Organizations struggle with the decision on the best strategy to manage their maintenance operations. The overall goal is to have the finest strategic maintenance management plan in place, which saves costs by causing the least amount of production disruption possible while extending the life of your assets and ensuring on-site safety. Many factors must be addressed while developing a strategic maintenance plan, including the costs involved in maintaining machinery or equipment, which have a direct impact on a manufacturer’s bottom line.
Most maintenance plans combine several maintenance strategies. Determining the right balance of multiple maintenance options and ensuring that the plan is implemented are the keys to minimizing asset maintenance and controlling expenses. There are various different maintenance tactics accessible nowadays when it comes to designing your maintenance strategy. Paper and pencil work orders may suffice for extremely small firms with few work orders, but for most organizations, a more thorough maintenance plan managed by a web-based Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) would be more efficient and cost-effective.
Which maintenance strategy, or combination of strategies, will be most beneficial to a single operation? The decision-making process begins with an understanding of the differences among the strategies and then ranking and prioritizing assets from business critical to non-critical. Business critical assets will be those whose failure would be considered unacceptable, while the failure of relatively noncritical assets would have relatively less impact on an operation.
Selecting the best maintenance method is not always an easy task. Different assets serve different purposes. As a result, it stands to reason that each piece of equipment should be handled differently. While deciding on maintenance strategies, consider the worth of the equipment as well as the cost of any possible failure.
This article covers the most common strategies and some suggestions on how to choose the right maintenance strategy for your equipment.
What are the 5 different types of maintenance?
Reactive (Run-to-Failure) Maintenance
Reactive maintenance is the simplest type of maintenance. As an example, if something breaks, the maintenance team works to repair it.
There are valid reasons to utilize reactive maintenance. A simple example is changing light bulbs. A broken light has no serious implications and is simply repairable. Obviously, this type of maintenance is not acceptable for more essential equipment.
Advantages of Reactive Maintenance
• No planning and scheduling for maintenance.
• Fewer costs to implement.
• No regular maintenance means no scheduled labor or parts costs until failures.
• Less maintenance staff, etc.
• Strategy is easy to implement.
Disadvantages of Reactive Maintenance
• Unexpected breakdowns.
• Reduced asset life span.
• Higher maintenance and inventory costs.
• Availability of spare parts.
• Production delays.
• Inefficient use of time and labor.
• Unpredictable budget.
• Safety issues with equipment not being maintained.
Costs of Reactive Maintenance
The costs of reactive maintenance vary substantially based on the extent of the repairs required and the value of the item in question.
In general, it’s a good bet that reactive maintenance is a cost-effective method at first, but quickly becomes more expensive and trouble than it’s worth—for example, when equipment breaks down during peak production periods and a company needs to seek outside assistance for substantial repairs. Both of these become costly, time-consuming operations that were possibly never budgeted for or planned for in production.
Preventive Maintenance (scheduled or planned) (proactive maintenance)
This strategy entails taking assets down on an ongoing schedule and inspecting or repairing them at predefined times (usually time or event-based triggers). The purpose of this strategy is to extend an asset’s useful life and prevent breakdowns.
Many organizations that use preventative maintenance use CMMS software to automatically generate work orders when a PM is due. This enables a facility to automate much of its scheduling activities, which is an important component of this preventive strategy. Because planning is completed ahead of time, having the necessary parts and resources on hand to execute each task is much easier.
Advantages of Preventive Maintenance
• Less risk of machines breaking down.
• Control expenses due to better management of parts inventory.
• Extend asset life span due to proper maintenance.
• Equipment running at peak performance due to proper maintenance.
• Less disruption to production, work environments, etc.
Disadvantages of Preventive Maintenance
• Upfront costs for keeping equipment regularly maintained.
• Dedicating labor to maintain equipment.
• Potential of providing too much or too little maintenance.
Costs of Preventive Maintenance
What is the cost of preventive maintenance? There is no definitive answer to this question. Instead, the cost of preventative maintenance will be determined by labor costs (for large facilities and staff, and then by the number of machines and utilities that need to be maintained or protected.
Predictive Maintenance (PdM)
Predictive maintenance is a condition-based approach to maintenance that provides warnings to maintenance managers when an equipment failure might occur. Some examples of equipment monitoring methods include Vibration Analysis; Infrared Thermography; Acoustic Analysis and other tools.
Difference between Predictive Maintenance and Condition-Based Maintenance
People often confuse condition-based maintenance and predictive maintenance.
Predictive Maintenance tries to predict the future when you will need to service your equipment.
Conditon-Based Maintenance uses conditions or thresholds to say when it is time to perform maintenance. It is like you setting a rule, e.g. “When we hear a particular sound we need to do maintenance.”
Advantages of Predictive Maintenance
• Cost savings on parts and labor.
• Reduces catastrophic failures.
• Improves equipment performance.
• More accurate performance information.
• Improves safety.
• Improves quality.
• Increases customer satisfaction.
Disadvantages of Predictive Maintenance
• Increased investment in technology-based equipment.
• Increased investment in skilled labor.
• Not cost-effective for all assets.
• Time-consuming planning to ensure that this strategy is used throughout each facility.
Costs of Predictive Maintenance
Predictive maintenance is pricey, but you might still be interested in knowing what the costs and what the cost entails. Here’s a breakdown of what it may cost for your business:
Software: Depending on your predictive maintenance program setup, you may need to purchase additional software.
Sensors: The price for sensors depends on the type of sensors you need and purchase.
