Introduction: The optimisation of maintenance interventions to enhance reliability, safety and performance of secondary (distribution) switchgear based on the analysis of asset failure modes.

The scientific approach here has enabled a critical analysis of time-based maintenance variables to identify areas where the underlying principals of the maintenance policy can be challenged.

Objectives: EDF Energy Networks has previously investigated the Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM ) methodology in a limited area (cut out incidents and tap changers) using data external to business as usual processes. This year, Sclumberger Business Consulting led a number of our internal staff through the RCM process applied to a current maintenance issue.

The methodology was applied to distribution switchgear maintenance as a test bed prior to roll-out into the business. The project investigated the potential for improvement to our maintenance strategy for distribution switchgear using the RCM framework whereby targeted maintenance based on failure modes is carried out in order to improve reliability rather than maintenance being strictly time or interval based.