Introduction
Maintenance can be defined as the systematic and proactive processes of inspecting, servicing, repairing, and managing physical, digital, and human assets to ensure their continuous, efficient, safe, and reliable operation, prevent premature wear or failure, and maximize their longevity and performance across various industries and systems.
- Proactive process means action taken in advance to prevent issues or problems.
- Physical assets includes tangible items like machines, buildings, vehicles, or equipment that require maintenance.
- Digital assets include things like software, data systems, and IT infrastructure that need regular updates, backups, and security measures.
- Human assets refer to people or the workforce, whose skills and well-being are maintained through training, support, and management to ensure productivity and efficiency.
| Maintenance is the systematic process of regularly checking, fixing, and taking care of equipment, systems, or resources to keep them working safely, efficiently, and for a long time. |
Importance of Maintenance
- Increased Reliability: Regular maintenance ensures that equipment and systems function properly, reducing the likelihood of unexpected breakdowns.
- Extended Lifespan: Proper care and timely servicing can prolong the life of assets, maximizing the return on investment.
- Cost Savings: Preventing major failures through maintenance can save significant costs associated with emergency repairs, downtime, and lost productivity.
- Safety: Routine maintenance helps identify and fix potential hazards, ensuring a safer environment for employees and users.
- Improved Efficiency: Well-maintained equipment operates more efficiently, which can enhance overall productivity and performance.
- Regulatory Compliance: Regular maintenance helps ensure compliance with safety and industry regulations, avoiding fines and legal issues.
- Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: Reliable services and products lead to higher customer satisfaction and trust, fostering loyalty and positive brand reputation.
- Data and Insights: Maintenance activities can provide valuable data that helps in understanding equipment performance and making informed decisions for future investments. For example: if you purchased an electric blender and if it requires frequent maintenance, then you probably won’t purchase same blender next time.
Types of Maintenance
Planned Maintenance
This type of maintenance is scheduled in advance and carried out at regular intervals to prevent unexpected breakdowns. It includes routine inspections, servicing, and repairs based on a set schedule or usage patterns. The goal is to keep equipment or systems in optimal working condition and minimize the chance of failure.
Equipment will be maintained throughout it’s working life, before a complete breakdown requiring replacement / major repair.
Planned Maintenance are of two types:
- Preventive Maintenance
- Corrective Maintenance
i) Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance can be defined as maintenance actions carried out on a time-based and condition-based schedule that detect, preclude, or mitigate degradation of a component through controlling degradation to an acceptable level.
It is based on the principle of “Prevention is better than cure”. While it can not prevent failure completely, it can extend the working life of the machines.
The basic philosophy of time-based preventive maintenance includes:
- Scheduling maintenance activities at predetermined time intervals
- Repairing or replacing damaged equipment before severe problem occurs
Planned maintenance are achieve through
- Routine Maintenance : These are simple, everyday tasks that are performed regularly to keep equipment or systems in working order. Examples include cleaning, regular lubrication of moving parts such as door hinges, bearings, etc. or visual inspections. Routine maintenance is often done daily, weekly, or during operation and does not necessarily require specialized skills or detailed planning.
- Scheduled Maintenance : This involves planned maintenance activities that occur at specific, pre-set intervals, like monthly or annually. These tasks are part of a long-term maintenance plan and may require shutting down equipment, ordering parts, or bringing in specialized technicians to carry out more thorough inspections, repairs, or replacements. Also, the logbooks are maintained after every maintenance activity.
ii) Corrective Maintenance / Running Maintenance
Corrective maintenance is also sometimes known as ‘Running Maintenance’. This type of maintenance involves identifying and fixing issues that have already been detected during inspections or routine checks, but before they lead to a complete failure. The focus is on correcting minor faults or malfunctions to restore equipment or systems to their optimal working condition.
Reactive Maintenance
It is also known as ‘Breakdown Maintenance’ or ‘Run-to-failure Maintenance‘ and ‘Emergency Maintenance’.
This type of maintenance occurs when maintenance is performed only after a failure or issue has happened. It involves repairing or replacing parts once something has stopped working, with no prior planning. The focus here is on fixing problems as they arise, rather than preventing them in advance.
Reactive maintenance is a maintenance strategy based on the philosophy of:
- Repairing or replacing damaged equipment when obvious problems occur
- Allowing the machinery to run up to the point of failure
Reactive Maintenance are of two types:
i) Breakdown Maintenance:
This type of maintenance occurs after equipment or systems have failed or broken down. It is unplanned and involves repairing or replacing components after a failure has occurred. The focus is on restoring functionality, but there is no urgency unless the failure impacts critical operations.
ii) Emergency Maintenance:
This is an urgent form of breakdown maintenance, performed immediately after a sudden and critical failure that threatens safety, operations, or essential services. Emergency maintenance requires swift action to avoid significant damage, safety hazards, or operational downtime.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Preventive Maintenance
Advantages of Preventive Maintenance
- It is cost effective in many capital intensive equipment
- Increases the operational life of equipment
- Reduces the number of equipment and/or service failures in a property
- Provides flexibility for the adjustment of maintannce schedule
- Operates at design conditions
- Gives maximum return on capital investment
- Improves worker morale by reducing idle time of workers
- Provides safety from hazards to personnel and property by reducing the possibility of sudden catastrophic breakdown
Disadvantages of Preventive Maintenance
- It cannot eliminate complete failures.
- It is more labor-intensive.
- It is more time-intensive.
- It requires extra facilities and may lead to poor/underutilization of facilities.
- Maintenance activities that are really not required, are often carried out
- It is not economical for small property which use cheaper and non-critical equipment.
Advantages of Reactive Maintenance
- Has lower costs due to not regularly attending and maintaining the facility
- Requires fewer staff to implant the change
Advantages of Reactive Maintenance
- Increases costs due to unplanned downtime of equipment
- May involve prolonged downtime if proper human power and components are not readily available.
- Increases labour costs, especially if overtime is needed.
- May increase costs associated with repair or replacement of equipment on an urgent basis
- May result in possible damage to associated equipment (For example: failure of an electric transformer may cause some damage to other electric equipment connected down the line)