Reactive Maintenance vs. Preventive Maintenance
When discussing the differences between reactive maintenance (AKA breakdown maintenance) and preventive maintenance, the most significant difference will be the cost involved. However, what works best – and costs less – for one company may not be best suited for others.
Both reactive and preventative maintenance strategies are valid for different reasons. As a business owner, your most critical assets require frequent preventative maintenance to prolong their lifespan. Optimal performance at the lowest cost is your goal. Alternatively, reactive maintenance Manchester is ideal for equipment that will not impact output quality or workplace safety.
Finding that ideal balance between both is the job of maintenance management and facilities managers.
Preventative Strategies
Preventative maintenance relates to procedures and repeated task schedules that prevent equipment asset failures. That includes setting meter timers for regular inspections, reporting equipment issues and replacing parts before they fail.
The primary goal of preventive maintenance is detecting and fixing any minor issues before they become significant. Some strategies involved would be a Risk-Based Maintenance strategy (RBM) that focuses on asset failure risk and what happens in the event of failure. A Failure-Finding Maintenance strategy procedure will allocate time and resources for detecting potential unseen equipment or asset faults.
Time-based Maintenance (TBM, or Scheduled Maintenance) strategy performs maintenance at fixed intervals no matter the condition of the equipment. This approach is beneficial for failures related to the age of the equipment or equipment with an expected short lifespan. There are also Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM) and Predictive Maintenance (PdM) strategies, both based on a focus on equipment destined to fail based on the current condition and monitoring performance to indicate the decline of its optimum performance levels.
Reactive Strategies
Also known as run-to-failure maintenance, reactive strategies are used when preventing failure is impossible or not economically feasible. Reactive maintenance on equipment that won’t pose a safety issue or disrupt productivity is standard.
Management can keep operating this equipment until it fails, with the facilities manager having a strategy for any unplanned breakdown maintenance required. Although inconvenient, unexpected and costly, many businesses have a budget for unexpected maintenance costs.
A Planned Breakdown Maintenance strategy identifies any equipment that may fail and the type of malfunction causing it. Choosing to run the equipment until failure is acceptable as long as it does not pose danger or disrupt productivity. The Unplanned Breakdown Maintenance strategy sets service level agreements for any unexpected downtime, and procedures to follow and lists resources required for operations to resume.
This outlines brief differences between reactive and preventative maintenance approaches. If you require more information on fire safety services Manchester or power solutions Manchester, contact the team at AMS Solutions today.
