Everything you need to know about predictive maintenanceThe predictive maintenance starter kit
What is predictive maintenance?
Predictive maintenance is a technique that uses data analysis tools and techniques to detect anomalies in your operation and possible defects in equipment and processes so you can fix them before they result in failure.
Ideally, predictive maintenance allows the maintenance frequency to be as low as possible to prevent unplanned reactive maintenance, without incurring costs associated with doing too much preventive maintenance.
How does predictive maintenance work?
Predictive maintenance uses historical and real-time data from various parts of your operation to anticipate problems before they happen. There are three main areas of your organization that factor into predictive maintenance:
- The real-time monitoring of asset condition and performance
- The analysis of work order data
- Benchmarking MRO inventory usage
There are several key elements to predictive maintenance with technology and software being one of these critical pieces. Namely, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and integrated systems allow for different assets and systems to connect, work together and share, analyze, and action data.
These tools capture information using predictive maintenance sensors, industrial controls, and businesses systems (like EAM software and ERP software). They then make sense of it and use it to identify any areas that need attention. Some examples of using predictive maintenance and predictive maintenance sensors include vibration analysis, oil analysis, thermal imaging, and equipment observation. Visit our condition-based maintenance page to learn more about these methods.
Choosing the correct technique for performing condition monitoring is an important consideration that is best done in consultation with equipment manufacturers and condition monitoring experts.
Benefits of predictive maintenance
When predictive maintenance is working effectively as a maintenance strategy, maintenance is only performed on machines when it is required. That is, just before failure is likely to occur. This brings several cost savings:
- Minimizing the time the equipment is being maintained
- Minimizing the production hours lost to maintenance
- Minimizing the cost of spare parts and supplies
Predictive maintenance programs have been shown to lead to a tenfold increase in ROI, a 25%-30% reduction in maintenance costs, a 70%-75% decrease of breakdowns and a 35%-45% reduction in downtime.
These cost savings come at a price, however. Some condition monitoring techniques are expensive and require specialist and experienced personnel for data analysis to be effective.
What is PdM suitable for?
Applications that are suitable for predictive maintenance include those that:
- Have a critical operational function
- Have failure modes that can be cost-effectively predicted with regular monitoring
Unsuitable applications for predictive maintenance include those that:
- Do not serve a critical function
- Do not have a failure mode that can be cost-effectively predicted
Advantages of predictive maintenance
Compared with preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance ensures that a piece of equipment requiring maintenance is only shut down right before imminent failure. This reduces the total time and cost spent maintaining equipment.
Disadvantages of predictive maintenance
Compared with preventive maintenance, the cost of the condition monitoring equipment needed for predictive maintenance is often high. The skill level and experience required to accurately interpret condition monitoring data is also high. Combined, these can mean that condition monitoring has a high upfront cost. Some companies engage condition monitoring contractors to minimize the upfront costs of a condition monitoring program.
Not all assets have failures that may be more cost-effectively maintained using preventive maintenance or a run-to-failure maintenance strategy. Judgment should be exercised when deciding if predictive maintenance is best for a particular asset. Techniques such as reliability-centred maintenance provide a systematic method for determining if predictive maintenance is a good choice as an asset maintenance strategy for the particular asset of interest.