What is a Maintenance Strategy? The Ultimate Guide

A maintenance strategy is a structured approach to asset upkeep, designed to ensure reliability, minimize downtime, and optimize maintenance costs. It defines the set of tasks and methodologies used to identify potential failures, schedule activities, and improve overall equipment performance while balancing efficiency and resource allocation.

Difference Between a Maintenance Strategy and Maintenance Tactic

A maintenance strategy refers to the big-picture plan that outlines how maintenance practices should be conducted across an organization. In contrast, the tactics are the specific actions taken to execute that strategy, such as scheduling inspections, monitoring asset conditions, or replacing worn-out components.

Types of Maintenance Strategies

To optimize asset reliability and minimize downtime, industries use five key maintenance types: Preventive Maintenance (PM), Predictive Maintenance (PdM), Condition Monitoring, Run-to-Failure (RTF), Prescriptive, and Reactive maintenance.

Preventive Maintenance (PM)

Definition: This strategy involves performing maintenance on assets at scheduled intervals, regardless of their current condition.

Ideal Application: Best suited for equipment with predictable wear patterns and in situations where asset failure can cause significant disruption.

Predictive Maintenance (PdM) / CBM)

Definition: This strategy relies on data and monitoring tools (like vibration analysis, thermal imaging, or oil analysis) to predict when actions should be performed based on the operating condition.

Ideal Application: Suitable for critical equipment where failures would result in high operational costs or safety risks.

Run-to-Failure (RTF)

Definition: Run-to-Failure is a maintenance method where piece of equipment are deliberately allowed to operate until they fail, at which point corrective action is taken. While no proactive actions are scheduled, minimal monitoring, such as operator rounds or basic inspections, may still be conducted to track asset condition and ensure failures are addressed promptly.

Ideal Application: Typically used for non-critical assets or those with minimal consequences if they fail.

Prescriptive Maintenance

Definition: This strategy uses advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to recommend not just the timing but also specific actions to take to avoid failure and optimize performance.

Ideal Application: Ideal for industries with complex systems and critical assets, such as energy, aerospace, and high-tech manufacturing.

Reactive Maintenance

Definition: This strategy involves fixing equipment only after it has failed, with no prior monitoring or preventative steps taken.

Ideal Application: There are no ideal applications for this strategy, and it is generally something organizations try to avoid, as it can lead to higher costs and unplanned downtime.

To learn more about the various types of maintenance, go see this article.

How to Develop an Effective Maintenance Strategy

To implement a good maintenance methodology, follow these 6 steps. While this is not an exhaustive, step-by-step list, it provides a solid starting point for developing a comprehensive approach to asset management:

• Assess Asset Criticality: Assessing asset criticality involves evaluating which assets are most essential to the overall operations and production processes. This evaluation considers factors such as the impact of asset failure on production, safety, cost, and downtime. Critical assets are those whose failure would cause significant disruption to operations, leading to increased downtime, loss of revenue, or safety risks.
• Breakdown Asset into Maintainable Components: To effectively manage your plant’s assets, start by breaking down each asset into its individual maintainable components. This process creates an Asset Hierarchy, providing a structured view of the various parts that make up each asset. By doing so, you gain a high-level perspective of your plant’s assets and their specific maintenance needs. This approach helps prioritize efforts, identify critical components, and ensure that all parts are properly managed to maintain overall operational efficiency.
• Define Failure Modes of Maintainable Components: Failure modes are the symptoms exhibited by maintainable components when they begin to degrade or fail. It’s important to identify all possible failure modes for each maintainable component and link these symptoms to specific actions that should be taken if they appear. This proactive identification allows for the implementation of preventive measures to address potential issues before they result in a complete failure.
• Select the Right Strategies to Prevent those Failures Modes: Select the most appropriate type of maintenance approach based on failure modes and asset criticality, as well as cost considerations. There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy, and it’s recommended to use a mix of strategies tailored to fit the specific needs of your assets. By combining different approaches, you can ensure that your maintenance operations are optimized for each asset’s importance, failure patterns, and the overall operational goals.
• Implement and Monitor: Use CMMS and APM (Asset Performance Management) software to track maintenance activities.
• Continuously Improving: Regularly assess your program performance and refine strategies to improve efficiency.

Conclusion

Having a clear and effective maintenance management is essential for ensuring that your assets perform reliably, minimizing downtime, and controlling operational costs. Understanding the different approaches and how they can be applied to your specific needs allows you to stay ahead of potential issues. While there’s no single strategy that works for everything, combining the right approaches based on the criticality and condition of your assets will help optimize efforts. By regularly reviewing and fine-tuning your strategy, you can keep things running smoothly and efficiently, saving both time and money in the long run.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the best maintenance strategy?

The best strategy depends on your industry, asset criticality, and operational goals. Many companies adopt a mix of preventive, predictive, and reliability-centered maintenance process for optimal results.

What is the difference between preventive and predictive maintenance strategy?

• PM is based on a fixed schedule (e.g., every 3 months).
• PdM uses data to trigger interventions based on the asset’s condition.

For more information, please refer to this article : Time-Based Maintenance vs. Condition-Based Maintenance

Is Run-to-Failure maintenance ever a good strategy?

Yes, for non-critical, low-cost assets where failure does not impact production or safety. However, relying only on reactive maintenance leads to higher long-term costs.

How can a company transition from reactive to a type of predictive maintenance?

• Start by implementing preventive maintenance to reduce unplanned failures.
• Gradually introduce condition monitoring tools (e.g., vibration sensors, thermography).
• Use historical data to identify patterns and predict failures.
• Invest in APM (Asset Performance Management) software to automate data analysis.

Raphael Tremblay,
Spartakus Technologies
[email protected]