What Is Maintenance Strategy?
A maintenance strategy is a system developed to keep your facility’s assets in the best shape, reduce expenses and downtime, and increase productivity. When creating your maintenance strategy there are two things that you must keep in mind- your needs and technological innovations. Your maintenance strategy needs to effectively meet the unique needs of your facility. It also needs to remain flexible enough so that it can adapt to the latest contrivances and neverending evolution that is inherent to the realms of science and technology. There are many different types of maintenance strategies that you can use.
Reactive Maintenance
Reactive maintenance is also referred to as breakdown maintenance. It is the process of repairing your equipment after it has already broken down. The benefits of reactive maintenance are that there is no initial cost or complex planning. The disadvantage is that it is not sustainable for the long term. It works well for facilities that will only be open temporarily, facilities with equipment that have a history of minimal breakdowns, or facilities with equipment that is not costly to repair or replace.
Preventative Maintenance
Preventative maintenance reduces the risk of breakdown by routinely monitoring the performance and condition of your assets. It can happen one of two ways:
- Time-based. This type of preventative maintenance is carried out at regular intervals, such as biweekly or at the beginning of each month.
- Usage-based. This strategy follows a schedule determined by the usage of the equipment, such as after five production cycles.
Preventative maintenance can be costly so it is most suited for facilities that require routine inspection. For example, a facility that is likely to experience failure if vital industrial parts that are at high risk of water contamination exposure.
Predictive Maintenance
If you ask a professional ‘What is maintenance strategy?’ they are likely to recommend predictive maintenance because it involves highly specialized technology that is becoming a staple in facility maintenance. Facility maintenance software can monitor equipment performance and identify patterns to predict when a breakdown may occur. This allows you to address the defect before it becomes problematic. The downside is that data can be misinterpreted, and creating an Internet of Things in your facility can be expensive because it requires installing other equipment like sensors.
Aside from the software, it differs from preventative maintenance in that it does not follow a consistent schedule. Instead, it relies on indicators of potential breakdowns as they arise.
Reliability-Centered Maintenance
Reliability-centered maintenance happens at the managerial level. It looks at the reliability of the equipment rather than functionality, focusing on the most critical assets and prioritizing their optimization. One downside to this approach is that it does not take ownership costs into consideration.
The best strategy is determined by the concerns that you want to address. It is possible to create a blended strategy if you feel that would better serve you. If not, these are only four types of maintenance strategies, so you have plenty of other options to consider.
SimpleFM’s facility maintenance software and experienced team help organizations manage, monitor, and control maintenance including: equipment, resources, and regulatory compliance. Let us handle your facility and job management needs and help your organization save time and money. Interested to see how easy facilities can be? Sign up for a Demo or email us at sales@simplefm.com.
