Maintenance Strategies

KEMA can assist you in developing maintenance strategies through a methodological approach to condition and remaining life assessments

Most power plant components require maintenance to safeguard their functionality according to pre-determined performance requirements. Inevitably, a time will come when maintenance is no longer cost-effective and components should be replaced. Various analyses and improvement methods are currently in use to optimize maintenance activities on power plants, including:

• failure modes and effects analysis

• failure modes, effects and criticality analysis

• reliability-centered maintenance

• risk-based maintenance and replacement.

The Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) method systematically analyzes all known failure modes of an object and considers the consequences of those failures for the functionality of the object. In essence, FMEA can be considered a reliability analysis of a power plant. The FMEA results can be used for development of maintenance plans or as input for further analysis.

The Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) method augments the FMEA method as it provides a qualitative indication of critical potential failures and adds both the probability and the severity to the equation, enabling to prioritize maintenance activities.

Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) is a process used to determine the maintenance requirements of any physical asset in its operating context. To apply RCM, an investigation into the components function as well as operating context must be undertaken, similarly as in the FMEA approach. The results of an RCM analysis are used to optimize the maintenance strategy of a plant.

Risk-based Maintenance and Replacement (RBM&R) is a quantitative method for economic optimization of a functional entity in an infrastructure. It comprises both maintenance and replacement to retain the functionality of the object indefinitely. RBM&R allows calculation of the financial risks, lifecycle costs and economics of alternative maintenance and replacement options. The methodology focuses on the economic aspects of the objects rather than the technical aspects.

Remaining lifetime extension places managers of aging facilities with this start choice: repair or relocate. KEMA, as independent service provider has developed a methodological tool to assess and evaluate condition, remaining life in a consistent way and to assure integrity and availability during the desired life span of equipment or components and the required in-depth technical knowledge to face these unbiased challenges: ALTIMA, KEMA’s Advanced Life Time Management Approach. The main items of the ALTIMA approach are:

• condition assessment

• remaining life assessment

• condition monitoring

• condition based maintenance.