Maintaining top-quality equipment is critical to maintaining productivity, safety, and cost efficiency. There are two strategies, both preventing downtime and prolonging machinery life: predictive and preventive maintenance.
So, how do you choose which is more relevant to your industry?
Suppose you want to optimize operations and achieve long-term reliability. In that case, it’s essential to understand the differences between predictive and preventive maintenance and how they can be applied in different industries.
This article will look at tips that will help you select the right maintenance strategy for your particular needs.
Predictive and Preventive Maintenance: How to select the right strategy
These tips will help you select the right maintenance strategy:
1. Get Familiar with Predictive and Preventive Maintenance Basics
The specifics are more interesting (and less safe for a beginner to understand), so let’s define predictive and preventive maintenance once and for all first.
In preventive maintenance, equipment is inspected and cleaned routinely based on a schedule, and parts are replaced periodically at fixed intervals independent of equipment condition. Historically, this is a time-based approach that prevents problems from getting bigger before they need to be.
Instead, predictive maintenance uses real-time data to determine the state of machinery. It uses sensors and advanced analytics to figure out when maintenance is needed and address issues only when they are on the horizon. This leads to a more precise and customized maintenance schedule, which minimizes unnecessary maintenance work and can save costs.
2. Evaluate Industry Requirements and Regulatory Standards
Each sector has unique operational requirements and frequently rigorous regulatory standards that determine maintenance methods. For instance, the aerospace or healthcare industries are strictly regulated and could need preventive maintenance to comply with safety standards.
On the other hand, industries like manufacturing and energy production tend to benefit from predictive maintenance to ensure they remain as efficient as possible but in a safe way. Although there is no ‘right or wrong’ regulatory approach, evaluate your industry’s specific regulatory needs to see which approach more closely mirrors its compliance and reliability standards.
3. Analyze Equipment Type and Usage
Appropriate maintenance approach depends on the type and usage of equipment. To name a few, machinery has moving components (like rotating machines, etc.). Thus, they need extra care to run smoothly and avoid unplanned downtime.
In these situations, quality dynamic balancing is a very effective method to stabilize a machine and reduce vibrations, which can cause expensive wear and tear.
Predictive maintenance is one case that benefits significantly from dynamic balancing – laying real-time to detect imbalance at the earliest stage possible, protecting from catastrophic failure. Knowing how dynamic balancing enhances predictive maintenance will contribute to the well functioning of your equipment and not unnecessary reparations.
4. Downtime Tolerance
Different industries can tolerate different amounts of downtime, which primarily influences the decision to perform preventive or predictive maintenance.
For example, predictive maintenance can be a lifesaver in industries with machinery downtime that directly impacts profitability, like manufacturing or oil and gas. It manages issues before they disrupt a shutdown.
Preventive maintenance is perhaps better suited to operations that can accommodate downtime. Although checkups may not prevent downtime, they can prevent sudden breakdowns. This will help you evaluate the costs of the various types of maintenance and understand what downtime tolerance your business needs.
5. Availability of Data and Analytics Resources
Predictive maintenance involves big data collection and analysis, which means you will need to invest in sensors, data processing tools, and people. Predictive maintenance offers a natural fit for industries with highly mature digital infrastructure, the ability to deploy Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and the ability to learn procedures to uncover anomalies early.
On the other hand, the other preventive maintenance does not require as much data and can be carried out by the station’s standard maintenance staff. Preventive maintenance may be the better value option if your industry lacks the resources or budget to perform extensive data analysis.
For instance, as gathering and analyzing data becomes cheaper, companies searching for strategies to bulletproof operations might consider investing in predictive maintenance tools.
6. Workforce Needs
Your workforce skills also play a part in implementing a successful maintenance strategy.
Although very effective, predictive maintenance is specialized in diagnosing, interpreting, and working with technology-driven processes. Predictive maintenance may transition seamlessly in industries with a trained workforce or easy access to ongoing training programs.
On the other hand, preventive maintenance, in the form of routine procedures, can usually be done without a high level of technical expertise. It is usually easier for less tech-focused industries or industries with limited training resources.
7. Return on Investment (ROI)
Finally, the return on investment (ROI) of both approaches will be determined by comparing the upfront costs and long-term benefits.
However, predictive maintenance can be a higher initial investment because of the requirement for equipment monitoring, sensors, and software. Still, the payoff comes by reducing unplanned maintenance and stretching the lifetime of equipment. Predictive maintenance ROI is high in industries where putting equipment uptime first is paramount.
On the other hand, preventative maintenance may have lower start costs but involve higher costs over time because it involves more frequent and unneeded maintenance. Because you can compare the expected ROI for both approaches, you can make a data-driven decision about which approach can ultimately help your industry the best.
Conclusion
Predictive and preventive maintenance is a choice you have to make; you need to consider which is ideal for your industry, equipment, workforce, the likelihood of downtime, and downtime tolerance.
By using predictive maintenance, which provides precision and real-time data, you can save a lot of money in industries where constant operation isn’t an option, particularly when dynamic balancing techniques are incorporated to keep the equipment stable.
While linear preventive maintenance with its scheduled approach may be fine for industries requiring regular inspections to satisfy regulatory standards, it may not be ideal for industries where unexpected failures occur.
Following these tips allows you to weigh the costs and benefits of these two strategies and implement the maintenance approach that is the best fit for your industry. By doing so, you will increase the operational efficiency and safety of the equipment and the productivity of your business.
Lilly Miller is a Sydney-based graphic designer and a passionate writer. Loves everything about home decor, art history, and baking. She shares a home with two loving dogs and a gecko named Rodney.