Understanding that there’s a direct correlation between a manufacturing operation’s success and the health of the machinery involved, many businesses have begun to prioritize maintenance initiatives accordingly. This will inevitably look different for each organization as their size and scope impacts the way in which they operate and thus their need for maintenance. Typically, the way in which many organizations maintain their equipment is through two cardinal maintenance strategies: preventive and predictive maintenance.

In order to determine which maintenance approach is right for their business operations, business owners and managers are left to compare the two. The preventive maintenance approach is likely the first approach they analyze. Largely because it’s the cheaper option, but also because it has been such a mainstay in regards to maintenance. The philosophy is simple: construct a maintenance schedule at recurring intervals throughout the year for each machine or equipment in an organization’s fleet. These intervals are largely based on each organization’s fleet. Age, length of average run time, required up-time, etc., are all components that contribute to the scheduling of this maintenance.

The newer, and certainly more efficient, strategy for maintaining an organization’s equipment comes in the form of predictive maintenance. Rather than focusing on set maintenance intervals throughout the year, this strategy employs a sophisticated set of technological systems that integrate into an organizations’ equipment. Once installed, these systems are able to collect and analyze a collection of performance and external data related to the equipment and its maintenance needs. In turn, organizations are better able to predict equipment failure and determine the most optimal maintenance schedule for each piece of equipment. The major issue with this approach, however, has to be its costs.

The capital required to implement these systems is often much more than organizations care to expend for maintenance. However, many organizations around the world have broken this mold and are going the way of predictive maintenance. This change has made the implementation of these systems increasingly easier. As more and more IoT technologies begin to emerge, the more intuitive the data extracted from an organization’s fleet can be. This data would then improve the predictability of machine failure and thus the required maintenance steps to prevent said failure. For organizations hoping to improve their efficiency and decrease their equipment’s downtime, this is the best bang for their buck.

For any organization considering a change in maintenance approaches, it’s important to note that, despite its benefits, predictive maintenance might not always be the best fit for your business. Even with the best maintenance strategy, you will still encounter some form of unplanned downtime. Despite most organizations believing predictive maintenance is the better choice, the barriers to entry can keep a number of businesses from truly benefiting from this strategy. Not only can cost become an issue, but the highly advanced technological systems required to operate these systems can also prove to be a challenge for even the most talented staff members.

While the information shared within this post is valuable, if your organization is hoping to learn more about these two different maintenance strategies, take a moment to review the infographic shared alongside this post. Infographic courtesy of Industrial Service Solutions.