7 Asset and Maintenance Management Strategies for Stronger Performance
Explore 7 asset and maintenance management strategies that will help your facility boost performance, reduce downtime, and extend equipment life.
ServiceChannel
Asset maintenance is the process that keeps your physical assets in good working condition. The goal is to extend asset life and prevent or reduce future unplanned downtime. Following effective maintenance management best practices is a straightforward way to improve overall asset management and operational efficiency.
The best practices that apply largely depend on the maintenance strategies you choose to use at your facility. However, no matter your choice, a centralized system will help you control maintenance costs, operational transparency, and compliance. These benefits are especially apparent for multi-location organizations.
To help you get started, we will explore 7 key asset maintenance management strategies and outline the general guidelines for implementing a new approach to maintenance management at your organization.
Key Takeaways:
- Regular preventive maintenance only delivers results when it’s done consistently and backed by clear checklists.
- Relying on reactive maintenance may work for low-risk assets, but it often leads to higher costs and avoidable downtime.
- Predictive and condition-based maintenance is most effective when assets operate under variable conditions that make fixed schedules unreliable.
- Sometimes, you may need to use reliability-centered maintenance if various equipment has various needs.
- Involving all staff in basic maintenance helps reduce your technicians’ workloads and improves efficiency.
- Successful maintenance programs depend on clear asset visibility, standardized processes, skilled teams, and regular reviews.
1. Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance involves performing proactive tasks based on regular maintenance schedules that may vary depending on the type of equipment being maintained. The benefits of preventive maintenance include improved safety, reduced equipment downtime, lower repair costs, and longer asset lifespan.
Although preventive maintenance won’t provide these benefits if it isn’t practiced regularly. So, it’s best to use a preventive maintenance checklist to help teams standardize tasks. Doing so also reduces the risk of your staff missing important steps.
An example of preventive maintenance is inspecting HVAC systems every 3 months or replacing filters after a set number of operating hours.
2. Reactive Maintenance
Reactive maintenance refers to fixing equipment only after it breaks down. This approach doesn’t rely on schedules or inspections but instead responds to problems as they happen. While this strategy generally leads to faster team reactions, the trade-off is that it also may lead to longer downtime and higher maintenance costs.
Despite its risks, reactive maintenance can be useful for specific low-risk use cases. So, if you’re choosing between preventive maintenance vs. reactive maintenance strategies, consider how much downtime you can tolerate and if frequent upkeep wouldn’t be cost-effective.
3. Predictive Maintenance
Predictive maintenance uses real-time asset data to estimate when equipment might fail. You can then use this data to make informed decisions about when to schedule future maintenance tasks. Technology (such as sensors) is attached to each asset to measure potential signs of failure, like temperature spikes or vibration changes.
The key difference between preventive maintenance vs. predictive maintenance lies in their approach: predictive maintenance is data-driven and flexible, whereas preventive maintenance is more fixed. Therefore, you may opt for the predictive maintenance approach if you would like to save costs on unnecessary scheduled maintenance activities.
4. Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM)
Condition-based maintenance (CBM) involves monitoring the actual state of equipment to decide when maintenance is needed. It relies on indicators like noise levels, fluid quality, or temperature readings rather than calendar-based schedules. Maintenance only takes place when a specific condition crosses a threshold.
This system is similar to predictive maintenance, but condition monitoring isn’t necessarily reliant on sensor-collected data. It works best in environments where operating conditions frequently change or if wear and tear cannot be predicted by age. It’s also best for assets that may be damaged if they are over-maintained.
5. Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM)
Reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) is a structured process that involves assessing each asset’s reliability and failure risks to strategically select various maintenance strategies based on risk. For instance, following a strict preventive maintenance schedule is optimal if asset performance directly impacts human safety.
The goal of reliability-centered maintenance is to balance safety, uptime, and cost by matching the right approach to each asset. It’s ideal for complex environments where not all equipment requires the same level of attention.
6. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)
Total productive maintenance (TPM) encourages everyone who works at your facility to participate in maintenance activities. That means you would also train your equipment operators to perform basic maintenance tasks and inform them which tasks require submitting work orders to your designated maintenance teams.
Giving the people who work on your equipment every day the power to perform simple maintenance tasks generally reduces the number of times maintenance personnel must work on the asset. That means your facility will save both money and resources.
7. Asset Lifecycle Management
Asset lifecycle management involves tracking your physical assets throughout your ownership, beginning when you purchase the asset and ending when you either sell or dispose of it. This approach gives teams a clear view of asset performance, costs, and how long each asset remains reliable and worth maintaining.
You will likely need a good asset management software tool to use this strategy effectively. Effective asset lifecycle management relies on consistent tracking that cannot be left vulnerable to manual human errors. Manual asset tracking is also a time-consuming process that your team could spend elsewhere.
How to Implement Asset Maintenance
While there are various maintenance strategies you can choose, all facility managers should understand the following steps. These asset maintenance implementation steps generally apply to most types of asset maintenance.
| 1 | Conduct an asset inventory | Identify and document all assets to understand what needs maintenance. |
| 2 | Implement predictive analytics | Use data-based tracking to forecast needed maintenance activities and reduce downtime. |
| 3 | Standardize processes | Create consistent procedures to improve efficiency and reduce errors. |
| 4 | Train your team | Show operators and maintenance teams how to follow your established procedures. |
| 5 | Align with business goals | Verify that your maintenance activities are supporting your specific business goals. |
| 6 | Continuously evaluate and improve | Regularly review processes to ensure they continue to meet your needs, and update protocols as necessary. |
Smarter Maintenance Management Starts With The Right Strategy
Choosing an asset maintenance management strategy is only the first step. Once you know how you want to conduct asset management, you need to find and leverage the right technology to make all aspects of your strategy faster and less error-prone.
ServiceChannel provides that technology. Our asset management software tools include automated alerts, real-time asset data, and integrated work order creation. These features help your team respond quickly, cut energy waste, and keep equipment running without added manual effort. You can also track costs and asset performance across all locations using a single system.
Book a demo today to see how it works!
