---
title: "RCM Top-level Hierarchy"
slug: "rcm-top-level-hierarchy"
tags: ["Hierarchy", "Settings", "RCM"]
updated: 2026-10-27T23:11:57Z
published: 2026-10-27T23:11:57Z
canonical: "ims-handbook.cenosco.com/rcm-top-level-hierarchy"
---

> ## 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.

# RCM Top-level Hierarchy

In RCM, production assets are registered in a hierarchical structure that serves as the basis for RCM analyses.

The top-level hierarchy consists of the following asset levels:

- Company
- Site
- Plant
- Unit

Additional asset levels include:

- System
- Functional Location (FLOC)
- Equipment.

It is recommended to carefully configure the top-level hierarchy in IMS-RCM as closely as possible to the Site’s Asset Register. This asset register is often maintained in the maintenance management system such as SAP.

For more information about configuring the hierarchy, see [Configuring the Toplevel via Settings](/v414/docs/configuring-the-toplevel-via-settings). Only users with the **RCM Admin** role have permissions to edit these settings.

## PLE

The PLE (Production Loss Equation) is also defined in [Settings > Toplevel](/v414/docs/configuring-the-toplevel-via-settings#defining-production-loss-equations). Only the RCM Admin and RCM Custodian have permissions to manage PLE settings.

The PLE is used in the **Economics Consequences** tab of RCM Analyses. There, you can register the amount and the duration of a reduced throughput resulting from equipment failure.

For more information on the PLE configuration, see [Production Loss Equation](/v414/docs/configuring-the-toplevel-via-settings#defining-production-loss-equations).

To see how to manage and update PLEs for RCM Analyses, see [Updating PLEs in RCM](/docs/updates-of-ples-in-rcm).

Note

In case the execution of a maintenance task requires Unit downtime, the PLE is also used to calculate the associated production loss cost.

Reliability Centered Maintenance

Functional Location

Integrity Management System