Relation between preventive maintenance and reliability for a cost-effective distribution system

This paper describes a procedure for obtaining the relationship between preventive maintenance and the reliability of distribution systems. This procedure centers on deducing the components which have a critical impact on system reliability and identifying causes by which the components fail. This is followed by identifying which of these causes can be reduced or eliminated by preventive maintenance. These procedures are at the heart of reliability centred maintenance (RCM). The approach is illustrated by application to an urban distribution system in the Stockholm city area. The results clearly demonstrate the need to identify the critical components, to understand comprehensively the causes of failures, and not to create preventive maintenance programmes by considering components in isolation but always as part of the system in which it is being used.