How Maintenance Approaches Differ Amongst Organizations

Properly maintaining each piece of any organization’s equipment is the key to extending their longevity. The way in which organizations approach this necessary maintenance is typically split between two strategies. This post will detail both of those strategies in hopes that deciding between the two will be easier for struggling businesses.

The first of the two strategies is known as preventive maintenance. This has long been the standard for maintenance across a multitude of industries. This strategy prioritizes performing maintenance on each piece of equipment at set intervals throughout the year. The intervals are typically determined by factors like the equipment’s age or how often it runs in comparison to the rest of the fleet. While this strategy may work, it is far from being the most efficient of the two strategies. Predictive maintenance, on the other hand, is much more fine-tuned for efficiency. Through this maintenance approach, organizations equip their machinery with systems meant to alert organizations when any piece of equipment requires maintenance. Through the collection of data and analysis, these systems can determine exactly what requires maintenance and when organizations should perform it.

Being able to distinguish between these two maintenance strategies is only the first step. Making the correct decision between the two is the next, and it isn’t as simple. Luckily, with the help of the resource accompanying this post, it should be made a bit simpler. The resource will detail ways in which each approach can benefit any organization, as well as ways in which they can fail any organization. Ultimately, after reading, you should be left with enough information to make an informed decision between the two maintenance approaches.

What typically keeps organizations from investing into predictive maintenance systems are their doubts regarding how these systems can benefit their organization. Namely, they’re worried about the interconnectivity between these systems and their machinery. As with any technology that is connected to the Internet of Things, the more connections made, the more accurate the data reported can become. As more and more companies establish the connection between their equipment, the more precise these systems can become in regards to reporting critical failures and suggesting maintenance to avoid these failures.

There will be some innate challenges when first integrating these systems, however. Not necessarily as a result of the systems themselves, but the way in which organizations will have to adapt to them to receive their true value. Owners and managers will have to come to understand the ins-and-outs of completely new systems. On top of that, they’ll be required to devise a plan to reeducate their employees regarding the new strategies and how they will impact their positions and their responsibilities. Once the short-term issues are ironed out, the long-term benefits begin to shine.

For more information on how organizations approach maintenance, be sure to check out the infographic coupled alongside this post. Courtesy of Industrial Service Solutions.