Making the correct maintenance decisions are imperative to any manufacturing operation’s success. If equipment doesn’t receive routine maintenance, it’s likely going to begin to function improperly. This will likely lead to the inability to meet production standards, which in turn leads to unhappy customers. Avoiding all of this is made possible through the right maintenance strategy.

Most often, businesses use a strategy known as preventive maintenance. This strategy is derived on intervals developed through a calendar-oriented system. These intervals determine when equipment will receive their check-ups throughout the year. This strategy often requires more maintenance per year for equipment, but it will ensure that any equipment should avoid failure. This strategy relies on correctly estimating the intervals at which any piece of equipment requires maintenance. For example, it’s easy to understand that older machines will likely require more maintenance per year than the newest machine in a fleet. Incorrect maintenance intervals can be detrimental to the health of any piece of equipment.

With recent advancements in maintenance technology, however, predictive maintenance strategies have become more common. With regularly scheduled maintenance, determining a piece of equipment’s issues in a timely manner can be challenging. With predictive maintenance, however, issues are more accurately detected at an accelerated rate. These systems provide integrated Internet of Things technologies to equipment that collects output and external data. This data is then analyzed and reported to owners and managers for the sake of developing maintenance schedules.

While the latter may seem to be the most obvious option, it’s important to note that predictive maintenance systems have some significant barriers to entry. Namely cost, as it’s been reported that these systems will cost more than following a preventive maintenance schedule throughout a calendar year. Organizations will have to carefully consider whether or not a predictive maintenance system is truly worth investing their capital into.

Justifying the costs may seem easy based on the benefits, but it’s worth noting the additional challenges organizations may face as a result of these predictive maintenance systems. One example is the integration of these systems into existing organizational processes. Another example is the required retraining that employees must be put through as a result of these systems. With that being said, if you believe your organization is capable of investing the capital and have enough trust in your employees to make the transition smooth, predictive maintenance will greatly benefit any organization.

For some additional insights into the different maintenance options out there, be sure to review the infographic paired alongside this post. Courtesy of Industrial Service Solutions.