Preventive maintenance (PM), also known as preventative maintenance, is a proactive strategy aimed at keeping equipment and facilities operating efficiently. Its goal is to reduce the risk of unexpected failures and costly downtime by regularly inspecting, servicing, and repairing systems based on a planned schedule.

Preventive maintenance is a proactive strategy aimed at identifying and resolving potential equipment issues before they lead to failures, delays, or disruptions. Unlike reactive maintenance, which involves waiting for equipment to break down before taking corrective action. Preventive maintenance focuses on routine inspections, servicing, and repairs to ensure smooth and efficient operations.

This approach is especially important in asset-heavy industries such as manufacturing, transportation, and utilities, where unexpected equipment failures can result in significant safety risks, operational downtime, and financial losses. While the methods used for preventive maintenance may vary depending on the specific industry and operational environment, the overall goal remains the same: to maintain reliability, improve safety, and enhance productivity. Lets figure out about preventive maintenance more deeply

What is Preventive Maintenance?

Preventive maintenance is a proactive maintenance strategy designed to keep equipment and facilities in optimal working condition. It involves scheduled inspections, routine servicing, and timely repairs to prevent unexpected breakdowns and costly downtime. This approach helps improve reliability, extend asset lifespan, and ensure smooth, uninterrupted operations.

Preventive Maintenance helps you maintain the life span of the machinery and equipment and provides the optimum working efficiency of the same. Before diving deep into the importance of Preventive Maintenance let us understand the meaning of Preventive Maintenance.

Are you the operational manager or owner of the establishment?, want to reduce the cost of production while also ensuring that no fatalities happen in the race to produce more? We had to write it to set the context but in all honesty, we already know the answer.  

Preventive maintenance in condition monitoring is a proactive approach to ensuring the optimal performance and longevity of machinery and equipment within an industrial or operational setting. This strategy involves systematically monitoring the condition of assets to detect potential issues before they escalate into costly failures. By employing advanced technologies and data-driven techniques, preventive maintenance aims to mitigate the risk of unplanned downtime, extend equipment life, and enhance overall operational efficiency.

Key components of preventive maintenance in condition monitoring include regular inspections, scheduled equipment assessments, and the continuous monitoring of critical parameters such as temperature, vibration, lubrication, and fluid levels. 

How Does Preventive Maintenance Work?

Preventive maintenance operates on a scheduled, proactive system designed to maintain equipment performance and prevent unexpected failures. It involves regular monitoring, servicing, and minor repairs carried out at predetermined intervals. By addressing potential issues before they escalate, this approach helps ensure reliability, safety, and efficiency across operations.

Steps in how preventive maintenance works include:

• Identifying critical assets that require regular maintenance

• Setting maintenance schedules based on usage, manufacturer guidelines, or operating conditions

• Performing routine inspections to detect signs of wear or malfunction

• Conducting necessary servicing or minor repairs to prevent breakdowns

• Keeping detailed records to track maintenance history and improve future planning

Types of Preventive Maintenance 

Preventive maintenance is a planned and proactive method aimed at keeping equipment and systems operating efficiently by addressing potential problems before they cause breakdowns. There are various types of preventive maintenance, each designed to meet different equipment requirements and operational goals:

Time-Based Maintenance (Calendar-Based)

• Maintenance is carried out at predetermined time intervals (e.g., daily, monthly, or annually), regardless of how much the equipment is used.

• Best suited for essential assets or those subject to safety and compliance regulations.

• Examples: Monthly checks on fire extinguishers, quarterly HVAC maintenance, or yearly calibration of instruments.

Usage-Based Maintenance (Meter-Based)

• Maintenance is triggered by actual usage metrics, such as operating hours, number of cycles, or distance traveled.

• Helps match servicing needs with asset utilization, reducing unnecessary maintenance.

• Examples: Oil changes every 10,000 miles, inspecting belts after 100 hours of use, or maintaining pumps based on run-time.

Condition-Based Maintenance

• Relies on real-time monitoring to track equipment condition and performance.

• Maintenance is performed only when indicators show signs of wear or performance degradation.

• Examples: Replacing a component when vibration levels are abnormal, or conducting maintenance when temperature or pressure levels exceed set limits.

Predictive Maintenance

• Utilizes data analytics and sensor feedback to forecast when a failure is likely to occur.

• Maintenance is scheduled just in time—before a predicted breakdown—helping to avoid downtime and extend asset life.

• Examples: Using IoT devices to monitor machinery health and schedule interventions based on predictive insights.

Prescriptive Maintenance

• Builds on predictive maintenance by offering specific solutions and recommended actions to prevent failure.

• Uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to guide decision-making.

• Examples: A system that not only detects a potential issue but also provides repair instructions and timelines.

