Asset Strategy Development: A Step-by-Step Practical Alternative to Traditional RCM

Asset Strategy Development (ASD) is a fast, practical adaptation of Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM). While traditional Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) is rigorous and highly detailed, it can also be time-consuming and resource intensive. Asset Strategy Development retains the core reliability thinking of RCM but reshapes it into a more streamlined and actionable approach.

At its core, the purpose of Asset Strategy Development is to quickly develop defensible and effective maintenance strategies, especially for organizations managing large and diverse asset populations. Rather than aiming for theoretical perfection, Asset Strategy Development focuses on making sound, risk-informed decisions that can be implemented consistently across many similar assets.

Core Principles of Asset Strategy Development

Asset Strategy Development is guided by a small set of principles that act as decision filters. These principles ensure that maintenance strategies are not only technically sound, but also practical and valuable in day-to-day operations. For a robust asset strategy development, every maintenance decision must pass three fundamental filters before it earns a place in the strategy.

1. Sensible & Defensible Maintenance tasks

This means it can be clearly justified using logic, field experience, or whatever data is reasonably available. The goal is not academic proof, but a rational explanation that can be defended when questioned. If a task exists only because “we’ve always done it this way,” it fails this filter.

2. Technically Feasible and Worth Doing

Even a well-justified task has little value if it cannot realistically be executed. Asset strategy development requires that maintenance activities be achievable with the tools, skills, and resources that already exist within the organization.

3. Contribute to Reliability or Risk Reduction

Asset strategy development actively avoids work that looks productive but delivers little value. Each activity should either reduce the likelihood of failure, mitigate its consequences, or improve asset performance. Efficiency matters just as much as effectiveness; extra work that does not move the reliability needle is deliberately filtered out.

To support these principles, the asset strategy development technic applies a simple litmus test to every potential failure and associated task:

Step 1 — Identify the System and Define Boundaries

This step sets the tone for the entire strategy. Without a clear system definition and well-understood boundaries, maintenance strategies quickly become unfocused, inconsistent, and difficult to defend.

Define the asset, system, or subsystem

Begins by identifying the level at which the analysis will be performed. This could be a single asset, a complete system, or a specific subsystem, depending on the objective and scope of the effort. The key is consistency.

Establish clear boundaries

Boundaries must be explicitly stated: what is included and what is excluded. Boundaries clarify interfaces with upstream and downstream equipment, utilities, controls, and support systems.

Prioritize systems based on criticality

A great asset strategy development plan intentionally directs effort where it creates the most value by prioritizing systems using clear criticality criteria.

This prioritization ensures that limited resources are spent on assets where failure truly matters.

Step 2 — Gather Only the Essential Data

Asset Strategy Development is intentionally designed to work with limited, imperfect information. Unlike more exhaustive reliability studies, it does not aim to collect every possible data point. Instead, it focuses on gathering just enough information to support sound, defensible decisions, without slowing momentum or overloading the team.

Collect the minimum practical set of information

Asset Strategy Development relies on a focused data set that provides context without turning the exercise into a research project:

• Technical documentation
  Basic P&IDs, equipment specifications, and high-level drawings help clarify how the system is intended to function and where failures are most likely to originate.
• Maintenance history
  Work orders and failure records highlight recurring issues and chronic problem areas.
• Operational data
  Process conditions, operating modes, and past incidents provide insight into how the asset is actually used. This context often explains why certain failures occur more frequently than expected.
• External guidance
  OEM manuals and mandatory standards offer baseline recommendations and constraints.

By collecting only essential data, teams stay focused on decision-making rather than analysis paralysis. This disciplined approach allows Asset Strategy Development to move quickly while still producing maintenance strategies that are informed, credible, and practical to implement.

Step 3 — Define Functions and Performance Requirements

With the system clearly defined and essential data in hand, the strategy shifts focus to a fundamental question: what must the asset actually do?

Defining functions is critical because failures can only be understood when performance expectations are explicit.

Clarify what each asset must do

Each asset is expected to deliver value in multiple ways, and Asset Development Strategy captures this by defining distinct layers of function.

• Primary function
  The core reason the asset exists.
• Secondary functions
  These functions support safe and compliant operation. They include:
  • Safety protection
  • Containment of materials or energy
  • Control and regulation
  • Environmental protection
• Operating context
  Functions are only meaningful when paired with context. Load, duty cycle, environment, and operating modes all influence what “acceptable performance” truly means in real conditions.

To keep this process consistent and actionable, ASD uses a simple function statement structure:

“To [verb] [object] from [source] to [destination] at [performance standard].”

This template forces precision. It defines not only what the asset does, but also how well it must do it.

Step 4 — Identify Likely Failure Modes and Consequences

At this stage, Asset Strategy Development turns from defining what should happen to understanding how things actually go wrong. The objective is not to catalogue every theoretical failure, but to focus on realistic and credible failure modes.

Examine failure modes at the component or subsystem level

For each relevant component or subsystem, ASD asks a small set of disciplined questions:

• How can it fail?
• Why does it fail?
• What happens if it fails?
• Is the failure likely or historical?

