Reliability, Availability And Maintenance (RAM) Study

02-01-24 | 2:59

R A M (Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability) analysis is a well-known method of estimating the production availability of a system by assessing failure modes, frequencies, and consequences. The intention is to find out if the estimated production availability meets the requirements and to identify the most cost-efficient parameters to help pave the way for an optimum solution in terms of profit.

Reliability – It is the ability to perform a specific function and may be given as design reliability or operational reliability. The fundamental parameter for determining the reliability of an object is its failure rate, i.e. the number of failures it undergoes in the set time of one hour.
Availability – it is the ability to keep a functioning state in the given environment. It is the probability that a device’s performance will be unchanged over time. Availability studies take into account the maintenance to be carried out on the system and the time needed to restore it;
Maintainability – the ability to be timely and easily maintained (including servicing, inspection and check, repair, and/or modification).

Benefits of RAM Analysis:

The benefits of undertaking RAM Studies include:

A reduction in the maintenance and sparing costs, while maintaining and/or increasing production levels;
A decrease in the duration of any unplanned and planned outages;
Optimization on capital investment by reducing the cost of production;
Optimization of capital improvement options at the plant and enterprise levels when improve budgets are constrained;
Accurate forecasts of equipment lifecycle costs that reflect the equipment age, duty cycle, and maintenance effectiveness;