Book excerpt: Achieving asset reliability and peak performance is challenging, and you may only get one shot. ART provides detailed guidance on how to build a business case, transform the culture, and make the necessary technical changes. We have defined 64 major steps with 365 recommended practices across ten phases. In summary, we will guide you through these critical ventures. Build a foundation: Establish the VALUE of the initiative, develop the STRATEGY, and engage the PEOPLE to transform the culture. Eliminate the biggest roadblock: Gain CONTROL of reactive maintenance. Optimize the entire life cycle: ACQUIRE assets and services for lowest cost of ownership, instill DISCIPLINE in all maintenance and operational practices, CARE for the assets, use ANALYTICS for data-driven decision making, and learn from failures in the EOL (end-of-life) phase. Continually improve: Take what we have learned and OPTIMIZE it. Whether you are reviving an existing initiative or embarking on a new transformation, the ART process will enable you to assess your current state and build toward the plant that you, your fellow employees, and the executives desire. This book provides a self-guided roadmap to reliability, detailing all the phases and steps. This is the place you must start. Other books in this series explain the recommended practices in detail.