preventive maintenance types – What Is Piping: All about Piping Engineering

With constant wear and tear happening in every equipment in their running condition, efficiency reduction or equipment breakdown is bound to occur. One popular and widely used solution against these is Preventive Maintenance or Preventative maintenance. Such practices help in increasing the useful life of the equipment and they postpone the failure point. Studies have revealed that 78% of manufacturing facilities use preventive maintenance philosophy to some extent. In this article, we will explore the definition of preventive maintenance, their types, maintenance strategy, advantages, and disadvantages. What is Preventive Maintenance? Preventive Maintenance is a proactive planned maintenance philosophy involving regular and routine maintenance of equipment at a predefined interval to increase the lifespan of assets, equipment, and infrastructure. It reduces the likelihood of failure which in turn reduces the unplanned downtime of the operating plant. Through scheduled cleaning, lubrication, repairs, adjustments, oil changes, and part replacements, a preventive maintenance approach improves the operational output of equipment and machinery in a plant. Preventive maintenance is not only a routine maintenance of equipment. Knowing the life-span of the equipment and maintaining accurate records of each and every inspection and servicing is also part of preventive maintenance. Using these records maintenance professionals can diagnose problems when they occur and decide the appropriate time to change parts. Various kinds of preventive maintenance software can help maintaining and organizing such data. Types of Preventive Maintenance Three types of preventive maintenance is widely polular in industries. They are: Time-Based MaintenanceUsage-Based Maintenance andFailure-Finding Maintenance Time-Based Maintenance: Time-based maintenance is also known as Calendar-based maintenance. This approach is followed for essential equipment. This maintenance approach ensures the equipment in optimal working condition and can be triggered at fixed time intervals regardless of the condition or usage of the asset. The time interval for maintenance must be decided based on the equipment manufacturer's guidelines. Usage-Based Maintenance: In the Usage-Based Predictive Maintenance type, maintenance is typically scheduled after a certain usage of the equipment. Using meter readings or records, such maintenance is triggered. For example, normal automobiles may require servicing or engine oil change after every 10,000 km of driving. Failure-Finding Maintenance (FFM): Failure-finding preventive maintenance is an inspection to find or discover defects or failures in equipment. For example, a fire alarm is triggered to find out if the alarm is working and to find out any fault in an alarm system. Preventive Maintenance Examples Depending on the type of industry, the examples of preventive maintenance will vary. However, whatever be the industry, preventive maintenance programs will always have the following three components: It’s systematicIt’s performed routinelyIts purpose is to reduce or minimize failures Typical examples of time-based predictive maintenance can be: Replacement of filters after every six months.Lubricate bearing after every three months.Visual inspection of the conveyor belt each month.Lubricating pumps every other week.Replacing the RO filters each year. Typical examples of usage-based predictive maintenance can be: Maintaining equipment after producing 100 products.Scheduling maintenance or servicing after every 60 working hours. Typical example of failure-finding predictive maintenance is: Starting the emergency sprinkler system periodically to find if the system is working smoothly to ascertain that it will work during an emergency situation. Few other preventive maintence examples could be A thorough inspection of the vehicle before site visits.Frequently maintain HVAC systems during summer. Preventive Maintenance Plan or Philosophy The preventive maintenance program is normally based on the following factors as listed below: Impact of the worst-case scenariolost productionLikelihood of failureCost involvementRegulatory complianceWorkplace safety Preventive maintenance is performed when the benefits of the maintenance outweigh the risks and costs. The optimum frequency of preventive maintenance plan is developed by plotting the maintenance cost vs maintenance frequency curve and finding a balance as shown in Fig. 1 Fig. 1: Preventive Maintenance Cost vs Frequency There are few steps for an effective preventive maintenance plan: Finding the end purpose (Reduce downtime or repair cost, Increase production rate or asset availability)Identifying and Assessing the critical equipment and finding the cost and impact in case of failure.Choosing the format for recording preventive maintenance goals (Manual, computerized or advanced software-based)Creating the preventive maintenance plan and schedules like assigning personnel, tasks, prioritization, and recording.Tracking, reviewing, acting, and adjusting. Advantages of Preventive Maintenance A number of benefits are received through proper preventive maintenance planning: Prolonged life of company equipment before failure.Fewer errors in day-to-day operationsLess unplanned downtime.Increasing productivity and efficiencyLess unnecessary maintenance and inspectionsReduced risk of injuryStronger work executionImproved reliability of equipmentFewer expensive corrective and emergency repairsReduced health, injury, and safety risksImproving audit and regulatory compliance with extensive documentationLess Energy ConsumptionOptimized maintenance planning and resource allocationBetter margins and profits Disadvantages of Preventive Maintenance A few potential disadvantages associated with a Preventive Maintenance schedule could be: Budget Constraints (High start-up and implementation costs)Time-ConsumingThe requirement of Additional Resources (spare parts, staff, etc.)Organizational DifficultiesRequires planning Applications of Preventive Maintenance philosophy Preventive maintenance programs can be applied in all types of industries including: Oil/Gas/UtilitiesChemical/PetrochemicalPower PlantsMetal/Manufacturing IndustriesCountry ClubsRestaurantsFleet ManagementProperty ManagementFacility ManagementSchoolsGovernmentsHotels, Hospitality & Restaurant Industry CMMS Software: For complex assets, it's nearly impossible to record data and perform preventive maintenance without using the software. They are great tools for efficiently creating and scheduling digital work orders for preventive maintenance. CMMS or computerized maintenance management system is such a widely popular software. This software will automatically assign and alert the scheduled tasks based on the given input. The main advantages of using CMMS over other modes of preventive maintenance programs are: CMMS quickly set up preventive maintenance schedules for any asset based on time or usage.Track and manage all preventive maintenance work with an easy-to-use maintenance calendar.Create PM checklists and attach them to the work orders.Automate the administrative part of maintenance by sharing electronic work orders and letting the CMMS automatically log performed work.Get instant access to all maintenance data which technicians can access via mobile devices even when out in the field.Improve control over the spare parts inventory through automatic parts usage tracking and low in-stock notifications.Keep a close eye on the preventative maintenance program by tracking important metrics and KPIs. Reactive Maintenance vs Preventive Maintenance The main differences between Reactive maintenance and preventive maintenance are listed in the table below: Reactive MaintenancePreventive MaintenanceMaximum utilization and production value from the equipment or asset.Lower equipment utilizationHogher Maintenance cost after failureLower maintenance costMore unplanned downtimeLess Unplanned downtimeCrisis based approachpreparation based approachChaotic execution of work responsibilitiesOrganized execution of work responsibilitiesFrequent failuresLonger life expectancyHeavily people-dependent due to increased labor costsUtilizes a facility management software (FMS)Reduced efficiency of equipmentEfficient productivityReactive Maintenance vs Preventive Maintenance