Stacking Up the Benefits of Preventive Mainteance   If it ain't broke, don't fix it. In the days when machinery was simpler and cheaper to buy and fix, that philosophy worked fine. However, today machinery and equipment is far more complex, far more costly and in need of greater care. Today the more appropriate philosophy is: If it ain't broke, lets work to keep it that way. Below is a list of benefits of preventive maintenance.   1. Minimizes or eliminates costly downtime - increases profitable uptime. 2. Minimizes or eliminates catastrophic machinery failures. 3. Reduces unscheduled maintenance - repairs can be made when they least affect production. 4. Reduces spare parts inventories - many parts can be purchased just before scheduled shut-downs. 5. Optimizes machinery performance so it always operates within specifications. 6. Reduces excessive electric power consumption caused by inefficient machinery performance - saves money on energy requirements. 7. Reduces need for standby equipment or additional floor space to cover excessive downtime - less capital investment required for equipment or plant. 8. Increases plant capacity. 9. Reduces depreciation of capital investment caused by poor machinery maintenance - well maintained machinery lasts longer and performs better. 10. Reduces unnecessary repairs - repairs are done only if performance is less than optimal. 11. Minimizes or eliminates the possibility that machinery repairs were the wrong repairs. 12. Reduces the number of dissatisfied customers or lost customers due to poor quality - with less than optimal machine performance, quality always suffers. 13. Reduces rework of goods caused by less than optimal machine operation. 14. Reduces scrap caused by poorly performing machinery. 15. Reduces overtime needed to make up for lost production due to broken down or poorly performing machinery. 16. Reduces late deliveries caused by broken down or poorly performing machinery. 17. Reduces warranty claims due to poor product quality caused by poorly performing machinery. 18. Reduces the possibility of accepting recently purchased new or used machinery with defects - the invoice is not paid until the defects are corrected. 19. Increases machinery safety - injuries are often caused by poorly performing machinery. 20. Reduces safety penalties levied against a company for unsafe machinery. 21. Can reduce insurance rates because well maintained machinery increases safety. 22. Reduces the time required to make machinery repairs - advance notice of machinery condition permits more efficient organization of the repair process. 23. Increases the speed that machinery can be operated, if desirable. 24. Increases ease of operation of machinery. back to PilotLight online