cb98f77b-b426-44e5-91f7-cf685dd6799f
cb98f77b-b426-44e5-91f7-cf685dd6799f
cb98f77b-b426-44e5-91f7-cf685dd6799f
cb98f77b-b426-44e5-91f7-cf685dd6799f
cb98f77b-b426-44e5-91f7-cf685dd6799f

MRO Q&A: Which Maintenance Type is Best for our Equipment?

Dec. 9, 2015
A reader asks about the difference between reactive, preventative, predictive, condition-based TPM and autonomous maintenance.

Question: There is reactive maintenance, preventative maintenance, predictive maintenance, condition-based maintenance, total productive maintenance and autonomous maintenance. Which of these is the ultimate way to maintain our equipment?

Answer: You touch on two distinct aspects of maintenance. Reactive, preventative and predictive maintenance are all processes that determine “what” you are going to do. In reactive maintenance you make the decision to do only what is needed to maintain operations. This decision should be based upon the fact that no excessive downtime would result if a failure occurred.

In preventative maintenance, you do what is needed to make sure unacceptable production lapses do not occur. This approach is based upon factual data from past failures and the meantime between failures for similar components. Preventative maintenance is practiced on equipment that performs the same job in a repetitive manner, and the work required typically is determined by throughput or number of hours run.

With predictive maintenance, the equipment being monitored does not necessarily perform linearly. An example would be an ammonia compressor that experiences higher loads and wear during the summer than it does during the winter months. Condition-based maintenance is needed to monitor the equipment’s vital signs. Lubrication purity, operating temperature and amperage pull are monitored to predict what needs to be done and when.

The second aspect of maintenance pertains to who does the work. In total productive maintenance (TPM) the overall objective is to improve Overall Equipment Efficiency and typically involves a team of employees working together to reduce all stoppages, including mechanical changeovers. Autonomous maintenance is a component of TPM in which the operator performs as much maintenance and adjustments as possible to the machine he/she runs.

The ultimate way to maintain your equipment is indeed situational. All of the above techniques should be measured to determine which is appropriate in your case.

Sponsored Recommendations

Revolutionizing Healthcare: The Impact of Digitalization in Biopharma Innovation

Biopharma enables an entirely new level of innovation that’s simply not possible in conventional drug development. It’s an approach that can fundamentally change the way healthcare...

Navigating the Automotive Industry's Electric Future

The automotive industry is at a turning point. Bloomberg estimates that by 2040, 54% of new vehicle sales will be electric. And by 2030, we’re looking at 100% of passenger vehicles...

Unified Process Control Brings Operational Clarity

Inland Empire Utilities Agency replaces its SCADA enterprise system with the PlantPAx Distributed Control System and reduces complexity for operators

PlantPAx DCS Improves Operational Reliability

KC Water calls on R.E. Pedrotti to replace obsolete wastewater SCADA solution with a unified Modern Distributed Control System (DCS).