All manufacturing plants are home to various types of equipment and machinery. Moreover, these assets take up a huge chunk of a company’s budget, and some could even argue that they are what makes a whole production process run. So, it only makes sense to provide them with proper care and upkeep. But, choosing the right combination can seem difficult and overwhelming since there are so many different approaches available. In today’s article, we get into five common types of maintenance strategies to get you started on choosing the most appropriate choice.
What is maintenance?
In general, maintenance refers to the process of maintaining something or someone. But, in a manufacturing context, maintenance specifically refers to the process of ensuring that all of the equipment on the assembly line and in the factory is up and running at peak efficiency. By performing maintenance on equipment, this reduces breakdowns and failures, and promotes overall reliability. Additionally, while any equipment will eventually give way to wear and tear, the next best thing is to take proactive measures to extend their lifespans.
- 1
Gather historical and real-time data
From various parts of the operation - 2
Analyze it for anomalies
Identify operational anomalies and potential equipment defects - 3
A sensor warns of a problem
For example, a vibration-analyzing sensor flags an impending malfunction - 4
Inspect and repair before failure
Timely repairs before a breakdown occurs
What are the five common types of maintenance strategies?
There are many types of maintenance strategies to choose from. However, it is important to choose the right one to help maintenance teams minimize costly equipment disruptions that halt production with little to no warning. So, if you’re looking to start a new maintenance initiative, here are five common types of maintenance strategies to get you started.
- Fix things when they break
- Either an unplanned breakdown, or equipment run on purpose until it fails
- Intuitive, with the simple goal of fixing a broken machine
- Preventive: regular, routine maintenance cuts unexpected downtime
- Predictive: data analysis spots anomalies so repairs come before failure
- Example: a vibration sensor warns of an impending malfunction
The post: a proactive strategy may cost more up front but pays for itself the first time unplanned downtime is prevented.
1. Reactive maintenance
Also known as breakdown maintenance, reactive maintenance, as the name suggests, is a reactive approach to maintenance management. Reactive maintenance might seem like one of the least effective types of maintenance strategies. But, it is probably the most intuitive of all the strategies. This is because it has the simple goal of fixing a broken piece of equipment. In essence, reactive maintenance is pretty simple: fix things when they break. There are two main reasons why a manufacturing plant might need to perform reactive maintenance. The first is to service equipment from an unplanned breakdown. The other is purposely running equipment until it fails.
2. Corrective maintenance
Think of corrective maintenance as an extension of the interpretation of breakdown maintenance. While there is still a reactive sense to applying a remediating action, the goal is to not end up complete equipment failure. So, with this type of maintenance strategy, you aren’t performing maintenance because of a breakdown event. Instead, you are performing maintenance when an issue is detected through condition monitoring or when a routine inspection uncovers a potential fault.
3. Preventive maintenance
Preventive maintenance (or preventative maintenance) is the process of regularly and routinely performing maintenance on assets. Doing so reduces the chances of unexpected equipment downtime and failure. In essence, it is considered to be one of the more proactive types of maintenance strategies and it is increasingly becoming the standard for most plants. This is because it keeps assets running efficiently, maintains a high safety level for your employees, and helps you avoid large and costly repairs down the road.
4. Predictive maintenance
A relatively newer and more advanced approach to maintenance is predictive maintenance (PdM). Unlike preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance is truly a proactive maintenance strategy. It uses data analysis to identify operational anomalies and potential equipment defects. This ensures timely repairs before failures occur. In other words, it uses historical and real-time data from various parts of your operation to anticipate problems before they happen. For instance, a vibration-analyzing sensor might notify you about an impending malfunction, prompting you to thoroughly inspect and perform repairs before any breakdown or failures occur.
5. Reliability-centered maintenance (RCM)
Reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) is a corporate level maintenance strategy that is implemented to optimize the maintenance program of a company or plant. It provides a roadmap to analyze and act upon the root causes of equipment failures with the goal of obtaining affordable asset reliability. Essentially, it is a complete framework that always attempts to extend equipment lifespans and decrease downtime. But, in the most cost-efficient way possible. Teams that implement RCM use a combination of maintenance planning, asset condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, and preventive maintenance to avoid costly equipment failures.
