What is the Difference Between Preventive Maintenance and Predictive Maintenance?

Maintenance is a critical aspect for organizations, especially those that possess a considerable number of valuable assets. The primary objective of maintenance is to enhance the longevity of assets and prevent unexpected failures. Unanticipated equipment failure can be more costly than scheduled maintenance, which is why regular maintenance is essential. Equipment downtime negatively impacts the productivity of the organization. To achieve effective maintenance, various types of maintenance strategies are employed. In this blog, we will focus on preventive and predictive maintenance and explore the differences between them. Let's dive in!

What is Preventive Maintenance?

Preventive maintenance, also referred to as planned maintenance, involves scheduled maintenance tasks to identify and resolve issues before they become significant problems. This proactive approach enhances asset reliability and ensures smooth operation. In a preventive maintenance program, every component of each machine undergoes thorough checks. Maintenance tasks can be scheduled based on a specific time interval, such as every three months, in a time-based preventive maintenance program. This approach is based on the premise that machine parts deteriorate over time and require replacement.

What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Preventive Maintenance?

Advantages of Preventive Maintenance:  

• Allows for the detection and resolution of potential problems before they can cause damage or create unsafe conditions.  

• Reduces downtime and the risk of costly repairs due to significant failures.  
• Improves the reliability and performance of equipment, which can reduce operational costs.  

Disadvantages of Preventive Maintenance:  

• Potential for increased costs, as it requires more frequent maintenance activities.  
• The availability of personnel and resources needed to perform preventive maintenance can be a challenge.  

• If the maintenance tasks are not done correctly, it can result in further damage or unsafe conditions.

Also read: What Are the Important Functions of Preventive Maintenance?

What is Predictive Maintenance?

Predictive maintenance is a performance-based approach that relies on analyzing previous data and continuously monitoring and inspecting assets to assess their performance. This allows potential issues to be identified and addressed before they turn into major problems. Unlike preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance involves only performing maintenance, when necessary, based on the asset's condition or performance.

To conduct predictive maintenance, various parameters are defined, such as vibration, heat, and oil analysis. These parameters are used to track the asset's performance and determine when maintenance is required. For instance, a car owner may use key performance indicators (KPIs) to identify when maintenance is needed after analyzing the vehicle's oil and deciding to provide maintenance after every 3000-km of driving. This helps organizations maintain their assets' health while minimizing the frequency of maintenance, leading to cost savings and increased efficiency.

What are the Advantages & Disadvantages of Predictive Maintenance?

Advantages Predictive Maintenance  

• Can prevent failures or malfunctions of equipment and unexpected downtimes  
• It reduces maintenance costs by improving the accuracy and effectiveness of maintenance schedules  
• Can improve safety by detecting potential safety issues before they become a problem  

• Can provide insight into the performance and condition of equipment to help make better decisions  
• Can increase the lifespan of machinery and equipment  

Disadvantages of Predictive Maintenance  

• Can be costly to implement, especially for small businesses  

• Can be time-consuming to set up, requiring extensive data collection and analysis  
• May require specialized expertise and training to be able to interpret the data correctly  
• Can be difficult to accurately predict the lifespan of components and machinery  
• Can be labor-intensive to monitor equipment on a regular basis

Also read: How Preventive Maintenance Discard Common Conveyor Issues?

What is the Difference Between Preventive & Predictive Maintenance?

Below we have discussed the difference between preventive and predictive maintenance:

1. Preventive maintenance is done on a time basis whereas predictive maintenance is done on a condition basis.  
2. Preventive maintenance focuses on avoiding sudden equipment failure whereas predictive maintenance focuses on avoiding sudden equipment failure along with maximizing asset utilization.  
3. When preventive maintenance is performed with planned downtime. Whereas in predictive maintenance no additional downtime is done as while performing regular maintenance all the performance issues are covered.  
4. For preventive maintenance, an organization needs skilled technicians but for predictive maintenance, more skilled & trained technicians are required.  

5. Preventive maintenance is simple, on the other hand predictive maintenance is complex.
6. Preventive maintenance occurs regularly, it does not matter if potential issues are detected or not. Predictive maintenance occurs only when potential issues are identified.  

Both preventive maintenance software and predictive maintenance software are proactive solutions that aim to prevent asset failure. However, preventive maintenance is a simpler solution that may be more suitable for small organizations. Predictive maintenance, on the other hand, is a more effective solution that requires significant resources and training, and is especially useful for manufacturing-based organizations that rely heavily on their assets to run daily operations.

Regardless of which maintenance strategy an organization chooses, it cannot be implemented without the help of automated software, such as (Computerized Maintenance Management Software) CMMS or Asset Management Software (AMS). These software programs provide a range of features that help boost asset performance, including maintenance checklists, work order management, data analysis, and more.

Conclusion

‍Every organization has its own requirement and for some organizations, preventive maintenance can be suitable and for some predictive maintenance can be suitable. Both maintenance programs have their own advantages and disadvantages. Using an asset management tool will help you to achieve your goal much faster. When you invest in an asset management tool your business will save unnecessary expenses as unexpected asset failure will be reduced.  

Both of these are efficient & effective practices for asset management & maintenance, yet it is important to comprehend the distinctions between the two and how they can be used. We hope that you may find this article helpful.

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