MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES

 Choosing a maintenance strategies

Typically we see plants employing either run-to-failure, only fix after a breakdown, or
preventive maintenance, on a predetermined schedule. However, depending on the value of
the asset or its criticality in the plant’s operations, we may see this strategy escalated to
predictive or even RCM-based maintenance.

 No maintenance strategies

Not having a maintenance strategy is the simplest “strategy” to have for asset maintenance.
The absence of a strategy eliminates the need to plan ahead for maintenance.
Unplanned, reactive maintenance is the most likely type of maintenance that will occur.
Despite the fact that no strategy exists, most types of maintenance tasks are still possible. For
example:

 Unplanned, reactive maintenance will occur any time the asset breaks down.
 Preventative maintenance may occur when the operator (or someone else) decides to do
it. This may include lubrication or cleaning. However, this maintenance is unstructured
and does not occur according to a formalized schedule or due to a trigger.
 Predictive monitoring may also occur. For example, a bathroom sink may be subject to
condition monitoring every time it is used. The user may notice a decrease in flow rate,
and initiate preventive repairs for the sink.
  Preventive Maintenance (PM)

Preventative maintenance (or preventive maintenance) is maintenance that is regularly

performed on a piece of equipment to lessen the likelihood of it failing. Preventative
maintenance is performed while the equipment is still working, so that it does not break down
unexpectedly. Preventative maintenance is planned so that any required resources are
available. The maintenance is scheduled based on a time or usage trigger. A typical example
of an asset with a time based preventative maintenance schedule is an air-conditioner which
is serviced every year, before summer. A typical example of an asset with a usage based
preventative maintenance schedule is a motor-vehicle which might be scheduled for service
every 10,000km. Preventative maintenance is more complex to coordinate than run-to-
failure maintenance because the maintenance schedule must be planned. Preventative
maintenance is less complex to coordinate than predictive maintenance because monitoring
strategies do not have to be planned nor the results interpreted.

 Predictive maintenance

The aim of predictive maintenance is first to predict when equipment failure might occur, and
secondly, to prevent occurrence of the failure by performing maintenance. Monitoring for
future failure allows maintenance to be planned before the failure occurs. Ideally, predictive
maintenance allows the maintenance frequency to be as low as possible to prevent unplanned
reactive maintenance, without incurring costs associated with doing too much preventative
maintenance. Predicting failure can be done with one of many techniques. The chosen
technique must be effective at predicting failure and also provide sufficient warning time for
upcoming maintenance. Some techniques include vibration analysis, oil analysis, thermal
imaging, and equipment observation. These are described in detail in condition based
maintenance page. Choosing the correct technique for performing condition monitoring is an
important consideration that is best done in consultation with equipment manufacturers and
condition monitoring experts. When predictive maintenance is working effectively as a
maintenance strategy, maintenance is only performed on machines when it is required. That
is, just before failure is likely to occur. This brings several cost savings.
  Reactive maintenance

Reactive maintenance (also known as “breakdown maintenance”) are repairs that are done
when equipment has already broken down. Reactive maintenance focuses on restoring the
equipment to its normal operating condition. The broken-down equipment is returned to
working within service specifications by replacing or repairing faulty parts and components.
Emergency repairs cost 3 to 9 times more than planned repairs, so maintenance plans that rely
on reactive maintenance are generally the most expensive. Breakdown maintenance is so
expensive because shutdowns happen during production runs (instead of pre-scheduled
maintenance shutdowns during downtimes); because expedited shipping for spare parts costs
much more than regular shipping; and because maintenance staff is often forced to work
overtime to repair machinery.

 Reliability centered maintenance

Reliability centered maintenance (RCM) is a corporate-level maintenance strategy that is

implemented to optimize the maintenance program of a company or facility. The final result
of an RCM program is the implementation of a specific maintenance strategy on each of the
assets of the facility. The maintenance strategies are optimized so that the productivity of the
plant is maintained using cost-effective maintenance techniques. There are four principles
that are critical for a reliability centered maintenance program.

1. The primary objective is to preserve system function.

2. Identify failure modes that can affect the system function.
3. Prioritize the failure modes.
4. Select applicable and effective tasks to control the failure modes.
  Risk Based Maintenance

A risk based maintenance strategy prioritizes maintenance resources toward assets that carry
the most risk if they were to fail. It is a methodology for determining the most economical
use of maintenance resources. This is done so that the maintenance effort across a facility is
optimized to minimize any risk of a failure.

A risk based maintenance strategy is based on two main phases:

1. Risk assessment
2. Maintenance planning based on the risk
The maintenance type and frequency are prioritized based on the risk of failure. Assets that
have a greater risk and consequence of failure are maintained and monitored more frequently.
Assets that carry a lower risk are subjected to less stringent maintenance programs.
Implementing a Risk based maintenance process means that the total risk of failure is
minimized across the facility in the most economical way.

The monitoring and maintenance programs for high risk assets are typically condition-based
maintenance programs.

 Total productive maintenance

Total productive maintenance (TPM) is a maintenance philosophy that requires the total
participation of the work force. TPM incorporates the skills and availability of all employees
with the focus of improving the overall effectiveness of the facility. Effectiveness is
improved by eliminating the wastage of time and resources. Typically, total productive
maintenance is a concept that is most easily applied to a manufacturing facility.

TPM emphasizes all aspects of production, as it seeks to incorporate maintenance into the
everyday performance of a facility. To do this the maintenance performance is one factor that
is considered when evaluating the performance of the facility. One of the most important
measurements of total productive maintenance is overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). It is
a measure of availability, performance efficiency and quality rate. As such, equipment
stopping, equipment working at less than peak capacity, and equipment producing poor
quality products are all penalized when the OEE is determined.

 Value driven maintenance

Maintenance is crucial in any organization. Without proper maintenance, assets deteriorate

over time causing a loss in quality of the output produced. More importantly, it can also
impact the safety of the asset or the people that operate it. Traditionally, maintenance has
been viewed as a cost centre in an organization; it costs money to hire maintenance
technicians and purchase the spare parts to keep systems running smoothly. Too often, senior
executives ignore the added value maintenance can bring to an organization such as:

 A reduction in reactive maintenance costs

 Reducing costs to restart production after a breakdown
 Limiting production scrap
 Costs of downtime such as missed orders and lost revenue
 Customer perception/satisfaction
 Improved quality of products
 Reduced environmental impact

Not surprisingly, maintenance can add economic value to a business by delivering maximum
availability at the lowest possible cost. To view maintenance as a value driver, senior
executives must move from cost-based thinking to value-based thinking.

 Evidence based asset management

Asset management is a systematic, lifecycle approach of operating, maintaining, upgrading,

decommissioning and renewing assets and infrastructure cost-effectively and to an acceptable
standard. It has become a hot topic in recent years as it can have a significant impact on the
operational performance and thus the profitability of an organization. When properly
executed, asset management can increase system reliability while reducing maintenance
related costs, increase the economic life of capital equipment, reduce company liability and
optimize inventory spending