Maintenance: Types, Benefits and Strategies

Maintenance is the effort made to maintain the condition and performance of a machine the same as when it was new. It is usually done in the form of regular inspections, which can help eliminate unplanned downtime. There are several types of maintenance, such as preventive, default, condition-based and predictive. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks, so it is important to understand them in order to choose the right strategy for your assets.

Preventive maintenance is based on a schedule of inspections and tasks to find and fix small problems before they become major ones. The main benefit of this type of maintenance is that it can avoid unplanned downtime. Default maintenance follows the manufacturer's recommendations for maintenance, including when to perform inspections and maintenance. Condition-based maintenance uses sensors and special software to collect and analyze data from sensors installed directly on or near your assets.

Predictive maintenance uses this data to predict future failures long before they begin to develop. Execution to failure is another type of maintenance that should be used when things are difficult or impossible to maintain, cheap to carry in inventory, easy to replace, or not essential to your operations. Systematic preventive maintenance is based on regular inspections of the various equipment, which allows technicians to gather the necessary information about the various components of the production line and effectively prevent breakdowns and repair costs. Conditional preventive maintenance consists of monitoring the key parameters and indicators of the operation of the property and implementing the necessary corrective actions to anticipate any failure or malfunction.

Corrective maintenance is performed when signs of severe wear and tear are discovered during routine inspections. This type of maintenance is very urgent and is simply planned on the fly. Predictive maintenance (PDM) is essentially synonymous with condition-based maintenance. Property maintenance is any preventive or corrective action taken to keep a property fully functional and operating in its best condition.When choosing corrective maintenance as a strategy, it is essential to ensure that the failure modes considered do not have the potential to become emergency maintenance.

Routine maintenance can be performed on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, while planned maintenance is done at predetermined intervals.