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Top 10 Preventative Maintenance Tips for Reducing Downtime

Published: 01/04/2022

Top 10 Preventative Maintenance Tips for Reducing Downtime

Philosophers dating back to the 16th Century coined the phrase ‘prevention is better than cure' and although now synonymous with the healthcare industry, the principle can certainly be applied to industrial practices. Having a planned preventative maintenance (PPM) schedule in place and making the shift from reactive to proactive is key to minimising downtime often caused by unpredictable faults which require an antidote.

Here, we are going to uncover the types of preventative maintenance and our top tips on how you can establish a schedule of your own so the risk of downtime is minimised, allowing your operations to remain in good health.

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What is preventative maintenance?

In the world of maintenance, there is a choice to be made between reactive and proactive. Preventative maintenance falls into the category of proactive, essentially preventing problems before they happen as the name suggests. Waiting on the sidelines for a fault to arise is known as reactive maintenance and to a degree, you are destined to cross paths at some point throughout the machinery's lifecycle.
Even if you do take the proactive approach to maintenance, an element of unpredictability is always lurking in the shadows. The idea of an unforeseen fault grinding your operations to a halt may sound daunting, however if you have contingency plans and an established strategy for dealing with the unexpected, the impact can be minimised. Imagine a scenario where you have a programmable logic controller (PLC) integrated in your system and it suffers an unexpected outage, losing its program. Reprogramming the device can take a significant amount of time, however if you have the program backed up, your risk and downtime is minimised. This is otherwise known as a proactive approach to a reactive situation, remaining within the brackets of a preventative maintenance strategy.

Preventative maintenance can come in the form of visual and physical inspections, deep cleaning, scheduled servicing and replacing worn components, ensuring the highest level of efficiency possible. In the automation field, sensors are commonly used to monitor system functionality, tracking data throughout each step of manufacturing and identifying anomalies. This data can then be used to pinpoint machinery faults and downtime can be planned to rectify the issue before it becomes a far larger and far more costly problem.

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Types of Preventative Maintenance

There are a number of preventative maintenance strategies in the industrial stratosphere with the choice depending on the application or industry in which the machinery is used.

This option is highly dependent on how much stress specific parts are under. For example if you operate 24/7, more regular maintenance may be required.


Slightly different to Usage-Based Maintenance, with this approach, the judgement here is based on the overall condition. If your human machine interface (HMI) is beginning to dim, maintenance would be scheduled as opposed to waiting for the screen to darken further.


In this instance, the Maintenance Manager would create a calendar and usually around less busy periods, schedule the maintenance otherwise known as planned downtime.


Here, we would rely heavily on historical data, analysing previous breakdowns to then forecast when future maintenance is needed. If a drive has suffered a failure at consistent times over the years, this is an indication of a date when this maintenance will be required. Again, this real-time data collection is often reliant on sensors or machine learning.


As stated above, predictive maintenance estimates the period of time until failure, however with prescriptive maintenance, information is provided about how to delay or completely stop a part failure. This high tech form of maintenance shows hypothetical environments based on historical data and patterns and then indicates the best course of action.


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How do you create a Preventative Maintenance Schedule?

1. Assess and Define the Current State of Your Operations

It would be impossible to form a comprehensive preventative maintenance plan without knowing your assets and current setup like the back of your hand. Having a complete asset register, data and corresponding documentation will provide you with an all encompassing view of your facility. From here, the initial information gathered will assist with crucial decision making. When outlining your operations, you should consider the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), machinery age and type, the degree of automation and of course, where in the historical data breakdowns are noted. Once your outline is complete, both strengths and weaknesses will be highlighted, allowing you to formulate your plan of action.

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2. Establish the Juggernaut of Maintenance Schedules & Keep Accurate Records

When receiving a new part, the OEM will usually indicate maintenance recommendations but this should not be solely relied upon. For instance, if it is recommended that you service a part annually but it is under extremely heavy usage, the period between maintenance events should be shortened. Also, the maintenance should not be solely carried out on the highly used equipment but every asset within your operations. Each piece of equipment must be visually and physically inspected and worn components should be replaced, generally carried out to accommodate operational hours. If your operations are constantly running, these planned downtime periods are usually conducted around seasonal holidays when demand allows for a pause of the supply. Once convenient times have been put in the diary, keeping accurate records is equally important.

After each maintenance period, the inspector should make notes about exactly what they did, their conclusions and recommendations if applicable. It may seem like an additional or unnecessary step but if a component is showing wear and tear and is left to its own devices as no corrective works are carried out subsequent to the inspection, you can guarantee a visit from unplanned downtime. These notes are actually invaluable when it comes to analysing historical data to predict and prevent future failures. It is also recommended that this documentation is digitised where possible, giving you an additional tier of protection in the event of losing paper copies.

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3. Backup! Backup! Backup!

We all know to backup important files on our PCs, so why wouldn’t you keep a copy of important drive parameters and PLC programs? The simple reason for this is the more unplanned downtime you fall victim to, the more money and production time you lose. Wherever you have a control system, backups must be stored to safeguard against the dreaded extensive downtime. If your PLC fails, you have no backup of the program and the OEM is no longer in operation, this is not a case of purchasing a universal backup but instead it must be rewritten to the specification of your operations, ensuring communications are accurate. Yes, you guessed it. This is not a fast process, potentially taking weeks to rectify the issue.

