{"id":14866,"date":"2026-09-24T20:41:02","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T15:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/factech.ai\/blog\/?p=14866"},"modified":"2026-09-24T20:48:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T15:18:39","slug":"preventive-maintenance-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/factech.ai\/blog\/preventive-maintenance-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Preventive Maintenance: Definition, Types, and Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Preventive maintenance is important when it comes to asset management or equipment maintenance. It is a strategic approach designed to reduce the downtime and to solve other upcoming issues. When an asset breakdown it becomes the cause of business loss. In this digitally advanced and competitive environment facing any loss can affect business survival. Therefore using advanced strategy is crucial for the business operations and smooth workflow. Preventive maintenance is common today but not all the businesses or <\/span>facility management firms<\/b><\/a> use it. Here we understand what PM is and how asset management can get benefits from it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Preventive Maintenance?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Preventive maintenance is a maintenance philosophy that uses regularly scheduled maintenance tasks to <\/span>prevent equipment failure<\/b><\/a> and unplanned downtime. It\u2019s a form of planned maintenance, when the work is arranged ahead of time rather than being prompted by a surprise breakdown. It is popular due to its inexpensive cost and ease of installation. especially in manufacturing and other businesses that depend on sophisticated, pricey equipment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Preventive maintenance ” in practice ” is a planned system that includes lubrication, adjustments, cleaning, and replacement of parts on a timetable or usage basis. <\/span>It should be well documented and carefully planned to <\/span>track maintenance history<\/b><\/a> and plan future work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Types of Preventive Maintenance<\/b><\/h2>\n

There are major two types of preventive maintenance: one is usage-based and the other is time-based.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Usage-Based Maintenance<\/b><\/h3>\n

The machinery that has a set of instructions for its usage like how many run time or operating hours, cycle count and distance covered. If these instructions are with any particular machinery then it comes under usage-based maintenance. So preventive maintenance is based on the frequency of use of the machine. This process is often automated and when a machine reaches a particular count, its state will trigger a message for the team to execute a maintenance check.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another benefit of this form of maintenance is that it prevents what is known as \u201cover-maintenance\u201d. It is when some machines get more regular attention.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some examples of usage-based maintenance: production based machinery, any robotic assembly machine or CNC machinery.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Time-Based Maintenance<\/b><\/h3>\n

Preventive maintenance works based on time or calendar at predefined scheduled times. This is a recurring calendar based task and it can be daily, weekly, monthly, bi-annually etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

Triggers are normally created just before the maintenance is to be done. And this trigger tells the necessary parties and they get on it. Recommendations from manufacturers can also provide benchmarks, and benchmarks depend on the sort of machine being considered.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The goal of such a PM is to make sure that the most important equipment of the firm is regularly inspected and maintained. \u201cHopefully teams will have good histories of past maintenance efforts. Therefore, decision-makers can better determine how to allocate funds to PM duties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some examples where time-based maintenance is required: <\/span>HVAC system<\/b><\/a> maintenance, equipment cleaning, safety equipment maintenance, and conveyor belts.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When to Employ PM and What Assets are Included in a Preventative Maintenance Plan<\/b><\/h2>\n

Probably the single most efficient technique to reduce maintenance and downtime expenses is to establish a preventive maintenance program. Equipment problems can be identified and solved proactively, potentially saving firms hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first step for manufacturers wishing to transition from <\/span>reactive maintenance<\/b><\/a> to a preventive maintenance approach is to identify the assets that will benefit most from a PM approach. Industrial assets lend themselves nicely to preventive maintenance:<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b>Crucial for Facility\u2019s compliances:<\/b> You also need to do preventative maintenance on assets that are crucial to your facility\u2019s compliance or that have certain regulatory standards that need to be met.<\/span> This could be safety equipment, boilers, environmental control systems, electrical systems, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b>That has predictable wear and tear: <\/b>If you can easily foresee when an asset will need to be repaired, it is worth putting it on a preventative maintenance schedule.<\/span> This includes equipment such as robotic arms, hydraulic presses, pumps and compressors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Machinery Important for operations:<\/b> Look at assets your factory can’t run without. Such as conveyor belts, HVAC systems, and assets critical to the manufacturing of products (e.g. extruders, rollers, mixers).<\/span><\/p>\n

High Cost of Failure:<\/b> When an asset is down, and output is not happening, or the asset is expensive to replace \u2013 put it on your PM list. Assets with a high cost of failure include compressors, extrusion machines, power generation systems and CNC machines.<\/span><\/p>\n

Working of Preventive Maintenance<\/b><\/h2>\n

The <\/span>procedure of preventive maintenance<\/span><\/a> is described below.<\/span> Here is the step-by-step process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n