Certified Maintenance & Reliability Technician
(CMRT) Practice Exam: Verified Questions and
Answers | Instant PDF Study Guide
1. What is the primary purpose of preventive maintenance
(PM)?
A. To repair equipment only after failure
B. To eliminate all equipment failures
C. To reduce the likelihood of equipment failure through
planned maintenance
D. To increase the number of emergency work orders
Rationale: Preventive maintenance consists of planned tasks
performed at predetermined intervals or according to defined
conditions to reduce the probability of failure. Examples include
lubrication, inspection, adjustment, cleaning, and scheduled
component replacement. PM does not guarantee that failures
will never occur; rather, it is intended to manage failure risk and
maintain equipment in an acceptable operating condition.
,2. Which maintenance strategy is most appropriate when
equipment failure has serious safety consequences?
A. Run-to-failure only
B. A proactive strategy based on risk, condition, and failure
consequences
C. Reactive maintenance without planning
D. No maintenance until production stops
Rationale: Equipment presenting significant safety,
environmental, or operational consequences requires a
controlled maintenance strategy. Depending on the failure
mode, this may include preventive maintenance,
predictive/condition-based maintenance, functional testing,
redundancy, or other risk controls. Simply waiting for failure is
generally inappropriate when the consequences are severe.
3. What is the main purpose of a maintenance work order?
A. To replace the equipment manual
B. To eliminate the need for maintenance planning
C. To authorize, document, and track maintenance work
D. To determine employee salaries
Rationale: A work order provides a controlled record of
maintenance activity. It normally identifies the asset, requested
work, priority, required resources, labor, materials, procedures,
,completion information, and findings. Proper work-order
documentation also provides historical data that can be
analyzed to improve maintenance strategies and equipment
reliability.
4. Which activity should normally occur before a complex
planned maintenance job begins?
A. Waiting for the equipment to fail
B. Starting the job immediately
C. Planning and identifying required labor, materials, tools,
procedures, and safety requirements
D. Removing all spare parts from inventory
Rationale: Effective maintenance planning reduces delays and
interruptions. The planner should determine the work scope,
sequence, skills, tools, parts, permits, procedures, isolation
requirements, and other resources needed. Proper planning
separates planning activities from execution and allows
technicians to spend more time performing productive
maintenance.
5. What does "wrench time" generally refer to?
A. The total duration of a work order
B. The time an employee spends attending meetings
, C. The time a technician is actually performing hands-on
maintenance work
D. The time equipment spends operating
Rationale: Wrench time is commonly used as an indicator of
technician productivity and represents time spent directly
performing maintenance tasks. It does not normally include
waiting for parts, searching for tools, traveling, obtaining
permits, or other delays. Increasing productive wrench time
requires effective planning, scheduling, parts availability, tool
availability, and coordination.
6. Which document provides detailed instructions for
performing a maintenance task safely and consistently?
A. Purchase order
B. Organization chart
C. Standard operating or maintenance procedure
D. Payroll report
Rationale: Procedures provide standardized instructions for
completing work. A good maintenance procedure identifies the
required steps, precautions, tools, materials, measurements,
acceptance criteria, and restoration requirements where
applicable. Standardized procedures reduce variation and help
ensure that critical tasks are performed correctly.
(CMRT) Practice Exam: Verified Questions and
Answers | Instant PDF Study Guide
1. What is the primary purpose of preventive maintenance
(PM)?
A. To repair equipment only after failure
B. To eliminate all equipment failures
C. To reduce the likelihood of equipment failure through
planned maintenance
D. To increase the number of emergency work orders
Rationale: Preventive maintenance consists of planned tasks
performed at predetermined intervals or according to defined
conditions to reduce the probability of failure. Examples include
lubrication, inspection, adjustment, cleaning, and scheduled
component replacement. PM does not guarantee that failures
will never occur; rather, it is intended to manage failure risk and
maintain equipment in an acceptable operating condition.
,2. Which maintenance strategy is most appropriate when
equipment failure has serious safety consequences?
A. Run-to-failure only
B. A proactive strategy based on risk, condition, and failure
consequences
C. Reactive maintenance without planning
D. No maintenance until production stops
Rationale: Equipment presenting significant safety,
environmental, or operational consequences requires a
controlled maintenance strategy. Depending on the failure
mode, this may include preventive maintenance,
predictive/condition-based maintenance, functional testing,
redundancy, or other risk controls. Simply waiting for failure is
generally inappropriate when the consequences are severe.
3. What is the main purpose of a maintenance work order?
A. To replace the equipment manual
B. To eliminate the need for maintenance planning
C. To authorize, document, and track maintenance work
D. To determine employee salaries
Rationale: A work order provides a controlled record of
maintenance activity. It normally identifies the asset, requested
work, priority, required resources, labor, materials, procedures,
,completion information, and findings. Proper work-order
documentation also provides historical data that can be
analyzed to improve maintenance strategies and equipment
reliability.
4. Which activity should normally occur before a complex
planned maintenance job begins?
A. Waiting for the equipment to fail
B. Starting the job immediately
C. Planning and identifying required labor, materials, tools,
procedures, and safety requirements
D. Removing all spare parts from inventory
Rationale: Effective maintenance planning reduces delays and
interruptions. The planner should determine the work scope,
sequence, skills, tools, parts, permits, procedures, isolation
requirements, and other resources needed. Proper planning
separates planning activities from execution and allows
technicians to spend more time performing productive
maintenance.
5. What does "wrench time" generally refer to?
A. The total duration of a work order
B. The time an employee spends attending meetings
, C. The time a technician is actually performing hands-on
maintenance work
D. The time equipment spends operating
Rationale: Wrench time is commonly used as an indicator of
technician productivity and represents time spent directly
performing maintenance tasks. It does not normally include
waiting for parts, searching for tools, traveling, obtaining
permits, or other delays. Increasing productive wrench time
requires effective planning, scheduling, parts availability, tool
availability, and coordination.
6. Which document provides detailed instructions for
performing a maintenance task safely and consistently?
A. Purchase order
B. Organization chart
C. Standard operating or maintenance procedure
D. Payroll report
Rationale: Procedures provide standardized instructions for
completing work. A good maintenance procedure identifies the
required steps, precautions, tools, materials, measurements,
acceptance criteria, and restoration requirements where
applicable. Standardized procedures reduce variation and help
ensure that critical tasks are performed correctly.