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4. Consider Installing Sensors to Identify Anomalies and Faults

From what you have read so far, you have probably gathered by now that data is the key to preventative maintenance. Throughout many manufacturing processes, sensors are being installed throughout the production line to detect anomalies in temperature, excessive vibration and elements within the working environment which could potentially cause or accelerate faults. The sensor communicates its findings to a device such as a HMI where the data is visually displayed and actions can then be taken where indicated. With low cost and long life expectancy, high levels of compatibility and non intrusive design, integrating sensors to assist with your preventative maintenance is a no brainer.

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5. Don’t Let Intermittent Faults Lead to Major Faults - Sweat the Small Stuff!

  • Check fuses for proper rating and discolouration - don’t forget to verify tightness with the fuse holder
  • Prevent overheating by ensuring cooling fans are free from dirt and rotate freely on your drives, PLCs and cabinets
  • Check the status of backup batteries in your PLCs - replace them every six months
  • Check your motors - overheating or failure can be caused by both over and under lubrication of moving parts within your motor
  • Keep an eye on bearings as this is one of the most common cause of motor failure
  • Are your connections tight? Inspect all connections, terminals and cables
  • Ensure the power is off and remove covers to inspect components for physical damage. Components like capacitors dry out with age and should be replaced immediately to prevent costly downtime
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6. Keep Up to Date With Changing Regulations and Requirements

No matter what industry you operate in, there is a degree of red tape to bypass safely and lawfully. As you form your preventative maintenance checklist, be sure to take into account health and safety requirements and also how this will impact (if at all) your schedule. For instance, an automotive manufacturer is under an obligation to ensure the vehicle is fit for public use and so their manufacturing process must be safe and trusted. A breakdown in communication between processes due to poor maintenance could mean a car is deemed ready to leave the factory and is later proven to be a danger to the consumer, damaging the brand, customer trust and of course, the bottom line.

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7. Keep Service Manuals Handy and Digitise Where Possible

In the eyes of a machine operator, a manual is invaluable and in many cases, essential to their working day. Often, these manuals contain a blueprint of the machinery including a breakdown of the parts within and the maintenance guidelines. As mentioned above, these guidelines may not always be followed to a tee, however they do serve as excellent indicators. Like with inspection notes, digitising manuals is always recommended.

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8. Repair or Replace?

If an automation part is requiring high levels of maintenance and is consistently faulty, weigh up the pros and cons of a repair vs. a replacement.

Considering the costs may be your first port of call. You must analyse the cost of a repair, determine how much capital has been spent on repairs thus far on that part and compare it to the cost of the replacement. Although the initial outlay for a new part might make a dent in your budget, could a series of unfortunate repairs blow it out of the water long term?
In general, new parts are selected for repairs while old components usually face being replaced by a fresh to the market model. It should also be considered how this decision will impact operations in the short term. For example, if you choose a new PLC, you will need a program which communicates effectively with the rest of the process, likely requiring some planned downtime to install the replacement. On the flipside, if your existing PLC fails and you lose the program, you are in a similar boat with less control, experiencing unplanned downtime. Finally, if replacing said part could result in cost savings due to its functionality being more energy efficient for instance, this should too be considered.

If you are still debating between the two, your trusted parts and repairs supplier will be able to assist you in making this decision.

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9. There Is No Such Thing as a Stagnant Maintenance Schedule

When your maintenance plan is in its infancy, the first of its kind to be on your site, should it be the last? Absolutely not. From each scheduled maintenance you carry out, it should be picked apart meticulously and improvements should be made based on observations. Nobody likes change but adapting to it here could be a game changer. If a certain part is causing you to suffer at the hands of unplanned downtime repeatedly despite having a maintenance plan in place, it sounds like change could be your best friend. These changes do need to be carefully considered however, analysing the historical data to reinforce your new plan. Also, as your operations grow and your requirements change, alterations to your maintenance schedule are almost guaranteed, making fluidity all the more important.

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10. Keep Spare Parts On Hand

Waiting for a part to be delivered is one of the top causes of unplanned downtime. If you have a preventative maintenance schedule in place and have had one for some time, you will likely know which parts frequently require repairs and the lifespan of said parts before they go kaput. This data can be used to determine an inventory of backup parts. Envision a scenario where you are experiencing downtime and go to order a replacement part but you are faced with lengthy lead times. This stress is easily quelled by having the part readily available, even more crucial if the part is obsolete and therefore tricky to get your hands on. Often downtime costs more than the spare so it only makes sense to have this integrated in your maintenance schedule.

How can we help you with your preventative maintenance?

If you have not yet heard about our SparesVault™ service, please let us introduce you to a bespoke obsolescence management system, ideal for the downtime conscious manufacturer.

Our service provides a bespoke obsolescence management system, minimising the effort required to procure obsolete spare parts. SparesVault™ provides an extra layer of protection for those who simply cannot afford the disruption and risks associated with unplanned downtime. We enable you to take charge of your assets and secure spare parts coverage for the future, with minimal up-front costs and without the need to house a huge spares inventory at your site.

Are you ready to unlock your SparesVault™?

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