Way back in the 20th Century, a commercial for Fram oil filters offered a simple take on preventative maintenance. “You can pay me now or pay me later.” With a car mechanic serving as the “me,” the commercial hints at the larger expenses of an engine failure. This ad effectively highlighted the importance of keeping up with regular oil and filter changes.
This same concept also applies to businesses; however, in some cases, a reactive maintenance approach makes more sense. Let’s explore this important issue for companies hoping to keep productivity levels high and expenses low. Use these insights to adopt the right maintenance strategy for your organization.
Scenarios when Preventive Maintenance makes Sense
As noted in our earlier example, car maintenance provides a great example of preventative maintenance as a wise strategy. Failing to regularly change your oil ultimately leads to higher costs of a full engine failure. Larger businesses, especially those with extensive capital expenditures, benefit from avoiding massive maintenance expenses.
Consider manufacturers leveraging AI-powered predictive analytics to determine when their factory equipment needs maintenance. This approach keeps productivity levels high in a cost-effective manner. Notably, analytics-powered preventative maintenance strategies also see wide use in logistics, data centers, and transportation. It’s any situation where high-priced equipment has a risk of failure, and the costs of downtime also remain high.
Sometimes Reactive Maintenance is the Right Choice
In certain scenarios, dealing with equipment failures after they happen makes more sense than the predictive maintenance strategy. One example compares the cost of downtime to the price of a regular predictive maintenance program. If a relatively unimportant piece of equipment fails, just have it repaired or buy a new one. In fact, for some items, the cost of repair outweighs the price of simply replacing it.
Additionally, smaller businesses without significant investments in equipment largely benefit from a more reactive maintenance strategy. Once again, for laptops, desktop PCs, and other office equipment, simply replacing the malfunctioning item might be less costly. A form of predictive maintenance, like a service plan with a low monthly fee, even becomes more cost-effective.
Ultimately, large businesses with extensive capital investments need to explore predictive analytics and more traditional forms of preventative maintenance. Startups and other smaller businesses might find reactive maintenance to be more cost-effective. However, they also need to consider using service plans to save money by repairing instead of replacing office equipment.
Discover Top Maintenance Talent Across the Country
If your company wants to hire some talent, connect with the best at Synerfac. As one of the top general staffing agencies in the country, we provide the experienced candidates your business needs. Schedule a meeting with us to discuss your current and future hiring plans.