Just as we humans live out our daily lives, the equipment we use is also living out a life of its own. It needs the same kind of attention and maintenance we give ourselves—or at least the kind we intend to give ourselves! Wear and tear is an inevitable side-effect of doing business, but critical assets need to be kept in tip-top shape.

A good maintenance strategy is essential for ensuring asset functionality and reducing downtime. There are two main facility maintenance types that can help in this area—preventive maintenance and predictive maintenance. But confusion exists as to what they are and do. Can maintenance managers and teams use just one? Can these two types of maintenance be used together? Do organizations need to hire clairvoyants to predict the lifespans of their machinery, vehicles, or equipment failures?

The good news is you don’t need a crystal ball. FMX is sharing the differences between preventive and predictive maintenance, how they handle machine maintenance tasks, and the benefits that each deliver.

Preventive Maintenance = Preventive Care

As health insurers will tell you, preventive care is crucial for preventing many kinds of illnesses and deaths. Preventive maintenance measures do much the same for your equipment.

Preventive maintenance is comprised of time-based, scheduled maintenance inspections and tasks, which are performed on assets and equipment to ensure they are working the way the manufacturer intended. Think of oil changes, belt adjustments, and the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedules and guidelines. This type of maintenance aims to extend the life of a facility’s equipment and prevent breakdowns and unplanned downtime. Its benefits include:

  • Lengthening the lifespan of assets 
  • Decreasing mean time between equipment failure
  • Increasing equipment efficiency, availability, and reliability
  • Helping to promote a safe work environment
  • Improving audit compliance
  • Reducing unexpected maintenance management costs

Maintenance management software like FMX is well suited for preventive maintenance. Once recurring inspection and time-based work orders are inserted into the system, the software manages the rest. Assets are serviced according to the schedule facility managers set and technicians can refer to the checklists, walkthroughs, or procedures outlined in the work order. Equipment life is extended, and reliability is reassured at a substantial cost saving to an organization’s bottom line.  

Learn more about preventive maintenance.

Predictive Maintenance—Knowing what you don’t know before you know it—and fixing it

Predictive maintenance (PdM) is a relatively new type of maintenance. While it is in the same ballpark as preventive maintenance, it differs in that a robotic pitcher with advanced artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the mound. That robotic pitcher is analyzing each batter before they get to the plate, and already knows what to throw to get a strike.

 In other words, predictive maintenance uses specialized downtime tracking software, equipment sensors, remote monitoring, and AI to constantly monitor asset performance and mechanical health. It’s a form of condition-based maintenance that alerts maintenance technicians when equipment is nearing a breakdown or failure mode. It also allows the equipment to become self-advocating, which drastically reduces planned and unplanned downtime and reactive maintenance costs. Its benefits include:

  • Collecting data while machines are carrying out their everyday functions
  • Recognizing and reporting on problems before asset failure occurs
  • Flagging the need for maintenance and inspection before repair becomes costly or extended downtimes reduce revenue
  • Increasing the lifespan of all critical assets
  • Improving equipment efficiency, availability, and reliability by supplementing regular maintenance
  • Determining if equipment repair is less expensive than total asset replacement
  • Preventing machine failure before it occurs

Learn more about predictive maintenance.

So what will it be—Preventive Maintenance or Predictive Maintenance? 

As demonstrated above, preventive maintenance and predictive maintenance strategy are two different management types that fall under the same maintenance tree. One is not better than the other. They are complementary corrective maintenance strategies that, when paired together, can deliver incredible results and savings to the maintenance costs of an organization. 

Due to the upfront investment of predictive maintenance service, a facility should consider starting small and working its way up. Preventive maintenance has a lower buy-in and can be the way to begin an efficient proactive maintenance management journey. 


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