Failure Finding Maintenance

• Aimed at uncovering hidden issues in backup systems or safety equipment that aren't frequently used.

• Usually follows a fixed schedule to ensure these systems function correctly when needed.

• Examples: Routine tests of emergency shutdown devices or standby generators.

Risk-Based Maintenance

• Maintenance tasks are prioritized based on the likelihood and impact of equipment failure.

• Higher-risk assets are inspected more frequently, while less critical items receive less attention.

• Examples: Frequent monitoring of vital production machinery compared to occasional checks on non-essential equipment.

Type	Trigger	Examples
Time-Based	Scheduled intervals	Monthly inspections, yearly servicing
Usage-Based	Equipment usage	Oil change every 10,000 miles
Condition-Based	Equipment condition	Replace when vibration exceeds safe limit
Predictive	Data-driven predictions	Repair before anticipated failure
Prescriptive	AI-based recommendations	Automated alerts with repair instructions
Failure Finding	Routine checks	Test backup systems regularly
Risk-Based	Risk and criticality	Prioritize high-impact equipment for checks

By integrating multiple types of preventive maintenance, businesses can create a tailored maintenance strategy that improves reliability, lowers maintenance costs, and supports safer, more efficient operations.

Planned Preventive Maintenance

Planned preventative maintenance (PPM) offers the opportunity to significantly reduce the need for reactive maintenance and maintain assets at the desired quality level. There are two types of PPM:

• Time-based maintenance
• Condition-based maintenance.

An example of time-based maintenance is the annual inspection of an air-conditioning unit, along with cleaning its filters every three years and replacing them every six years.

The methodology of condition-based preventative maintenance focuses on predicting asset failures and preventing them through the implementation of appropriate maintenance measures. This approach applies to assets capable of providing real-time status updates to the maintenance system.

Monitoring enables just-in-time maintenance, minimising costs and averting potential failures and subsequent reactive maintenance efforts. Techniques for condition-based maintenance include vibration analysis, infrared thermography, oil analysis, partial discharge testing, and other methods. Learn more on condition based Vs. Predictive maintenance

In essence, while time-based maintenance relies on predetermined schedules, condition-based maintenance leverages real-time data to predict and prevent failures, leading to more efficient and cost-effective maintenance practices.

Importance of Preventive Maintenance

Preventive Maintenance is a mechanism that avoids the waste of time and breakdown of the production line. Preventive Maintenance is one of the important aspects of Facilities management. The consistent practice of Preventive Maintenance improves the performance and safety of the machine or equipment we use in any process. Reactive Maintenance costs small in the beginning but at last, gives a heavy burden and costly affair. At the same time, Preventive Maintenance tackles the cost affair from the very initial stage of operations.

Read more about Laser Shaft Alignment.

Let us read about the importance of Preventive Maintenance in detail-

1. Operator safety: The first and foremost importance of Preventive Maintenance is safety. We all know that prevention is better than cure, so if we have opted and planned for Preventive Maintenance, then we are sure that our operator is working under controlled conditions and his life is safe. He is well versed with all the common safety operation tips.
2. Machine safety: Like the life of human beings is important, similarly, the machine's life and condition are also important, so Preventive maintenance keeps the machine and equipment under safe mode which means no sudden malfunctioning and no random downtimes
3. Time-saving: The time factor is very important while calculating the cost of each unit of production and adequate preventive maintenance ensures that no unnecessary costs are incurred hence. When there is no breakdown or obstructions in the line during the production process, optimum production on time will be possible.
4. Cost-effective: The second most important factor is cost reduction or cost-effectiveness that will definitely be achieved because there will be no major fault and no sudden emergency repairs and no need of additional resources or outsourcing.
5. Reliability: Preventive Maintenance program gives reliability to the whole system while working on the machines and equipment.

Benefits of Preventive Maintenance

It helps in avoiding unplanned maintenance activity, but it will rely on the creativity, ideas, knowledge, and skills of the managers who are responsible for keeping an eye on the process of the Preventive Maintenance program because the success of a Preventive Maintenance program is totally based on the cooperation of the parties involved. We are not saying that this process is not time taking or costly, but it ultimately saves from the heavy burden of breakdown and replacements.

So a big question arises whether we should install such a Preventive Maintenance system or not. Will it be worthy enough to invest money and manpower in the mechanism?  We believe that it's always worth it if the benefits exceed costs. Here are several of the benefits of the Preventive Maintenance mechanism on our premises:

1. Provides improved and quality working or operating conditions on the equipment for everyone.
2. Time-saving and cost-saving, avoid heavy routine repairs frequently.
3. Helps reduce the overtime costs, and workers will be used more economically.
4. Avoids premature replacement of machinery and equipment.
5. Increases the life expectancy of assets and better conservation of assets.
6. Bring value to the users by using a web-based Preventive Maintenance program.
7. Reduction of administration workload and they can focus more on maintaining the assets and clients.
8. Decrease equipment downtime and improve reliability.

