Taking a preventative approach to maintenance can help managers stay on top of budgets, avoid any expensive surprises, and lengthen the lifespan of their equipment, but is that a feasible approach for maintenance and facility managers?

A recent study by UpKeep reveals that while 90 per cent of managers believe in preventative maintenance, only 26 per cent are practicing that, citing staffing shortages and scheduling conflicts as the main impediments. Further, 28 per cent don’t know their annual maintenance budgets, so planning ahead becomes almost impossible.

The study explains that simply directing maintenance teams to ‘practice preventative maintenance and ‘prioritize prevention’ focuses on behavioural change, rather than the necessary organizational solutions, and that is not a viable strategy. Just over half of the managers surveyed (54 per cent) say they’re seeing improvements in their maintenance operations but 62 per cent say they can’t show that with data.

What’s missing in this equation? Without having data to support what they’re doing, facility managers can be operating blindly, without a way to accurately predict or measure their actions.

RELATED: The future of facility maintenance is predictive

While preventative maintenance is described as following a predetermined maintenance schedule, predictive maintenance involves monitoring asset condition and enhancing asset performance to determine maintenance needs.

Both strategies are proactive, but predictive maintenance relies on real-time data to inform and justify maintenance managers’ decision making.

What are some of the quantifiable benefits of predictive maintenance?

• Rather than relying on set intervals to assess and perform maintenance, a predictive approach is triggered by real-time data, where action is taken only when it is determined to be beneficial.
• Today’s technology tools can better determine early signs of equipment failure using sensors, IoT, and analytics.
• Less downtime is necessary because maintenance is only performed when necessary or beneficial, rather than o a set schedule.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, predictive maintenance saves managers eight to 12 per cent over preventive maintenance, and up to 40 per cent over reactive maintenance. So, while proactive maintenance is still a vast improvement over a reactive strategy, it is slowly being replaced by predictive maintenance as the industry evolves.