Condition Based Maintenance and Root Cause Analysis
Where and How Expert Troubleshooting Software Fits In
Condition Based Maintenance
The goal of Condition Based Maintenance is to detect impending failures and perform preventative maintenance before a functional failure occurs. This goal is achieved by using real-time data, gathered as equipment and system conditions are monitored, to prioritize maintenance activities and optimize maintenance resources. Ideally condition-based maintenance will allow the maintenance personnel to do only the right things, minimizing spare parts cost, system downtime and time spent on maintenance.
Root Cause Analysis
The goal of RCA is to correct design deficiencies that result in failures by systematically investigating and correcting the root cause of failure. The intent of this approach is to reduce the likelihood of recurring failures by maining corrective measures at root causes rather than simply addressing symptoms. Since many failures are caused by more than one root cause, and it is not possible to prevent all problem recurrance, RCA is typically seen a an iterative, or continuous improvement process
Expert Troubleshooting Software
SpotLight® supports advanced physical asset management methods such as Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM) and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) at a number of levels. First, it delivers a regular flow of relevant knowledge, derived from RCM (Reliability Centered Maintenance) and RCA investigative activity, in the form of guided diagnostic session input.
In addition, SpotLight's intelligent line of questioning during guided diagnostics on the equipment automatically and efficiently captures key, discriminating information to support RCM analysis.
The following diagram illustrates where in the process and how SpotLight's guided diagnostic troubleshooting and experience knowledgebase contribute to RCA and CBM continuous improvement cycles.
For more information on how SpotLight can integrate sensor based data into the reasoning process (including real time signals) download the whitepaper SpotLight as an aid to Condition Based Maintenance (CBM)
Contact us for more information about how SpotLight guided diagnostic field service systems can support your existing RCA and CBM activities.
A maintenance technician, newly endorsed on an aircraft, is assigned for the first time to this type of aircraft. Although he is experienced on other aircraft, he still feels a certain uneasiness. Aircraft are very complex. There is no possible way for the new technician to become an instant expert. His classroom training gave him a basic understanding of how the aircraft systems work normally and how they are repaired, but he knows that these complex systems don't always fail in predictable ways. In many cases the manuals do not help – he must rely on the help of more experienced technicians who have seen such failures before. The only problem is that the technicians with that experience never seem to be around when needed.
When he arrives at the aircraft and checks the logbook, the technician finds that a critical system is failing intermittently. The pilots are complaining about unreliable operation. Following the troubleshooting manual does not isolate the fault. He tries swapping computers, but to no avail. Is it a software bug? An intermittent hardware component? A chafed wire somewhere in the miles of wiring that run through the aircraft? He suspects another technician may know the solution to this problem, but he has no idea where to find that person. He involves more and more people in the troubleshooting, and changes more and more parts. Soon, the Station Operations Center is screaming to get the aircraft back into operation. Finally, the solution is found. It turns out that there is a connector on the aft pressure bulkhead that has corroded, causing intermittent behavior in the system. Now the new technician knows something that very few other technicians know.
With CaseBank's guided diagnostic support, had this problem been seen before, the technician would have been quickly guided to it. If not, then this solution has already been captured by the software, and after expert validation, would be made available to the next technician who is presented with the problem.
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