Introduction
In any manufacturing process, preventive maintenance plays a very important role. This proves to be extremely beneficial in terms of lowering overall maintenance costs, minimizing equipment downtime, boosting asset lifespan and efficiency, and increasing workplace safety. Any company’s manufacturing processes might be jeopardized by an unexpected outage. As a result, it is critical that they develop a strategy for preventive maintenance, which will eventually assist them in increasing their job productivity. But, exactly, what is preventive maintenance? In this piece, we’ll define preventive maintenance and show you how to utilize it to benefit your business and keep ahead of problems before they develop.
What is preventive maintenance?
PM or Preventive maintenance is a highly practical and basic method for maintaining machines and products in the manufacturing industry. It is both simple and straightforward. Preventive maintenance can assist in extending asset life, boosting productivity, and eventually reducing maintenance costs. This is performed on a regular basis, and the major reason for doing so is to lessen the possibility of failure in the coming days.
PM, also known as planned or preventive maintenance, is performed under an asset’s regular operating circumstances. As a result, plant managers may easily avoid unanticipated machine downtimes or failures. This is beneficial in terms of cost-effectiveness. Keep in mind that this is not depending on the state of the equipment. It is instead based on recommendations from the asset manufacturer or the typical asset life cycle. Because maintenance is based on a calendar, certain maintenance chores are completed when they are not technically necessary. It also means that teams can ensure they have the necessary funding, inventory, and schedule in place to complete the job.
Why do preventive maintenance?
- Improved equipment reliability and longevity
- No need to go for costly repair
- Experience fewer downtimes and no more unexpected equipment failure
- Risks to one’s health and safety can easily be reduced.
What are the main elements or components of preventive maintenance?
Inventory of Assets
As previously stated, the primary goal of preventive maintenance is to keep vital assets in excellent operating order. Workplace settings, machine usage patterns, and other factors can all have a significant influence on equipment behavior over time. Keeping a thorough asset inventory may therefore help a great deal in optimizing expenditure amounts. This Make, Specifications/capabilities, model, serial number, Unit number, Category, Location, and QR/Barcode are all required. This will really aid in memorizing the specifics.
Prioritization of Assets
It is impossible to include all necessary assets in the early PM programs. It is critical that you understand how significant each asset is and then construct your own hierarchy. An asset hierarchy is a logical index of every essential machine and component that shows how the activity of one machine impacts the action of another. This will make it easier for the maintenance crew and the managers to keep track of the equipment, plan PMs effectively, and pinpoint the underlying cause of issues. Gradually add more assets to the PM program when you begin to see a return on investment (ROI) on your assets.
PM Schedule
Now you can’t go around randomly planning preventive maintenance; you need to establish a proper schedule relevant to it. When creating your PM schedule, choose a day and time for maintenance that does not interfere with production. PM schedules should be based on one of two criteria:
- You may base your PM schedule on time and execute maintenance when a specific amount of time has passed.
- Track utilization indicators like operational hours and production cycles for usage-based PM schedules. When specific milestones are reached, maintenance operations are carried out.
Computerized Maintenance Management System
You may now use a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) to make the preventive maintenance procedure more efficient (CMMS). This will make the work of managers easier and more systematic. Maintenance planners may generate, implement, and track recurring work orders using user-friendly dashboards. CMMS also simplifies, automates, organizes, and optimizes O&M. CMMS is used to manage maintenance operations by 58 percent of facilities.
Preventive Maintenance Plan Objectives and Key Performance Indicators
Set SMART objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress next. The term SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. This implies that your maintenance objectives should explicitly explain what you want to do when you want to achieve it and the metrics you’ll use to gauge success. Your objectives should be related to the overall business objectives of your organisation.
Smart Leadership
Finally, in order to properly implement a PM strategy, you will need the backing of your company’s higher management. It might be difficult to persuade senior management to boost O&M spending. Here are some ideas to help you make a case for establishing a project management plan:
Effective Communication
An effective PM program requires clear and timely communication. You should guarantee that all team members are communicating with one another in a free and open environment. Poor communication can result in missed maintenance deadlines and, in certain cases, overlapping work orders and operations. To avoid all of this, it is preferable to improve communication and reliability amongst teammates.
Pros and Cons of Preventive Maintenance
The advantages of preventive maintenance are as follows:
- In addition to reducing damage risk and any associated litigation, maintaining assets reduces the risk of potentially harmful failures.
- They assist in extending the life of the equipment. Failing parts shorten the life of your equipment, necessitating costly repair or replacement.
- They also aid in increasing productivity. According to statistics, inadequate maintenance may diminish a company’s output capacity by 20%.
- PM may also be beneficial to the environment because badly maintained electrical assets consume more energy than those that are well maintained.
- They also save money. Running a piece of equipment to failure is expected to cost ten times as much as undertaking routine maintenance. Understanding the maintenance needs allows you to arrange essential repairs or part replacements at an appropriate time, whether they can be done internally or require the services of an outside specialist.
The disadvantages of preventive maintenance are as follows:
- Upfront expenses – maintaining equipment effectively demands investment
- More labor-intensive, requiring more people to be available
- Possibility of excessive maintenance
Preventive Maintenance vs Predictive Maintenance
The following are the primary distinctions between preventive and predictive maintenance:
Whether or not the repair is necessary, preventive maintenance always happens on time. Preventive maintenance does not consider the status of a component or process; it is intended to maintain parts in excellent repair.
Predictive maintenance is carried out as necessary, using real-time data gathering and analysis from machine operation to spot problems at the earliest possible stage before they may stop production. When using predictive maintenance, repairs are made while the equipment is in use and deal with the real issue. If a shutdown is necessary, it will be more focused and brief.
Conclusion
You are already familiar with the fundamentals of preventive maintenance. Reliability is the fundamental advantage of preventative maintenance. Each asset will last longer if you keep it in good condition since it will be less likely to break down and cause downtime. Therefore, you should definitely incorporate some of the best preventative measures into your daily routine. To understand how AI can improve asset life, contact UptimeAI.