden function is a function whose failure will not be obvious to the crew during the normal course of events.
operations.
A piece of equipment can have several functions, some of which are hidden. Some maintenance tasks will
So for the purpose of verifying the proper functioning of these hidden functions. The inspection programs include
many of these tasks.
22–Types of failures:
An operational crew is not often able to report a failure as such. Instead, it observes a
dissatisfactory operating condition, a symptom. This condition may however be compliant with standards or be
a real failure. Knowing that a failure is defined by an unsatisfactory condition, there are two types of
failures :
Functional failure: a functional failure is the inability of an item (or the equipment that it
contains) to meet a specific level of performance.
Potential failure: a potential failure is an identifiable physical condition indicating that a
Functional failure is imminent. The threshold for potential failure depends on the interval between
the inspections.

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23–The principles:
231–Systematic refurbishment of equipment:
A complex equipment is subject to multiple failure modes. Sometimes, one of these modes can be dominant.
and highlight a situation where the failure rate increases with age.
However, studies conducted using equipment in service have shown that for a piece of equipment
complex: after a startup period, the level of reliability is rather stable over time; age has little
influence on the level of reliability.
The cases where age is important are mainly for simple items such as ball bearings, brakes or
other wear parts.
In fact, several cases of systematic renovation of complex equipment have rather had the effect of increasing the
number of failures by introducing youth issues into equipment that otherwise were
stabilized.
From a preventive maintenance perspective, the important factor is not so much predicting when a piece of equipment will fail.
broken down, but rather to know if the reduction of the level of resistance to breakage can be detected through evidence
physique in order to prevent an impending failure.
The systematic refurbishment of complex equipment according to a fixed schedule must therefore be limited to components.
who have demonstrated one or more modes of failure that increase with age.
232–A logic based on security:
The establishment of the MBF is based on a few questions often considered self-evident:
How does the failure occur?
What are the consequences?
Can a preventive maintenance task be applicable and effective?
The MBF logic is based on security. To define an initial maintenance program, the analysis team asks itself
a series of questions concerning the effects of failure:
Is the occurrence of the failure obvious to the crew during normal operations?
2. Does the failure cause the loss of a function or a secondary malfunction that has repercussions on
the operational safety of operation?
Does the failure have direct repercussions on the operational capabilities of the asset in its
together?
A logical diagram of these questions has been developed. If security is not directly involved, it is the
economic rules that dictate the course of action. However, it is necessary to have an objective assessment of the costs.
economic implications of a reduction in the operational capacity of equipment, as these costs are generally
much more important than maintenance costs in decision-making. Then there are the modes
of intervention that are questioned:
Is there an applicable and effective cleaning, greasing, or lubrication task?
Is there an inspection or functioning control that is applicable and effective enough to detect a
potential failure?
Is there an applicable and effective remedial task that has the effect of reducing the failure rate?
Is there an applicable and effective preventive discard to avoid breakdowns or to reduce the rate?
of failure?
A negative response to these questions means that there are no preventive tasks to be carried out. If the level of security
requirement is not met or that the economic consequences are significant, the only solution is then the
reconceptualization of the equipment.
233–Intrinsic reliability:
The important role of economic rules in decision-making with the MBF is to clarify the nature of reliability.
intrinsic of equipment. The latter is not the time period that equipment will survive without
failure but rather the level of reliability achieved when the equipment is maintained with a program of
preventive maintenance, proper servicing and lubrication.
Maintenance does not increase the reliability of an object but maintains its level of reliability.
intrinsic as established by the design and operation parameters.