- Strategy: Reactive (breakdown)
- Work happens when:Equipment breaks, unplanned or by choice (run to failure)
- Key point:Simplest: fix things when they break
- Strategy: Preventive
- Work happens when:On a regular, routine schedule
- Key point:Increasingly the standard for most plants
- Strategy: Corrective
- Work happens when:Condition monitoring or an inspection finds a fault
- Key point:Acts before complete failure
- Strategy: Predictive (PdM)
- Work happens when:Historical and real-time data flag an anomaly, e.g. vibration
- Key point:Repairs before failure occurs
- Strategy: Reliability-centered (RCM)
- Work happens when:Analysis of failure root causes sets the program
- Key point:Combines planning, condition monitoring, PdM and preventive
| Strategy | Work happens when | Key point |
|---|---|---|
| Reactive (breakdown) | Equipment breaks, unplanned or by choice (run to failure) | Simplest: fix things when they break |
| Preventive | On a regular, routine schedule | Increasingly the standard for most plants |
| Corrective | Condition monitoring or an inspection finds a fault | Acts before complete failure |
| Predictive (PdM) | Historical and real-time data flag an anomaly, e.g. vibration | Repairs before failure occurs |
| Reliability-centered (RCM) | Analysis of failure root causes sets the program | Combines planning, condition monitoring, PdM and preventive |
Choosing a Maintenance Strategy
When determining which type of maintenance strategy is the right fit for your manufacturing plant, it is important to take into account your budget, goals, and risk tolerance. What’s more, to develop an effective maintenance program, this requires you to weigh the benefits and costs of each type of maintenance strategy. Remember, maintenance management is about addressing asset failure by using the best insights to eventually achieve your desired goals. It is also important to keep in mind that a proactive maintenance strategy might cost you more in terms of initial investment. Nevertheless, it will easily pay for itself the first time unplanned downtime is prevented.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between preventive and predictive maintenance?
Preventive maintenance services equipment on a routine, whether or not anything looks wrong, to cut the odds of a breakdown. Predictive maintenance uses historical and real-time data to spot an anomaly and schedule the repair only when the data says a failure is coming, for example a vibration sensor warning of an impending malfunction. Predictive is the newer and more advanced of the two.
What is the difference between reactive and corrective maintenance?
Reactive maintenance waits for the machine to break and then fixes it. Corrective maintenance also responds to a problem, but the trigger is a fault found during condition monitoring or a routine inspection, so the repair happens before the equipment fails completely. Think of corrective as catching the breakdown one step earlier.
Is reactive maintenance ever the right choice?
Sometimes, and it is the simplest strategy there is: fix things when they break. A plant ends up doing reactive maintenance for one of two reasons, an unplanned breakdown or a deliberate decision to run a piece of equipment until it fails. It looks like the least effective option, but it is the most intuitive.
What is reliability-centered maintenance?
A plant-wide or company-wide framework for deciding how each asset should be maintained, with the aim of affordable reliability. RCM works from the root causes of equipment failure and then combines maintenance planning, condition monitoring, predictive maintenance and preventive maintenance to extend equipment life and cut downtime at the lowest cost. It is a strategy for the whole program, not a technique for one machine.
How do you choose a maintenance strategy for your plant?
Weigh your budget, your goals and how much risk you can carry, then compare the cost and benefit of each strategy for your assets. A proactive strategy such as preventive or predictive maintenance costs more up front, but it pays for itself the first time it prevents an unplanned stoppage. The question is usually which combination fits, not which single strategy.
Which maintenance strategy is most common in manufacturing?
Preventive maintenance is becoming the standard for most plants. Routine, scheduled servicing keeps assets running efficiently, keeps the safety level high for employees and heads off the large repair bills that follow a failure. Reactive maintenance is still the most intuitive, but a breakdown halts production with little or no warning.
Free for this topic: Autonomous maintenance (CILR) checklist, SMED changeover worksheet, OEE calculator
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