The Value of Preventive Maintenance

Everyone has heard the quote; you can pay me now or pay me later. In preventive maintenance that is especially true in our manufacturing plant. If we do not unitize preventive maintenance tools and techniques, we will pay for it in un-scheduled downtime, excessive cost in replacement parts, labor, and the list goes on.

What is Preventive Maintenance?

The first realization is to understand what preventive maintenance is and what it means.  Preventive maintenance refers to routine inspection of hardware to help keep equipment up and running, preventing any unplanned downtime and expensive costs from unanticipated equipment failure. 

Every one of us does different types of preventive maintenance and we may not even realize it. For example…We take care of our assets in our homes, we change our air conditioner filters and fire detectors ‘batteries. In our vehicles, we change and check our fluids and rotate our tires, the list will go on.

In business plants, we have many different types of equipment which means a lot of moving parts, such as electrical components and safety machines. One of the questions we think about is, how do we keep all our equipment running safely and efficiently to maximize productivity with minimum wasted effort and expense?

As mentioned above, preventive maintenance has a primary element of routine analysis which requires careful planning and scheduling of maintenance on equipment before there’s an actual problem.

What are the Benefits of Preventive Maintenance?

There are many benefits to preventive maintenance, such as:
Minimum equipment downtime
Commercial equipment has a longer life span 
Improves safety of the equipment
Increases overall equipment performance
Fewer unnecessary examinations and maintenance 
Promotes positive employee morale
Meets customers’ order requirements on-time

Preventive Maintenance Process

In the 1990s, Milliken utilized the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM) in their performance systems focusing on Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). Several world-class companies were benchmarked and case studies were completed that support Milliken’s 8 core competencies with a very successful Preventive Maintenance system.  

Milliken’s Preventive Maintenance 8 Competencies

1. Support Daily Team Maintenance (Autonomous Maintenance)
2. Lubrication Management
3. Zero Failure Activities
4. Spare Parts Management
5. Maintenance Skills Enhancement
6. Maintenance Cost Management
7. Preventive Maintenance
8. Predictive Maintenance

The Different Approaches to Preventive Maintenance 

The different types of preventive methodologies help foresee, prevent, and extend the life of equipment/asset. 

Periodic Maintenance/Time-based Maintenance (TBM)

Periodic maintenance, often known as time-based maintenance, is carried out on assets at predetermined times and days year-round. It might be done every quarter, month, or week. The basic process first involves checking the manufacturer's instructions to figure out when and how often to replace parts.

Meter-based Maintenance

Meter-based maintenance is somewhat more difficult than time-based maintenance. When a meter measurement shows that an asset needs to be repaired, the asset or parts of the equipment are changed. Meter-based maintenance uses the following variables: 

• hours utilized
• miles driven
• when the asset was first purchased

Implementing Preventive Maintenance in Your Facility

When deciding on the best preventive maintenance method, consider the expense of equipment malfunction and the simplicity of supervision. Evaluate the price of equipment monitoring concerning the total cost. Select and formulate a strategy, then track your success and make any adjustments. Ensure that the preventative maintenance strategy is tailored to business-specific needs, objectives, and goals. And all users who are utilizing the equipment are counted and teams are cross-functionally trained.

I have heard many times, “we have a preventive maintenance program in place”. What I have seen and observed is different. I see very little operator engagement and lubrication when the machine is failing (squeaks and heats), no understanding of their failures, no spare parts available to help, very little cost analysis, and no accountability for preventive activities, and very little tools that support predictive maintenance.

Using the 8-Step approach correctly, you will see improvement in manufacturing sites. At Milliken, we have seen results improve: 

• Zero recordables or disabling within the first year
• Attain OEE of ≥ 85% on target processing lines through the use of FMEA, Focus Improve (Kaizen) projects, etc
• ≥ 90% reduction in unscheduled downtime of targeted equipment
• ≥ 10% reduction in variable conversion cost /unit normalized for product mix changes
• ≥ 50% reduction in defective or reworked products costs 
• Achieve certification of 100% of associates in targeted occupations critical to plant

How long before we will see results?

Results start quickly from operator engagement and maintenance skills, developing Preventive Maintenance procedures, completing PM Optimization(s), and using Focus Improvement tools for problem-solving.

Executing the Preventive Maintenance process

Leadership support of Preventive Maintenance with the proper utilization of time and money to complete the process is critical. Communication of the value of Preventive Maintenance is key to leadership support. Preventive maintenance procedures have various advantages. A good preventive maintenance program can help companies save money while enhancing their operational processes.

How much does it cost to implement preventive maintenance?

To determine how much budget should go towards preventive maintenance, add up the total cost of the maintenance operations over the last year's assets. This will give you a fair sense of how much the business asset maintenance cost is.

How PS by Milliken Can Help Improve Your Facility’s Efficiency

At Performance Solutions by Milliken, we understand the process of preventive maintenance and how vital it's to the performance of any manufacturing facility. Through effective machine performance, we assist facilities in becoming profitable. Contact us for more information about our award-winning operational excellence strategy that has been developed over the past two decades by continual analysis of the best practices around the world.