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III – HOW TO MAKE MAINTENANCE EFFECTIVE:

The questioning of maintenance programs leads us to define what the tasks are that are
applicable and effective and what are the 4 basic tasks in maintenance to then assess what are the
best intervention intervals and clarify the classification of maintenance forms.
31–The tasks:
To be considered in the development of a maintenance program in MBF mode, a task must be
applicable and effective.
Applicable task: a maintenance task is applicable if it can be implemented practically.
An effective task: a maintenance task is effective if it allows for the monitoring of the progression of a degradation.
known. It should reduce the failure rate or bring the probability of failure to a level
pre-established.
The measurement of a crack to monitor its evolution relative to a tolerated threshold is effective.
However, a visual inspection, by its nature qualitative, generally does not provide information.
controllable according to a specification, it is therefore not effective in MBF. However, the minimal cost of these
inspections can justify its maintenance.
32–Basic tasks in MBF:
In the context of MBF, the 4 basic tasks in preventive maintenance are:
Periodic tasks according to the state:
Periodic inspections are scheduled to detect potential failures: tasks based on the condition or
functioning checks. These inspections trigger the removal or repair of components that do not meet
not the standard. These tasks are therefore targeted at specific failure modes and are only applicable if a
Physical evidence of degradation can be observed. The following graph illustrates the logic:

In the maintenance of the rolling stock of the subway, for the measurement of cracks on the wheels, the level of potential failure
est plus bas pour une inspection à l'entretien mineur par rapport à celui de l'entretien majeur pour des motifs
economic cost and inspection frequency.
Systematic repair tasks:
A systematic renovation task can be considered applicable only if the following criteria are met.
met:
There must be an identifiable age at which the article shows a rapid increase in the probability of.
failure;
A large proportion of the population must survive until that age;
It should be possible to restore the original level of resistance through refurbishing.
When commissioning equipment, it is therefore important that costly failures are identified and
included in an evaluation program of the effects of equipment aging in order to discover as early as possible whether
Systematic refurbishment tasks are wise.
The first equipment put into service can serve as scouts. They are used as samples for a
detailed inspection. Opportunity samples are equipment that has been removed from service due to a failure.
or another reason for which we take the opportunity to carry out a more in-depth examination of the parts not affected by the
failure.
It is therefore not always necessary to establish systematic periodicities for conducting an evaluation.
the effects of aging.

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Preventive withdrawal tasks:
A preventive withdrawal with disposal is imposed only when safety is at stake, it is a failure.
Critique. Test data must demonstrate that no failure is likely below a safe life limit.
For example, the pyrotechnic components of a military aircraft ejection seat degrade in a non-perceptible manner.
over time; a time limit is imposed, based on a fraction of the age at which one could detect it by trial.
degradation.
There may be preventive withdrawals for economic reasons (economic life limit); in these cases, the conditions...
the following are present:
The article is subject to a failure having a major economic impact but with no consequence on the
security
There must be an identifiable age at which the article shows a rapid increase in the probability of
failure
A large proportion of the population must survive until that age.
Failure detection tasks:
When a piece of equipment is subject to failures of hidden functions to the operator, tasks for
failure detection to ensure the availability of the function. This is the case, for example, with equipment of
fire protection.
Such tasks are necessary to avoid multiple failures that would have consequences.
disastrous.
33–Intervals :
The difficulty of establishing maintenance intervals is essentially an information problem. The basic concept
Should the first inspection be far enough in time to allow the detection of certain evidence?
physiques. The inspection repetition period must be short enough to ensure that a component is removed.
in the period of potential failure before the functional failure occurs.
34–The forms of maintenance:
The following types of maintenance are defined as follows:
Corrective maintenance: a form of maintenance aimed at maintaining the normal operation of an object following an analysis.
of its state, its operating condition, its performance, the evolution of costs, the causes of failure. For example
the replacement of components following an inspection.
Curative maintenance: a form of maintenance aimed at restoring the normal operation of an object by repairing it.
components that are missing (due to breakage, failure, etc.). This is a special case of repair. The reports in
service generates corrective maintenance.
Preventive maintenance: a form of maintenance that applies to interventions aimed at reducing the likelihood of
breakdown. For example: visual inspection, vibration analysis, oil analysis. Following maintenance
preventive, it may result from the corrective maintenance to be done.
Modifications: work that alters an object in order to improve its use and efficiency.
Maintenance program: a set of determined tasks to be carried out on equipment.