These questions keep the discussion grounded and prevent the analysis from drifting into low-value speculation.

Use multiple sources to validate failure modes

This strategy mindset strengthens credibility by drawing from several practical information sources:

• CMMS failure history, which highlights recurring issues and chronic problem areas.
• OEM guidance, providing insight into known weaknesses and recommended protections.
• Field technicians and subject-matter experts, whose experience often reveals failure patterns not captured in documentation.
• Operational observations, such as abnormal conditions, workarounds, or near-miss events.

Step 5 — Select the Appropriate Maintenance Tasks

Once significant failure modes and their consequences are understood, ASD moves into action: selecting the maintenance tasks that will control those failures. This step is where strategy becomes tangible.

Match failure modes with the right task type

An Asset Strategy Development considers a range of task types, selecting only what fits the failure mechanism and operating context:

• Preventive maintenance
  Inspections, cleaning, and adjustments aimed at slowing degradation or catching obvious defects before failure.
• Predictive or condition monitoring
  Techniques used to detect developing failures based on condition.
• Scheduled replacements or rebuilds
  Applied when components have a predictable life and failure consequences justify planned intervention.
• Failure-finding tasks
  Used for hidden functions, ensuring protective devices or safeguards will work when needed.
• Operator checks and basic rounds
  Simple, frequent observations that capture early warning signs often missed by periodic maintenance activities.

Apply strict task qualification criteria

In Asset Development Strategy, a task earns its place only if it is:

• Feasible with existing resources and capabilities
• Cost-effective, considering the value of risk reduction
• Clearly linked to a specific failure mode
• Justifiable, with a rationale that can be explained and defended

To validate each task, the strategy applies a final set of practical questions:

Step 6 — Document and Implement the Strategy

A maintenance strategy only delivers value once it is clearly documented and consistently executed. In Asset Strategy Development, this step focuses on translating analytical decisions into instructions that people can actually follow in the field.

Translate decisions into execution-ready documentation

The documentation should clearly capture the logic of the strategy while remaining practical for daily use.

At a minimum, it should include:

• Functions
  A clear statement of what the asset is expected to do and the performance standards it must meet.
• Failure modes
  The specific ways in which those functions can be lost or degraded.
• Selected tasks and rationale
  Each task should be paired with a brief explanation linking it directly to the failure mode it controls.
• Frequencies and required resources
  How often the task is performed, who performs it, and what tools or skills are needed.

Implement the strategy in operational systems

Once documented, the strategy must be embedded where work is planned and executed:

• CMMS, to manage work orders, schedules, and history.
• APM software, where strategies are managed at scale and aligned with asset hierarchies.
• Operator rounds, ensuring front-line observations are integrated into the overall maintenance approach.

The outcome of this step is a structured, actionable maintenance plan that moves beyond theory.

Step 7 — Monitor, Review, and Improve

Asset Strategy Development is not a one-time exercise. Assets age, operating conditions evolve, and assumptions made during initial analysis eventually need to be challenged. For this strategy to remain effective, it must be actively monitored and adjusted.

Track performance using meaningful indicators

Ongoing review starts with tracking a small set of indicators that reflect how well the strategy is working in practice:

• Downtime and unplanned stops
• Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)
• Maintenance cost trends
• Inspection findings versus expectations

These indicators help distinguish between strategies that look good on paper and those that deliver real results.

Adjust the strategy based on evidence

An asset development strategy encourages deliberate change when evidence supports it.

Updates are warranted when:

• Tasks produce no findings, suggesting over-maintenance or excessive frequency.
• Failures continue to occur, indicating gaps in task selection, frequency, or effectiveness.
• Operating context changes, such as increased load, new operating modes, or environmental shifts.

Conclusion

Asset Strategy Development offers a pragmatic path forward for organizations that want stronger maintenance strategies without the weight of overly complex methodologies.

By adapting a Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) thinking into a more practical form, Asset Strategy Development delivers robust maintenance strategies without the heavy workload of full RCM.

For those new to the approach, the best way to experience its value is to start small. Apply ASD to one high-priority asset, one where failure matters and resources are already stretched. The insights gained and improvements realized often make the case for expanding ASD across the broader asset base.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is Asset Development Strategy in maintenance?
Asset Development Strategy is a structured, reliability-based approach used to define maintenance tasks that directly control credible failure modes. It adapts the principles of RCM into a faster, more practical format.

How long does Asset Development Strategy typically take?
The duration depends on asset complexity and scope, but Asset Development Strategy is designed to be completed significantly faster than full RCM studies.

Is Asset Development Strategy similar to FMEA?
FMEA is primarily a tool used to identify failure modes and their effects. Asset Strategy Development (ASD) applies the same fundamental logic to identify how assets fail but extends it by directly defining and recommending the maintenance actions required to manage those failures. In practice, an FMEA can be considered a subset within an ASD, where failure identification is connected to execution rather than remaining a standalone analytical exercise.

Can Asset Development Strategy be standardized or templated?
Yes. One of Asset Development Strategy strengths is its ability to be standardized across similar assets. Common templates, task libraries, and strategy structures can be reused.