If the safety, reliability, and productivity of industrial equipment is to be ensured over a prolonged period of operation, a well-planned maintenance strategy will be essential.
The decision-makers responsible for putting together such a strategy at their premises may be well-versed in certain aspects, but not so much in others. For example, the personnel for a particular site might be accustomed to using suitable industrial maintenance lubricants to help reduce friction and wear between components.
But of course, a properly structured and effective maintenance approach will thread together many different elements into a much more cohesive plan. This, in turn, will be integral to identifying and tackling emerging problems before they have a chance to develop into costly and potentially catastrophic failures.
What Do We Mean by A ‘Maintenance Strategy for Industrial Machinery’?
An industrial machinery maintenance strategy is a planned approach to keeping equipment in good working condition.
Instead of simply responding when something breaks down, a maintenance strategy for industrial machinery establishes how and when such equipment should be inspected, serviced, lubricated, tested, and repaired.
Much of the difficulty in designing such strategies is that the precise approach necessary will hinge on a wide range of aspects. These include the specific machinery involved, its operating environment, and the importance of the given equipment to the organisation.
The process of putting together the right maintenance strategy, then, won’t just be about following certain linear steps. A number of factors will need to be considered, such as:
- Which machines and components are most critical
- The frequency with which equipment is used
- Manufacturer maintenance recommendations
- The environment in which the machinery operates
- The consequences of equipment failure
- Available maintenance staff and resources
- Spare parts and consumables
- Safety requirements
- Historical data on maintenance and failure at the site
When an organisation looks to devise an industrial equipment maintenance strategy, its overriding objective shouldn’t necessarily be to carry out the maximum possible amount of maintenance.
Instead, whatever maintenance activities are decided upon should be proportionate to the risks and requirements of the equipment.
5 Steps for Developing an Industrial Equipment Maintenance Strategy
Here are some of the most fundamental stages of building a maintenance strategy for industrial equipment; this should not be treated as an exhaustive list.
- Start With an Asset Inventory
Before the work of developing a maintenance programme begins in earnest, organisations need to understand exactly what machinery and equipment they have.
Putting together an asset register can therefore provide a crucial foundation. This could encompass such items as motors, pumps, compressors, conveyors, gearboxes, production equipment, and associated mechanical systems.
- Choose The Right Maintenance Approach
Industrial maintenance typically consists of multiple different approaches, instead of relying on one method.
One such approach is preventive maintenance, which involves carrying out maintenance activities at planned intervals, rather than waiting for equipment to fail. This is different to reactive or breakdown maintenance, which takes place after machinery has failed.
Another important category of maintenance for organisations to be aware of today is predictive maintenance. This centres on using information about the condition of equipment to help determine when maintenance may be required.
- Create Clear Inspection and Maintenance Schedules
Once an organisation has established what the maintenance needs are for its site, the next stage will be turning these requirements into practical schedules.
A maintenance plan might divide activities into the following four categories: daily checks, weekly or routine checks, monthly or periodic checks, and annual or major servicing.
Daily checks, for instance, typically include visual inspections and checks for any concerning “symptoms” such as unusual noises, leaks, and obvious damage. The inspections involved in annual or major servicing will be more extensive than this.
The exact inspection and maintenance intervals that an organisation follows should always reflect the manufacturer’s recommendations, the operating conditions, and the organisation’s own maintenance experience.
- Provide The Necessary Training to Maintenance Personnel
Even if a maintenance programme is well-designed, this can be quickly undermined if on-site personnel lack adequate understanding of how to carry it out correctly.
It is crucial, then, for employees involved in machinery maintenance to have suitable knowledge, skills, and training for their responsibilities. This includes understanding equipment-specific procedures and the risks that various maintenance activities can bring.
- Review The Maintenance Strategy Regularly
No maintenance strategy should remain unchanged indefinitely. After all, it’s not as if the specific machinery, production requirements, and operating conditions at a particular premises are likely to always be the same.
Maintenance teams should therefore periodically review whether their current programme is still appropriate. Such performance indicators as unplanned downtime, equipment availability, and maintenance costs are important to consider, and will help staff determine whether the existing strategy needs to be altered or refined.
Conclusion: The Right Maintenance Strategy Will Greatly Support Long-Term Reliability
When an organisation combines structured planning with such other crucial elements as appropriate technology, skilled people, and high-quality consumables like industrial maintenance lubricants, it can be well-placed to achieve significantly improved reliability, efficiency, and competitiveness.
The first step should be a clear assessment of the given organisation’s current assets and failure patterns, followed by building incrementally. This can help translate into machinery that runs longer, more safely, and more productively in the longer term.
