In this article, we will see the difference between predictive maintenance and preventive maintenance.
Maintenance is an essential part
of the industry. Many people ignore this task or take it lightly; but it is to
be noted that to increase the life of a system, it is essential to maintain it
properly.
Ineffective maintenance can lead
to frequent breakdowns, and increased costs for a company and thus, reduce the
life of a system. It is to be noted that maintenance works in two types –
preventive and predictive.
Difference Between Predictive Maintenance and Preventive
Maintenance
Preventive Maintenance
As the name implies, Preventive
Maintenance refers to preventing breakdowns. Basically, it is a planned and
scheduled procedure to prevent any issues from occurring in the future.
Suppose you are running a machine
in a plant. You have five components in a plant and you know that out of five,
three components will require periodic check-ups and overviews to run them
properly.
So, it will be required to
periodically maintain and check these three components so that it runs for
longer life. Simply, compare it with your vehicle servicing. You know that
engine oil will be required to be changed periodically to ensure the longest
running of the vehicle and ensure its smooth operation. This is called
preventive maintenance.
This type centers on reducing the
risk of equipment failure by conducting routine maintenance tasks. It will be
often hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly type. In some cases, it will be
based on a running number. It will require downtime to conduct the routine;
which means basically, it cannot be executed in running condition.
As you are conducting a routine
check-up, you will need pre-requisite checklists like calibration data,
equipment inspection, cleaning, component inspection, repair, and replacement.
Preventive Maintenance is
extremely useful in reducing the operating costs of the machine, as you have
all the tools prepared to maintain the parts which will frequently wear and
tear. So, you must have a proper idea of the system components and it’s working
to identify which will require periodic checks.
Predictive Maintenance
As the name implies, Predictive
Maintenance refers to predicting the breakdowns. It involves guessing the
likelihood of equipment failure through monitoring and testing.
This activity is done way ahead
before a breakdown occurs, by predicting the components which will undergo wear
and tear in the future. The user will then prepare himself by arranging the
required tools necessary to immediately attend to it and resume the machine's
operation.
Consider a health example. A
doctor knows that a so-called patient is continuously smoking and his condition
of lungs will deteriorate in the upcoming future to a stage where his life
will be in danger. But, he cannot tell the exact date; like in preventive
maintenance where we know the date. So, he will ask the patient to be prepared
with the corresponding medication and the hospital where he should be admitted.
This will prepare the patient mentally in dealing with the situation.
This type works solely on
monitoring, analysis, and administration. You require a good set of sensors to
monitor the machine and identify those components which will break down in the
upcoming days, by reading its data, graph, and reports. It is a real-time and
data-driven approach to maintaining the machine.
So, its main goal is simply to
catch the potential asset malfunction as early as possible to avoid further
damage. The sensors will communicate the data with maintenance software to
allow it to analyze the machine and determine which components will require
maintenance in the future.
Predictive Maintenance versus Preventive Maintenance
Preventive is done on regular
basis as compared to predictive which is not done on regular basis.
The downtime is higher in the
preventive one than in the predictive one. In predictive maintenance, normally
there are cases where downtime is not even required. Assets can be replaced or
repaired in running condition.
Preventive is less complex and
costlier than predictive which is more complex to understand, design, and
prepare. It is more costly than preventive maintenance.
Preventive is done irrespective
of the failure of the asset. Whether the asset is perfect or not, it will be
attended to according to the schedule. But, predictive is done based on the
failure of the asset.
Preventive takes more time to execute than predictive maintenance.
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