AFE Maintenance Planning & Reliability Engineering 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary goal of Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM)?
- Eliminate all scheduled maintenance tasks
- Preserve system function by selecting appropriate maintenance strategies (Correct answer)
- Reduce maintenance staff headcount
- Maximize equipment replacement frequency
Correct answer: Preserve system function by selecting appropriate maintenance strategies
RCM aims to preserve system function by identifying the most effective maintenance strategy for each failure mode rather than eliminating maintenance or reducing staff.
Question 2: Which maintenance strategy involves replacing components at fixed time intervals regardless of their condition?
- Predictive maintenance
- Condition-based maintenance
- Preventive (time-based) maintenance (Correct answer)
- Run-to-failure maintenance
Correct answer: Preventive (time-based) maintenance
Preventive (time-based) maintenance schedules replacement or servicing at fixed intervals regardless of the component's actual condition.
Question 3: Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) is best described as:
- The average time to repair a failed asset
- The average operating time between successive failures of a repairable system (Correct answer)
- The probability that equipment will fail within a given period
- The total number of failures divided by operating cost
Correct answer: The average operating time between successive failures of a repairable system
MTBF measures the average elapsed time between failures of a repairable system, serving as a key reliability metric.
Question 4: In a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), what is the Risk Priority Number (RPN) calculated from?
- Severity × Occurrence × Detection (Correct answer)
- Probability × Impact × Cost
- Frequency × Downtime × Labor cost
- Severity × Probability × Repair time
Correct answer: Severity × Occurrence × Detection
RPN = Severity × Occurrence × Detection; it prioritizes failure modes so maintenance resources are directed at the highest-risk items first.
Question 5: Which condition-monitoring technique uses sound waves to detect bearing defects and lubrication issues?
- Thermography
- Vibration analysis
- Ultrasonic testing (Correct answer)
- Oil analysis
Correct answer: Ultrasonic testing
Ultrasonic testing detects high-frequency sound emissions from bearing defects, leaks, and lack of lubrication that are inaudible to the human ear.
Question 6: Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is calculated by multiplying which three factors?
- Availability × Performance × Quality (Correct answer)
- Uptime × Speed × Yield
- Reliability × Maintainability × Availability
- MTBF × MTTR × Utilization
Correct answer: Availability × Performance × Quality
OEE = Availability × Performance × Quality, providing a composite measure of how effectively manufacturing or facility equipment is being utilized.
Question 7: A P-F curve in predictive maintenance represents:
- The relationship between planned vs. forced outages
- The interval between a potential failure and a functional failure (Correct answer)
- The cost curve of preventive versus corrective maintenance
- The probability of failure over the equipment's lifespan
Correct answer: The interval between a potential failure and a functional failure
The P-F curve shows the interval between the point where a potential failure (P) can be detected and when functional failure (F) occurs, guiding inspection frequency.
AFE Maintenance Planning & Reliability Engineering 1
What is the primary goal of Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM)?