Preventive Maintenance Checklists for Machines

 A preventive maintenance checklist for machines ensures the ongoing reliability, performance, and longevity of machinery in industrial or operational settings through its systematic and organized approach.  This comprehensive checklist is a proactive approach to identifying and addressing potential issues before they escalate into costly failures, thereby minimising downtime and optimising operational efficiency.

Each machine requires regular performance of a series of tasks and inspections included in the preventive maintenance checklist.

1. Inspect lubrication levels
2. Examine Belt and Chain Tension
3. Check for Wear and Tear
4. Review Electrical Components
5. Examine Seals and Gaskets
6. Evaluate Cooling Systems
7. Monitor Vibration Levels
8. Check Alignment
9. Inspect Safety Devices
10. Review Software and Controls
11. Examine Pneumatic and Hydraulic Systems
12. Calibrate Sensors and Instruments
13. Clean and Inspect Filters
14. Inspect Wear Plates and Sliders
15. Review Operational Logs
16. Examine Structural Integrity
17. Verify Fastener Tightness
18. Evaluate Environmental Conditions
19. Conduct Training and Awareness Programs
20. Document and Analyze Trends

Examples of Preventive Maintenance Programs For Machines

In the manufacturing sector, preventive maintenance programs are widely used to keep essential machinery running smoothly and reduce the risk of unexpected downtime. These programs often include a combination of scheduled tasks and systemized tracking, such as:

• Regular inspections: Weekly checks of machines to detect early signs of damage or wear.

• Lubrication routines: Monthly lubrication of mechanical components to minimize friction and extend lifespan.

• Calibration and fine-tuning: Quarterly calibration of equipment to maintain accuracy and ensure consistent production quality.

• Planned part replacements: Swapping out parts in advance based on usage trends and manufacturer guidelines to prevent breakdowns.

• CMMS usage: Implementing a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) to organize, schedule, and record all maintenance tasks, improving accountability and efficiency.

Preventive Maintenance Services

Machinery and equipment handling is the lifeblood of the system, so each piece of equipment must be inspected at an early stage. Preventive Maintenance services are a small investment that gives great returns by increasing the system's uptime and improving productivity. We have already read about the benefits and importance of Preventive Maintenance in detail.

Preventive Maintenance services are available 24 * 7 and a cloud-based computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) will give positive results. Services like the below mentioned are provided by many agencies that offer the installation of the Preventive Maintenance program. Preventive Maintenance Services depend on the particular type of equipment in use, manufacturer's recommendations, age of the machinery, and local environmental conditions. So inspection, execution, recording, scheduling, and reporting are all essential activities.

1. Management of the reactive, preventive, and predictive maintenance of the specific equipment.
2. Scheduling, assigning and tracking of the work orders towards the completion.
3. Management of the spare parts inventory and track consumption also.
4. Provide the updated notifications for the upcoming part orders.
5. Monitoring the performance at the plant level, regional level, and organization level as a whole.
6. Creates reporting facilities to do compliance management.
7. Analyzing maintenance activities to make data-driven decision making.
8. We are ensuring that machinery is clear of debris before and after shifting.
9. Wiping the machinery surface of lubricants, dirt, and other debris each day.
10. Inspection of tools for sharpness regularly.
11. Replace the worn or damaged tools.
12. Check all machinery fluid levels and air filters regularly.
13. Calibrate the machinery regularly.
14. Check and maintain the motor's efficiency and other power sources twice a year.

Preventive Maintenance Services from Technomax

The importance of Preventive Maintenance has shown how beneficial it can be. Preventive Maintenance avoids unnecessary production losses and health and safety violations. Ensures greater operational control to users and helps in preventing known problems in the future. The preventive maintenance program is based on factors like a particular type of equipment in use, manufacturer's recommendations, age of the machinery, and local environmental conditions. So inspection, execution, recording, scheduling, and reporting are all essential activities in the Preventive Maintenance program.

Technomax offers condition monitoring services like vibration analysis, partial discharge testing, lube oil analysis, laser shaft alignment services, Acoustic Emission Testing, Infrared thermography testing, CFD analysis services, and much more. Being the leading engineering company in UAE, the dedicated experts in Technomax offer reliable and timely services. 

As a trusted engineering company in UAE, Technomax combines advanced diagnostic tools with expert support to deliver timely, accurate, and effective maintenance solutions.

Don’t wait for failure But prevent it. Contact Technomax today to schedule your preventive maintenance assessment and keep your operations running at peak performance.