Risk-Based Maintenance (RBM)

A maintenance improvement program in which the maintenance processes and procedures are planned based on (failure) risks, effects, and calculated cost. This is a financially based analysis technique that focuses on establishing the relative worth of maintenance. It was originally developed as a means of reviewing existing maintenance programs, and this mode works well as a continuous improvement tool. RBM defines opportunities for incremental improvement through the elimination of tasks of low value and the introduction of tasks that address high commercial risk areas. As such, RBM is also valuable in transferring knowledge from existing installations to provide a baseline for new builds.