How to choose the best maintenance strategy for you

Following a maintenance strategy is a crucial component of optimising performance and maximising production in any business. Failing to conduct proper maintenance can lead to inefficiencies, breakdowns and unexpected downtime – all of which can cost a business significant amounts of money.

Choosing the right maintenance strategy for your assets has many benefits, but it’s often a challenging consideration to make as there are a number of different types of maintenance strategy. On the one hand, there are proactive maintenance strategies which follow a preventative and predictive philosophy in order to anticipate and resolve problems before they occur. On the other hand, there are reactive maintenance strategies which involve a corrective or ‘run-to-failure’ approach to reduce unnecessary time and investment on maintenance.

In this blog post, we’ve shared 5 key factors and considerations to help you select the best maintenance strategy for your assets with ease…

1. Equipment criticality

Perhaps one of the most crucial considerations when selecting the correct maintenance strategy to suit your business is evaluating the criticality of your equipment. Some assets are vital to the business’s operations and output, and any downtime can have severe consequences either on production or safety other equipment are not and can run to failure without a loss of income . 

For equipment that has a high criticality score, a proactive maintenance strategy like executing Preventative Maintenance work and Condition Maintenance activities are  recommended to minimise the risk of equipment failure and ensure operations continue to run smoothly. On the other hand, equipment that is not critical may be better suited to a reactive maintenance strategy, where maintenance is only carried out when a breakdown occurs as this helps to minimise any unnecessary costs.

2. Maintenance costs

Another important factor to consider when choosing the best maintenance strategy is the costs associated. With budget restraints always top of mind for key stakeholders and those within management positions, it’s important that cost savings can be made wherever possible to maximise return on investment but not to the detriment of safety or loss of life.  – and a good place to start when it comes to maintenance teams is assessing the cost of maintaining a piece of equipment and factoring this into the choice of strategy.

Some maintenance strategies, like Proactive Maintenance, require more investment upfront but can help to reduce overall maintenance costs in the long run by limiting unexpected breakdowns. However, reactive maintenance can be more cost-effective in the short term, as you only spend money when repairs are necessary.

However, it’s important to keep the criticality of each asset in mind when reviewing the costs of maintenance, as reactive maintenance can lead to more significant long term costs if equipment breakdowns occur more frequently or on assets that are essential to production and safety, leading to more extended downtime and repair costs. When choosing a maintenance strategy based on costs, you should factor in the cost of lost production, potential fines and repairs. If this total is less than the maintenance cost, a reactive maintenance strategy may be most appropriate, but if it equates to more than the cost of maintenance, a proactive approach such as  would be a wiser choice.

3. Equipment complexity

The complexity of your equipment also plays a role in choosing the best maintenance strategy going forward. Large and complicated assets, such as engines, may require more frequent and extensive maintenance; it may have numerous components, subsystems, and interdependent parts that can fail in a number of ways, therefore it might be more difficult to repair if it were to fail. In these instances, a proactive maintenance strategy is more suitable. 

On the other hand, assets that are more straightforward may only need basic maintenance, such as a small piece of equipment which might only require simple maintenance tasks like cleaning and lubricating. In this case, a reactive maintenance strategy would be a more viable option for ensuring maintenance optimisation.

4. Availability of maintenance resources

Assessing the resources you have available is another crucial consideration when choosing the right maintenance strategy. It’s one thing identifying which approach would be best depending on asset criticality scores, the costs of maintenance and the complexity of each piece of equipment, however, if you don’t have the right resources available these efforts become fruitless.

If you have a small maintenance team, for instance, it may be challenging to implement a proactive maintenance strategy which requires regular maintenance tasks. This could also be said if you have limited space for spare parts and inventory, or are lacking in software to help with planning and scheduling maintenance. 

In these instances, reactive maintenance may be the better option as you can focus on fixing equipment only when needed, making better use of your limited maintenance resources. Again though, it is crucial to prioritise maintenance on the most critical assets in terms of production and safety.

5. Safety and regulatory requirements

Finally, safety and regulatory requirements are the most important considerations when choosing the best maintenance strategy . Most assets  inspections and routine checks at specified intervals to ensure compliance with regulatory standards. 

A proactive maintenance strategy ensures that the equipment is always in good working condition and meets regulatory standards. 

Additionally, some assets may pose safety risks if not maintained properly, such as equipment with high voltages, moving parts or high-pressure systems. This can lead to financial, emotional and reputational damage if a serious incident or accident were to occur. Again, in these cases, a proactive maintenance strategy is crucial to mitigate any failure that could lead to loss of life or significant downtime that results in loss of production and therefore loss of revenue.

In conclusion, choosing the best maintenance strategy for your business depends on a number of crucial considerations. By evaluating the criticality of your equipment, maintenance costs, equipment complexity, availability of maintenance resources, and safety and regulatory requirements, you can determine the best maintenance strategy that will maximise equipment reliability and output, while minimising downtime.