Research by PHM Technology
RAMS Industry Study
An independent, cross-industry view of how reliability, availability, maintainability and safety is understood, applied and expected to evolve.
2027 · Call for participation
You know the reality.
Help the industry see it.
Share your experience of the tools, decisions and pressures shaping RAMS work. The next study focuses on engineering influence, AI assurance and what needs to change next.
Take the 2027 survey ↗THE NEXT INDUSTRY BENCHMARK
- 01Where does RAMS influence decisions?
- 02What is AI actually delivering?
- 03What needs to change next?
Published evidence · 2026
RAMS practice, in numbers
109 completed responses provide a snapshot of the tools, priorities and organisational practices reported in the 2026 study.
Perceive RAMS as mainly a compliance activity.
2026 respondents · n=109Use Microsoft Excel for RAMS work.
2026 respondents · n=109Report a documented RAMS strategy.
2026 respondents · n=109Latest findings
Ambition is moving faster than practice
The 2026 findings point to earlier engineering influence, stronger digital integration and a growing need to verify the value of AI-enabled work.
Performance is the ambition
62.4% expect RAMS to improve asset performance and 53.2% expect it to become part of early engineering design.
Digital RAMS belongs in engineering
More than half associate digitisation with systems engineering or wider organisational digital transformation.
AI needs assurance
Half of coded comments about the five-year role of RAMS mention AI or automation—an important direction, not a measure of adoption.
Full report
Read the complete 2026 findings
Explore respondent profiles, industry comparisons, the 2024–2026 longitudinal view and the methodological limits behind the findings.
Longitudinal view
What changed from 2024 to 2026?
These direction-of-travel indicators compare independent annual samples; they do not show changes within the same organisations.
Recognition as a critical design component fell from 54.0% to 33.0%.
Selection of AI’s impact as an operational challenge rose to 17.4%.
Spreadsheet use declined gradually but remained the most selected tool.
The share reporting a documented RAMS strategy stayed close to half.
Source: PHM Technology, RAMS Industry Study 2026, September 2026. Findings describe participating respondents, not the entire industry. Multi-select percentages can exceed 100%.
Your perspective matters
Help shape the next RAMS benchmark.
Contribute your experience to the 2027 RAMS Industry Study.