---
title: "MEC board basics"
slug: "mec-board-basics"
description: "Optimize your equipment care with the MEC board for insights on maintenance costs, task alignment, and efficient execution strategies."
tags: ["RCM"]
updated: 2026-10-27T23:11:57Z
published: 2026-10-27T23:11:57Z
canonical: "ims-handbook.cenosco.com/mec-board-basics"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://ims-handbook.cenosco.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# MEC board basics

## What the MEC Board Does

The MEC (Manage Equipment Care) board gives you a graphic overview of an installation's preventive maintenance tasks, so you can align their timing, frequency, and cost. It's the first of two steps that follow once RCM Analyses and RSL (Reliability Strategy Library) application are done — the second step, grouping tasks for efficient execution, comes after task alignment is complete.

## Turning on the MEC Board Icons

To see the MEC board icons, enable the **MEC** option in your user account:

![User management interface displaying user details and indicating how to enable the MEC option.](https://cdn.document360.io/e492a0e0-a4ba-4aca-8fc6-76b95f91fdf3/Images/Documentation/MEC%20B1.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-07T17%3A14%3A00Z&se=2026-11-07T18%3A14%3A00Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AKZv6jxbOjcYxMBkr6zY%2BeeRgELt33xPqIFm8QuefQM%3D)

The icon then appears in the FLOC grid, Equipment grid, and Systems grid, letting you open the MEC board for a FLOC, Equipment, or System selection:

![MEC board icon in the FLOC grid.](https://cdn.document360.io/e492a0e0-a4ba-4aca-8fc6-76b95f91fdf3/Images/Documentation/MEC%20B2%281%29.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-07T17%3A14%3A00Z&se=2026-11-07T18%3A14%3A00Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AKZv6jxbOjcYxMBkr6zY%2BeeRgELt33xPqIFm8QuefQM%3D)

The icon is also available on the individual FLOC, Equipment, and System detail screens.

Note

Pin your selection before you open the MEC board. This lets you see more data in the connected grids.

## The Four MEC Board Overviews

Once open, the MEC board provides four overviews:

- Long-term maintenance cost profile.
- Average maintenance cost per year vs. MEI (cumulative).
- Total maintenance cost per year per CMMS Type.
- MEI vs. maintenance cost per year per Failure mode.

![The four MEC board overview charts.](https://cdn.document360.io/e492a0e0-a4ba-4aca-8fc6-76b95f91fdf3/Images/Documentation/MEC%20B3.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-07T17%3A14%3A00Z&se=2026-11-07T18%3A14%3A00Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AKZv6jxbOjcYxMBkr6zY%2BeeRgELt33xPqIFm8QuefQM%3D)

These overviews help you answer:

- Are there large differences in cost in particular years, and why?
- Which Equipment types contribute to high cost?
- Which high-cost analyses are involved in low MEI scores?
- Is there a "cut-off" point in the accumulated Cost/MEI view that could be used to set an MEI threshold?

From these insights, you can drill into the data for better alignment or optimization.

## Why the MEC Board Matters

After RCM Analyses and RSL application are complete, two more steps remain:

1. Align the timing, frequency, and cost of tasks.
2. Group tasks for efficient execution.

The MEC board is where the first step — task alignment — happens. Task optimization itself is done in guided steps, starting with Task optimization.

![Starting Task optimization from the MEC board.](https://cdn.document360.io/e492a0e0-a4ba-4aca-8fc6-76b95f91fdf3/Images/Documentation/MEC%20B4.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-07T17%3A14%3A00Z&se=2026-11-07T18%3A14%3A00Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=AKZv6jxbOjcYxMBkr6zY%2BeeRgELt33xPqIFm8QuefQM%3D)

Manage Equipment Care

Reliability Centered Maintenance

Reliability Strategy Library (also referred to as "Maintenance Library")

Functional Location

Maintenance Efficiency Index

Computerized Maintenance Management Software