The optimum maintenance strategies for an
installation on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) are seen
as a combination of Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM),
predetermined periodic Preventive Maintenance (PM) and runto-
failure. CBM strategies are traditionally reserved for high
safety-critical and high production-critical equipment. In recent
years, however, there has been an increasing demand to
maximize the use of CBM strategies on offshore installations.
Arguments are presented in this paper to explore the
opportunities where CBM strategies can be justifiable for other
production-critical equipment. The justification presented is thus
related to the cost-effectiveness of establishing a Condition
Monitoring (CM) system, which would primarily be based on the
use of process and equipment performance measures.
The paper presents an intuitive explanation for the costeffective
justification of CBM and also summarizes some general
issues that influence the decision process for the different
equipment criticality classes. A graphical representation is then
presented. On the basis of analysis, a scenario is presented where
CBM strategies and activities are justifiable for other
production-critical equipment.