We’ve spoken in the past about facilities management strategies and the difference between hard and soft facilities management, but what about planned and reactive maintenance? What are these things, and is there a difference? In this article, we will explore the definitions of both planned and reactive maintenance, and the differences between them. Let’s dive in!
What is planned maintenance?
Planned maintenance, also known as preventative maintenance, is exactly what it says on the tin – maintenance that has been pre-planned and scheduled. It includes performing regular maintenance checks to ensure that you avoid repairs.
Planned maintenance aims to avoid the cost of having to respond to failures after the event and allows you to maintain the condition of your property proactively rather than reactively.
What are the benefits of planned maintenance?
There are several benefits of using a planned maintenance model over a reactive maintenance model.
Facility can be continually running
If you’re using planned maintenance to look after your business, having a pre-planned maintenance schedule means that you are able to keep your facility continually running without suffering downtime to fix large scale repairs. Any maintenance work might be able to be scheduled out of work hours.
Overall costs are lower
With planned maintenance, large repairs are less likely, due to the ongoing upkeep. This means that large breakdown costs are reduced.
Increased safety
As the likelihood of dangerous breakdowns is reduced, it emasthe facility is safer for its occupants, customers and staff.
What are the drawbacks of planned maintenance?
Of course, while there are benefits of planned maintenance, this schedule also comes with its drawbacks.
Initial costs
While the overall costs are often lower, planned maintenance does incur higher initial costs than other maintenance models in order to set up the strategy.
More planning is required
As the name suggests, more planning is required to set up a planned maintenance schedule. A facilities management company will have a planned maintenance team that is able to create a specific schedule that suits your requirements. This planning time and effort should be accounted for in your budget.
What is reactive maintenance?
Put simply, reactive maintenance is the opposite of planned maintenance. It is a focus on repairing the asset once the damage has already occurred, rather than preventing it in the first place.
What are the types of reactive maintenance?
There are a few different types of reactive maintenance. However, they all rely on the equipment malfunctioning first before the repair is scheduled.
Breakdown Maintenance
Breakdown maintenance occurs when a piece of equipment has completely broken and might need significant repairs, or even a replacement. It is usually unexpected and the main goal is to fix it quickly in order to minimise disruptions.
Run-to-Failure Maintenance
Run-to-failure maintenance is the act of pushing a machine to its limit until it breaks down, and then fixing it.
The difference from regular breakdown maintenance is that run-to-failure is deliberate. You plan for the breakdown and have a strategy to fix it without disrupting production. The equipment that’s allowed to fail usually doesn’t pose a safety risk.
Corrective Maintenance
Corrective maintenance is the act of addressing issues when things aren’t running smoothly, before the equipment stops working completely.
This approach is similar to preventive maintenance by addressing problems early.
Emergency Maintenance
Emergency maintenance is triggered when things go really wrong, such as malfunctioning machines causing safety issues. Most businesses have a contingency plan where repair contacts are posted visibly, and there’s a strategy for evacuation if things get serious.
What are the benefits of reactive maintenance?
There are some benefits of reactive maintenance which mean that, for certain businesses or landlords, it is the better choice.
Little planning required
Unlike planned maintenance, reactive maintenance doesn’t require an in depth schedule. By simply responding to issues as and when they occur, there’s no need to spend time and money creating a maintenance schedule.
No ongoing expenses
Since there’s no routine maintenance happening, you won’t be burdened with regular maintenance expenses. You’ll only have to pay when there’s an actual repair or replacement needed.
Simple and easy to understand
A reactive maintenance model is straightforward and uncomplicated. You just respond to problems as they show up. With a reliable reactive maintenance service in your corner, your business can quickly summon a team to tackle any issues that pop up.
What are the drawbacks of reactive maintenance?
Again, like planned maintenance, there are drawbacks which might mean that reactive maintenance isn’t right for you and your business.
Costly breakdown expenses
Since reactive maintenance involves addressing issues as they crop up, it often leads to a larger single expense to fix the problem. This involves rapid response costs, material expenses, and the time it takes for repairs or replacements to be completed.
Impact on profits
Your business’s profits might take a hit. Not only are unexpected costs not accounted for in your budget, but work might need to halt or your business could temporarily close during repairs. This affects both your employees’ productivity and your customers’ satisfaction.
Time consuming
Dealing with breakdowns and sudden maintenance requests can drain your finances and time. They can lead to significant business downtime while essential equipment or premises are out of commission or undergoing repairs.
How Dependable can help
At Dependable, we offer both planned and reactive maintenance models to ensure your facility is always covered. Having a reactive maintenance team on hand to help with breakdowns and repairs is essential to ensure you get back up and running as smoothly and quickly as possible. We also offer planned maintenance to help minimise issues before they arise.
While there are both benefits and drawbacks of each type of maintenance model, at Dependable, we offer a blended strategy and can provide various types of maintenance, including gas and plumbing and electrical services to suit your requirements. Get in touch today to see how we can help you.