IV–DESIGNING EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS :

The steps outlined to design an initial maintenance program according to the MBF approach are as follows:
1. Break down the equipment into systems and sub-systems to identify the items that will require a
intensive analysis.
2. Identify significant items whose failure impacts safety or operational costs.
and all the hidden functions that require periodic maintenance.
3. Assess the maintenance needs of each significant item and hidden function based on the
consequences of failures and only choose the tasks that meet these needs.
4. Identify the articles for which no task is applicable and effective in order to recommend
Reconceptions if security is affected or do not assign periodic maintenance until there is no...
information justifying an action.
5. Choose conservative initial intervals for each task and group them into programs.
rationales for implementing them.
6. Establish a program to assess the effect of equipment aging to provide factual information.
required to validate and revise the established programs.

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V–THE BENEFITS OF MBF:

The results of an MBF analysis are a better understanding of functions, an understanding of how
a piece of equipment can fail and what are the underlying causes to converge on a proposed task list
that are applicable and effective. The overall effect of such an approach is to develop a rigorous teamwork
motivating. The benefits for the company will include several of the following effects:
greater security and environmental integrity;
best operational performance
greater economic efficiency of maintenance;
extended lifespan of expensive equipment;
greater motivation of the staff.
An analysis of MBF will not produce magical results. However, this approach brings attention back to the places
significant. The programs that will result from this will ensure the maximum reliability that the equipment is capable of and
will only include tasks that support this objective at an economic cost.

VI–RENDER DYNAMIC MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS:

61–Objectives of maintenance programs:
An operator maintenance program has four objectives:
Ensure the achievement of the inherent levels of security and reliability of the equipment.
Establish the safety and reliability of equipment at their inherent levels when deterioration has occurred.
Obtain the necessary information to improve the design of components whose inherent reliability is
inadequate.
Achieve these goals at the best total cost possible, including maintenance costs and the cost of failures.
residual.
62–Applicability and effectiveness of tasks:
A reliability-centered maintenance program contains only the tasks that meet both criteria.
of applicability and effectiveness. The applicability of a task is determined by the characteristics of the item and its
effectiveness is defined in terms of the consequences that the task is meant to prevent.
There are four fundamental types of tasks that maintenance employees can perform. Each of them is
applicable under a unique set of conditions. The first three types of tasks are to prevent failure
functional of the article to which they are assigned and the fourth type of task is to prevent a multiple failure
involving this article:
inspections on the condition of an item to find and correct any potential faults;
revision (or renovation) of an article at an established age limit or before;
discarding an article (or one of its components) at an established age limit or before;
search for potential failures by inspecting a hidden function to find and correct
functional failures present but not apparent to the operations staff.
63–Dynamic maintenance programs:
A periodic maintenance program must be dynamic. Any program established before commissioning is
Based on limited information, the organization of the equipment must be prepared to collect and respond to the data.
historical based on operational experience.
The management of an ongoing maintenance program requires an organized information system for the
monitoring and analyzing the performance of each item according to the operating conditions in place. This
Information is required for two purposes:
to establish the refinements and modifications to be made to the initial maintenance programs (including
the adjustment of the intervention intervals;
to determine the improvement needs for the product.
The information derived from operational experience follows the following hierarchy of importance:
the failures that could affect safety;
the failures that have operational consequences;
the modes of failure of items withdrawn due to a failure;

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the general state of components without failure that are part of units that have experienced a failure;
the general condition of the inspectable components evaluated as samples.
At the time of developing the initial maintenance programs, the available information allows for determining
the tasks necessary to protect the security and operational capabilities of the equipment. However,
the required information to determine the optimal interval between interventions and the applicability of age limits cannot
can only be obtained through the exploration of the experienced ages with the equipment in service.
With any equipment, there is always the possibility of unexpected failure modes. The first occurrence of any
serious unforeseen failure immediately triggers the next cycle of product improvement:
A conditional task is developed to prevent the recurrence of the failure while waiting for the item.
to be redesigned and modified;
after the modification has proven effective, the special task is removed from the program
maintenance.
The improvement of the product, based on the identification of the reliability characteristics of each item according to the evolution of
its age is part of the normal development cycle of any complex equipment.
According to 2 articles by Yves Le Corre: The provided text is a URL and cannot be translated.

Graphic summary of the method

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