Criticality Analysis Techniques Applied to Optimize Maintenance Management Processes

The techniques of criticality analysis are tools that allow identifying and hierarchy for their importance the assets of an installation on which it is worth directing resources (human, economic, and technological). In other words, the process of criticality analysis helps determine the importance and consequences of potential failure events of production systems within the operational context in which they perform. Taking as reference the maintenance management model (MMM) of the eight phases, this chapter related to techniques of prioritization and criticality is part of Phase 2 of the MMM. In the following chapter, the most important theoretical aspects of equipment hierarchical analysis techniques are explained, based on the qualitative and quantitative risk model (failures frequencies and consequences). Finally, two case studies in the oil refining industry are developed; the first case uses the tool qualitative risk matrix (QRM), and the second case uses the tool risk analytic hierarchy process (RAHP).