Asset management: reliability centred maintenance and overhead lines

This paper outlines how the use of reliability centred maintenance (RCM) can improve the reliability of overhead lines. The process allows a greater understanding of the failure mechanisms within a network. By considering these mechanisms first, appropriate tools and techniques can then be applied to ensure the network delivers optimum performance. The key benefit of the RCM process is the understanding of the causes of component failures. This leads to the identification of suitable preventative tasks. Where preventative tasks are not applicable RCM leads the asset owner to re-design the system. Capital spend can therefore be more accurately applied and its benefits more accurately predicted