PROACTIVE VS. REACTIVE MAINTENANCE STYLES AND TECHNIQUES
By: Evan Lucyk
Let’s talk about maintenance. Anyone familiar with us here at Bit Service will already know that we are avid supporters of taking a proactive rather than reactive approach to maintenance. Author and speaker John Wooden once said, “If you don’t have time to do it right, you must have time to do it over.” That is one of the best explanations for why proactive maintenance should be a top priority for you as well.
It’s simply logical and what’s most efficient and effective. Do the job right the first time (and maintain that stasis) or pay the consequences. In a manufacturer’s case, this involves a wealth of wasted/lost time, wasted resources, additional time and labour, and lost revenue from having to do it all over—or go back and fix something once it is broken.
Let’s dive a bit deeper as we explain each approach a bit more.
WHAT IS PROACTIVE MAINTENANCE?
When we say proactive maintenance, it is just like the name suggests—being proactive in taking action steps that help ensure that an operation runs smoothly and with as few snags as possible. What are some of these steps? Making simple, smart choices, such as setting up regularly scheduled maintenance either for systems or components. This approach ensures that all necessary systems and components are either maintained or replaced at regular intervals regardless of their current conditions. In essence, you are setting yourself up for success by making sure your operation runs like a well-oiled machine.
Proactive maintenance is a maintenance strategy that corrects the source of underlying equipment conditions (not waiting for something to occur, then scrambling to address it after the fact to keep up with operational demand). With that in mind, it just makes sense that the goal of proactive maintenance is to reduce unplanned downtime, equipment failure, and risks associated with operating faulty equipment (and it does).
WHAT IS REACTIVE MAINTENANCE?
In direct contrast, reactive maintenance simply means that you fix it when you break it. Again, as noted above, this often leaves you scrambling as you struggle and rush to fix an issue to not fall behind in production. It’s not ideal and causes unnecessary stress and strain on you and your employees and even on your equipment as it has been allowed to break down in some way. All of this can be avoided by simply opting for proactive maintenance.
THE BENEFITS OF PROACTIVE MAINTENANCE
We could go on for days about the upsides of opting for proactive maintenance, but the two main pros are that doing so will save you money in the long run and will also save you time (in the form of eliminating—or at least reducing—unplanned downtime).
Typically, while the proactive maintenance approach is typically more expensive up front, the fact (and good news) remains that it’s always cheaper in the long run because you eliminate downtime. Anytime something breaks, it usually affects the operational ability of other components—taking them down along with it, if you will—and that’s always a more expensive and stressful option.
If you only take one thing away from this article, it should be this four-word answer to why proactive maintenance is better than reactive maintenance? It’s just better business.
If you would like to learn more about proper maintenance or discover more about how Bit Service can help you in your endeavours, contact us today to speak with one of our experts.