Installation: If your maintenance technicians are not skilled enough to install the sensors and connect them to the software themselves, then you will need to hire a specialist to install them for you.
Skilled Maintenance Expert: An experienced maintenance engineer is needed to accurately interpret the data that is coming in from the condition-monitoring devices.
You need to assess all of these expenses to determine if predictive maintenance is realistic for your organization.
Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM)
Condition-based maintenance (CBM) is a maintenance strategy that analyzes an asset’s actual condition to determine what repair is required. CBM, maintenance should only be performed when certain indicators show a decline in performance or an impending failure. Non-invasive measurements, visual examination, performance data, and planned testing may be used to inspect a machine for these indicators. Condition data can then be collected at predetermined intervals or continuously (as is done when a machine has internal sensors). Condition-based maintenance can be used on assets that are both mission-critical and non-mission-critical.
Difference between Condition-Based Maintenance and Predictive
People often confuse condition-based maintenance and predictive ambiance.
Condition-Based Maintenance uses conditions or thresholds to say when it is time to perform maintenance. It is like you setting a rule, e.g. “When we hear a particular sound we need to do maintenance.”
Predictive maintenance tries to predict the future when you will need to service your equipment.
Advantages of Condition-Based Maintenance
• Reduces the cost of asset failures.
• Minimizes unscheduled downtime.
• Minimizes maintenance time.
• Reduces overtime costs.
* Reduces costs for emergency spare parts.
Disadvantages of Condition-Based Maintenance
• Test equipment is expensive to install.
• Requires special training for staff.
• Fatigue or uniform wear failures are not easy to detect.
• Condition sensors may not work well in the operating environment.
• May require asset modifications to retrofit the system with sensors.
Costs of Condition-Based Maintenance
• Reduces catastrophic failures.
• Improves equipment performance.
• More accurate performance information.
• Improves safety.
• Improves quality.
• Increased customer satisfaction.
Disadvantages of Predictive Maintenance
• Increased investment in technology-based equipment.
• Increased investment in skilled labor.
• Not cost-effective for all assets.
• Time-consuming planning to ensure that this strategy is used throughout each facility.
Condition Based Maintenance maintenance is pricey, but you might still be interested in knowing what the costs and what the cost entails. Here’s a breakdown of what it may cost for your business:
Software: Depending on your predictive maintenance program setup, you may need more than one software.
Sensors: The price for sensors depends on the type of sensors you need and the brand that you purchase from.
Installation: If your maintenance technicians are not skilled enough to install the sensors and connect them to the software themselves, then you will need to hire a specialist to install them for you.
Skilled Maintenance Expert: An experienced maintenance engineer is required to accurately interpret the data that is coming in from the condition-monitoring devices.
You need to assess all of these expenses to determine if condition-based maintenance is realistic for your organization.
Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM)
Reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) is a method of analyzing breakdowns to identify which maintenance methods will work best for each piece of machinery. This is a highly extensive and complex process that analyzes and prioritizes all the possible failure modes for each piece of equipment and creates a customized maintenance strategy for each individual machine.
Advantages of Reliability-Centered Maintenance
• Efficient maintenance program.
• Lowers costs of maintaining equipment and resources by eliminating unnecessary maintenance.
• Focuses on critical activities and components.
• Improves productivity.
Disadvantages of Reliability-Centered Maintenance
• Very complex and costly.
• Significantly higher costs for equipment.
• Significant higher labor costs.
• Savings potential is minimal.
• Requires time and resources.
Costs of Reliability-Centered Maintenance
The cost savings generated by a reliability-centered maintenance program are strongly dependent on implementation quality.
Maintenance Management Strategies Comparison Chart
| Maintenance Strategy | Summary | Cost To Implement | Pros | Cons |
Reactive | Fix when it breaks | Low | Ideal for low-priority equipment. Provides an economical solution for those who need a reliable solution for lower-priority equipment. | Can result in excessive repair expenses. |
Preventive | Maintenance on a predetermined schedule | Average | Best strategy to implement without expert knowledge. | Inefficient schedules compared to PdM or RCM |
Predictive | Condition Based morning triggering work orders | High | Timely monitoring with increased insight into the causes of breakdowns. | Expensive to set up – only cost-effective for critical assets. |
RCM | Investigation of failure modes to determine the best maintenance strategy | Highest | If executed properly, provides the most efficient maintenance schedule. | Requires time, skill, and financial resources to be effective. |
Suggestions For Choosing A Maintenance Strategy
Reactive maintenance (RM)
Reactive maintenance should be considered if it is more economical to replace than repair the equipment. In this instance, make sure you have a readily accessible supply of the necessary part.
Preventive maintenance (PM)
To ensure the equipment remains operational, create thorough job plans that state the maintenance tasks and the time intervals for each. Furthermore, use a PM work order to record the conditions found at each inspection and store this information in a CMMS for future analysis.
Predictive maintenance (PdM )
You need to analyze your situation and the costs to determine whether an investment in analytical equipment and user training or contractors to do the analysis is more suitable.
Reliability-centered maintenance (RCM)
RCM is a highly effective maintenance strategy and is usually the most cost-efficient overall. Additionally, depending on the equipment parts and resources available, RCM may incorporate all the other strategies.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, there is no single approach to maintenance that will work for every organization. Each strategy has its own unique advantages and disadvantages that must be evaluated and weighed according to the type of assets being maintained, the current status of the organization’s reliability journey, and the consequences of any potential downtime. The best way to develop a maintenance strategy is to start with what is appropriate for the current situation and expand from there, eventually reaching a point where a combination of different methods can be used to maximize results.
