Regardless of a manufacturing operation’s size or scope, many business owners and managers will struggle to determine the most ideal maintenance strategy for their operation. Can they continue to benefit by sticking to the most traditional maintenance approach out there in preventive maintenance? Or will the overarching benefits from the much more modern approach in predictive maintenance be right for them? In order to determine which is the right fit, it’s imperative to compare the two.
It can be easy as a manger or business owner to want to default to the most simple maintenance strategy in preventive maintenance. As this strategy is almost entirely calendar-driven, organizations can easily schedule routine maintenance for all of their equipment year-round based on how frequent their equipment requires maintenance. Determining those intervals is often the trickiest part with this strategy. Which is where predictive maintenance truly shines. This strategy, in connection with its sophisticated technological systems, allow organizations to adapt a much more dynamic maintenance approach. Through these systems, equipment is capable of identifying key issues and maintenance solutions to solve these issues. Seems too good to be true, no? The one thing holding many organizations back from these systems is the cost associated with them.
No matter where your organization currently stands on the maintenance spectrum, the resource featured alongside this post can provide some great guidance. Not only will it detail the ways in which these two approaches are different, but it will also include ways in which both approaches can impact your business. Ultimately, it will allow organizations to select the best maintenance approach to meet their expectations.
There are a number of organizations out there that doubt the capabilities of predictive maintenance strategies. They’re not sold on how they could integrate into their network and processes. What these organizations need to understand, however, is that the more organizations that do take this leap of faith into the Internet of Things network, the better off these systems are. As is the nature of the network, more equipment feeding data means more accurate results. Which can mean less equipment failure and thus less unexpected downtime organization wide.
As mentioned previously, such a premium system will come with a premium price tag. Not only will organizations have to invest heavily, there’s no guarantees that these systems can be the saving grace that businesses need. They’ll require a great deal of patience and retraining to truly get the most out of them. Meaning owners and managers will have to be confident in the ability of their employees to transition healthily and effectively for these systems to truly benefit their organization. With that being said, the long-term benefits are very clear.
Don’t make the wrong decision when it comes to maintenance. Carefully review the infographic coupled alongside this post for additional information on both preventive and predictive maintenance strategies. Courtesy of Industrial Service Solutions.