Common Sense Planned Maintenance

An updated approach to Reliability Centered Maintenance that has transformed maintenance in a global beverage manufacturer, presented in a practical guide to building a Common Sense Planned Maintenance system.

Paperback version with black and white illustrations.

The beverage industry still follows outdated maintenance practices that were abandoned nearly 50 years ago in the aircraft industry. These practices combine sporadic corrective maintenance with periodic major overhauls, where the equipment is totally dismantled and rebuilt at great expense. The RCM principles that have since been applied in the aerospace, power or petrochemical industries are not followed in the beverage industry. This is partly because existing RCM texts are too theoretical to apply to the beverage industry, and partly because the industry has not developed a methodology to copy Planned Maintenance schedules from one similar machine to another.

This book describes my Common Sense approach to building a Planned Maintenance system and how it was applied in a global beverage manufacturer, streamlining the approach to RCM to an appropriate level for the industry (relatively low risk) and using a hierarchical approach that facilitates copying Planned Maintenance schedules to other similar machines, accelerating development across the organization.

The application of Common Sense Planned Maintenance in only one brewery reduced annual maintenance costs by over 2 million Euros and is so effective that the system was applied to over 50 breweries worldwide in 2023.

In addition, the failure patterns published by Nolan and Heap in 1978 have been updated to take into account improvements in electronics and materials since the 1960's. This is a significant update on the basic principles that are currently accepted and used by maintenance engineers globally.

This book also integrates modern technological developments into RCM theory, including CMMS, Predictive Maintenance and Condition Monitoring updates.

Here is what the reviewer's say:

Dr Jun Jie Chong, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Design and Manufacturing Engineering, Newcastle University Singapore: Overall, his book is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to learn more about maintenance and its practical applications. With its detailed guidance, practical insights, and wealth of examples, it provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to this critical aspect of maintenance engineering.

Dennis van der Plas, Manager Maintenance and Asset Care, Heineken: I found this book both entertaining and a good source of knowledge at the same time. Clifford alternates throughout the book easily between explanation, analysis, anecdotes, and instruction, which makes the book very readable. I believe the book is appealing for both young engineers, as well as senior management in Maintenance, because it describes the basics of Maintenance Engineering as well as the considerations one needs to make when starting a large program. Altogether, I'm certain this book is an invaluable resource for many people.