Abstract: The previous research in Knowledge Management (KM) concentrated on the development of the subject of Knowledge, the creation of the maturity models, the process of implementation etc. as evident in the literature. The related past instruments are not applicable for evaluating the relationship of KM with industrial equipment reliability. The purpose of this paper is to develop a validated instrument to prove the relationship of organization-wide ‘failure factors (FF) of KM’ with ‘equipment performance’. A survey among the expert professionals attached to the inter-disciplinary tasks of managing assets’ reliability reveals that 116 items in 4 constructs suit this core specific purpose. The empirical results had provided the strong support for the models. It is expected that the proposed model would help in any future study on the ‘impact of KM’ on ‘asset management’. The various ‘factors of equipment’s failure’ as commonly encountered and applicable in any sector of industry were adopted and then these factors were validated with the responses from the industrial and specialized workforce either working on or associated with the equipments’ mal-functions. The responses from experienced ‘reliability experts’ had been statistically validated for consistency and reliability. The interplay and the inter-dependence of the failure factors are analyzed along-with the various ‘independent factors’ those have bearing on the equipments’ failure. The relationship of these independent factors with associated Knowledge Gap (K-Gap) and/or Knowledge Risk (K-Risk) and/or Knowledge Strength (K-Strength) may guide then to formulate the equipment-oriented KM strategy.