Are you looking for ways to simplify maintenance controls in your company? Can you not stand having to deal with so many verification spreadsheets anymore? These are some of the difficulties faced by the company maintenance department! Keeping up with preventive and predictive maintenance becomes a challenge in this scenario, but there is a possible solution!
Companies that only do corrective maintenance on machines suffer losses that can be avoided. After all, downtime in equipment represents costs with parts replacement and also production interruption.
It is possible to avoid a series of problems that can generate a lot of damage for your company. Do you want to understand the importance of predictive and preventive maintenance, as well as discover an efficient way to manage it? Despite the similarity between the names, the applicability of each one is different and of crucial importance to avoid losses in your company.
In this article, we will address these two maintenance types and how Engeman® can help you manage them efficiently. So, keep reading!
What is preventive maintenance?
Preventive maintenance refers to a set of inspections that are performed regularly in order to prevent defects in the machine’s operation. In this way, sudden equipment downtime can be avoided, contributing to avoiding losses and reducing maintenance costs.
Preventive maintenance is extremely important when the goal is to optimize the reliability and availability of all your company’s equipment. For your goals to be achieved, well-structured and organized maintenance is required.
The performance time of preventive maintenance is relatively shorter than, for example, corrective maintenance since, in this case, the equipment is in perfect working order.
Inspections and preventive reviews must be performed according to the recommendations of the machine manufacturer, taking into account each machine’s operation history and maintenance. As an example of preventive maintenance, we can mention an oil change every two months or every 5,000 km. Preventive maintenance can also include lubrification, calibration, and cleaning.
Advantages of preventive maintenance
Preventive maintenance is essential in any field of activity, as it will directly impact the proper functioning of your company. Let’s see below some of the advantages of preventive maintenance:
- Prevents corrective maintenance since actions are taken before equipment downtime or damage;
- Reduces breakdowns, aging, and depreciation of equipment;
- It is an investment because it avoids expenses that can be discovered during the preventive period;
- Optimization of time since you are already aware of what and how to do the interventions;
- Increases the useful life of the parts;
- Safer work environment, among others.
In order for preventive tests to occur properly, it is necessary to have a schedule with all the data of the machines and their components, in addition to the deadlines for the service performance, so that no item is forgotten or left unmaintained. It is an important ally in the conservation and durability of equipment, as it is possible to maintain operating conditions close to the manufacturer’s conditions.
What is predictive maintenance?
Predictive maintenance is the inspection that is done with the help of instruments that indicate pressure, temperature, vibration, voltage, and electric current, among other factors. Checking items like these systematically allows you to analyze trends in the operation of equipment and predict the appearance of defects, anticipating problems and reducing costs with possible corrective maintenance.
This type of maintenance is one step ahead of preventive maintenance. Because of it, there is the possibility of discovering defects and detecting any abnormal operation before an unscheduled stop occurs. This monitoring is important to evaluate the performance and quality indicators of the equipment.
Advantages of predictive maintenance
After analyzing the probable causes of the defect and how serious it is, the repair can be scheduled. Thus, it is possible to predict when it will be necessary to stop and avoid unpleasant surprises during production. Let’s see below some of the advantages of predictive maintenance:
- Reduction in maintenance time, since it is already known exactly which problems will be solved in this maintenance, thus increasing the availability rate of the equipment;
- Reduction of unnecessary dismantling for inspections;
- Anticipation of equipment maintenance;
- Increased equipment lifespan, among others.
In order to make efficient use of predictive maintenance, specific planning is necessary. You must know all the operations and needs of the company by mapping the equipment that needs predictive monitoring. It is important that the professionals who will be involved in these processes are trained and have mastery of how to perform predictive maintenance so that it brings the expected results.
While preventive maintenance is responsible for periodically checking machine components, predictive maintenance is used to monitor parameters capable of indicating the need for adjustments and even the replacement of parts. This occurs even if it is not in the planning of the next preventive maintenance.
Why are predictive and preventive maintenance important?
Regardless of the maintenance program adopted by the company, the goal of a manager is to make the equipment available as much as possible. After all, the losses of an unforeseen stop can be great.
When a machine suddenly stops, several parts are damaged. In addition, with the interruption of production, it will not be possible to meet customer demands, which brings huge financial losses and affects the organization’s image.
Before taking action, a maintenance schedule will help you organize all your information and thus optimize all your processes and maintain your productivity and profitability.
Therefore, a good maintenance program contributes to reducing costs, meeting the Service Level Agreement (SLA), and improving the Return on Investment (ROI) in the maintenance department.
Combining predictive and preventive maintenance with CMMS software solutions
Correctly controlling the various types of maintenance that must be done on each piece of equipment is challenging. In an attempt to maintain a good job, there are companies that use several spreadsheets, but this method is not efficient, mainly because it makes it difficult to obtain historical data and performance indicators.
The ideal is to adopt software that is in charge of storing information about all machines. In this way, with the help of technology, it is possible to have an exact monitoring of the situation of each piece.
As we have seen, it is essential to have a good preventive and predictive maintenance program to find defects early on, preventing them from evolving to the point of causing great damage. Thus, software such as Engeman® will be of great help in controlling maintenance so that all machines and their components receive the necessary attention.
Did you like this article and want to understand better how software can contribute to your industry? So, download our White Paper: Why is Engeman® a specialist in maintenance?
