GGR's experience of achieving worthwhile results means they reject a 'one size fits all' solution and instead tailor the approach to suit the situation.

Plant-wide improvement initiatives are notoriously difficult and require an immense amount of management time, effort and persistence if they are to succeed. Most organisations do better by targeting the key problems or aspects which will provide the most or quickest pay-off.

There is no single, universally best approach. For this reason GGR have developed a range of methodologies to suit the widely varying requirements of manufacturing, process and service industries. The approaches and their characteristics are summarised below.

  • Classical RCM. Could be the choice where there is an existing commitment to standard RCM. GGR's implementation of Classical RCM uses more advanced decision logic, has eliminated the jargon, and provides extensive documentation to justify every step.
  • Fast-track RCM. The preferred plant performance improvement process for most industrial situations. Fast-track RCM is as rigorous as Classical RCM and uses the same decision logic yet is easier to apply. GGR have included key features from other improvement methodologies that extend its ability to raise performance. In spite of this additional coverage, Fast-track RCM is much quicker and easier to use than traditional RCM.
  • Review RCM. GGR developed Review RCM for applications where there are extensive and excessive, but ineffective, preventive maintenance routines already in place. Typical symptoms are high maintenance costs, high proportion of fixed time overhauls and poor preventive maintenance completion rates.
  • Generic RCM. Used in conjunction with Fast-track RCM (or Classical RCM) where an organisation has many examples of the same or similar plant. A single review is carried out to establish a template that can be used for all similar plant. The template is then extended to take into account variations in plant specification and operating context.

GGR will advise on the most suitable approach, taking into account factors such as the project's objectives, the nature of the plant, current performance, past and present improvement initiatives, and the resources available.

Many large scale improvement programmes have been launched with little realistic chance of success - don't let this happen to you!

GGR strongly advises potential users of an RCM-based approach to get a good understanding of the various methodologies so that they can contribute effectively in the selection and planning phase. A range of training courses is available that will help you explore exactly how the different Lean and RCM-based approaches would work for you.