Why preventive maintenance is crucial for your machines

By: Lana Bawaneh

Every machine is prone to damage due to usage and time factors, so it is necessary to perform routine checkups in order to spot any issues that need fixing, which in turn will enhance the machines’ lifetime.

Regardless of the quality of your machines, every machine will require repairs even if it has the best design and material; therefore, repairs must be done whether the machines are damaged or not. We usually fix our machines when there is something wrong with them or if they stop working, this will actually cost us more money and even hinder our productivity. In order to prevent such issues, we have to apply some precautions on the machines. This article is going to shed some light on Preventive Maintenance; but in order to understand its importance, one first needs to know what it means.

Preventive maintenance refers to a regular, routine checkup that helps keep the machines up and running, preventing any unplanned downtime and expensive costs from unanticipated equipment failure. It is also carried out with the goal of increasing an asset’s lifetime by preventing damage or breakdown. Such maintenance includes, but is not limited to, adjustments, cleaning, lubrication, repairs, and parts replacements.

This type of maintenance can be performed based on two main triggers:

• Time-based preventive maintenance, and it is performed according to a defined time plan.  For example, an asset is scheduled for maintenance on a predetermined schedule, such as on the first of every month or every 14 days. 
• Usage-based preventive maintenance, and it is performed based on the utilization of an asset. It usually occurs after an asset has reached a certain milestone.  A car, of example, is scheduled for maintenance every 5000 miles.

The importance of preventive maintenance

Now that you know what preventive maintenance is, you may be wondering why it is important, so here are six main reasons.

Saves time 

Sometimes the implementation of preventive maintenance may interrupt work and production, but that is nothing compared to actual downtime caused by a breakdown.

Saves cost

While sudden downtime for assets cost manufacturers a large budget annually, preventive maintenance will help to save money on asset repairs and replacements. 

Improves safety

A powerful preventive maintenance program improves the performance and safety of

your company’s valuable assets because sometimes equipment failures can not only mean expensive repairs, but it might cause physical damage for employees.

Improves machine efficiency

Preventive maintenance assures optimal working conditions by taking care of your machines, furthermore, it will help prevent or slow down machines’ breakdown, which can help you to maximize productivity.

Extends the life of assets 

Preventive maintenance helps in extending the life and usability of assets. When equipment is neglected and not properly maintained, this can extremely decrease its lifetime. 

Preventive Maintenance Software

Preventive Maintenance Software systems were designed to automate and streamline the management of all your preventive maintenance processes. These systems shall manage all your maintenance activities and help support teams to easily keep a detailed and centralized record of all your assets, equipment, and work. In addition, it allows them to schedule and track maintenance activities.

Preventive maintenance software systems shall also provide a view of your organization’s assets and infrastructure throughout its entire lifecycle, from creation or procurement to disposal.

In the market today, there are quite a lot of options for preventive maintenance software to choose from, and it all depends on which of these systems best suits your business needs. Performing regularly scheduled preventive maintenance is essential for increasing the lifetime and efficiency of your assets. A good maintenance software system can plan for machines’ spare parts consumptions through integration with the inventory system to ensure their availability once needed.

Upon creating a maintenance plan, you should take into consideration the full system since there are different types of maintenance other than preventive maintenance. Though you should always remember that preventive maintenance is an integral part of a full maintenance system and should be constantly optimized.

Check ESKA Maintenance system as an example of a complete and effective maintenance system.