News
What is preventive maintenance?

What is preventive maintenance? Preventive maintenance can also be met under the name of preventive strategy. It is based on planning and implementing various types of activities to ensure that breakdowns and unwanted downtime do not occur. Important elements in this case are periodic inspections of the machinery park, repairs and maintenance, which are aimed at extending the time of failure-free operation of machines. Prevention can be supported by a CMMS system.

 

What exactly is a preventive maintenance strategy?

Preventive maintenance strategy is defined as a general approach to the entire equipment of a company. When it comes to machine operation, it is not uncommon to use not only predictive maintenance, but also condition-based maintenance (CBM). Predictive maintenance is part of a larger, comprehensive preventive strategy. This strategy systemically encompasses the entire enterprise together with equipment, processes, structure and other elements.

 

What are the activities of predictive maintenance?

There are several key characteristic activities observed in plants manifesting a preventive maintenance approach. Among them can be mentioned:

  • periodic inspection of equipment,
  • maintenance,
  • overhauls,
  • systematic, scheduled replacement of parts,
  • research,
  • diagnoses,
  • analyses,
  • rapid removal of possible failures.
  • What are the basic tools of preventive maintenance?

 

Plants using preventive maintenance commonly use CMMS systems. Their functionality supports the planning and execution of activities aimed at preventing the occurrence of downtime. In fact, the system is an essential part of preventive maintenance – in the era of Industry 4.0, its implementation would be impossible without IT support. In short, the CMMS can be described as a huge planning and vigilance system, thanks to which the company gains the chance for maximum optimization. Its connection with ecology and corporate social responsibility is also worth mentioning. After all, it helps to optimize the used material, energy, water, as well as the proper segregation of waste and minimize its production. The advantages of CMMS systems can be talked about at great length. They can be found, among others, in the offer of Eurotronic. It has already been trusted by more than 200 European customers. In summary, the task of CMMS systems is primarily to support productivity. Longer equipment life translates into the need for less frequent replacement, while selected employees receive immediate notification of critical failures. This enables a quick response that can prevent huge losses for the company and the environment.

 

What are the goals of preventive maintenance?

Companies using a preventive maintenance approach can achieve various goals. One of them is to increase the efficiency of production processes, which is associated with an increase in the OEE value index. In addition, the number of failures is likely to be reduced, and downtime will also be reduced. This is indicated by the MTBF indicator. Moreover, maintenance costs will be reduced, and competitiveness will increase as a result of cost reduction. The next effects of using preventive maintenance are the elimination of production delays and increased availability of machinery and capacity.

 

What is the importance of preventive maintenance in terms of working conditions?

By taking care of the lack of downtime associated with prolonged maintenance and sudden breakdowns, you can at the same time take care of maintaining employee satisfaction with their work. Stressful situations among managers arising from missed deadlines or large repair fees also affect staff. The pressure and the need to make quick decisions when emotions are involved translates negatively into production itself. Thus, more problems keep popping up and there is a deviation from the goals set when implementing preventive maintenance. By implementing prevention, the risk of stressful situations can be reduced. “The goal of preventive maintenance is to prevent random situations. Personnel engaged in performing duties should be able to focus solely on them, without constantly changing tasks.” – emphasizes an expert from a CMMS systems company. All of this translates into increased productivity and an overall better employee experience. Time that would have to be spent on staff training can also be saved.