Preventative Maintenance – Friend or Foe?

The Logic Behind Preventative Maintenance

Preventative maintenance - routine maintenance performed at defined intervals regardless of equipment usage or condition - is one of the most common strategies for avoiding equipment failure. But is it sometimes overused?

The Risks of Equipment Failure

Equipment failure or unplanned downtime can cause all kinds of issues: safety risks, financial losses, and contract penalties. It’s logical, then, that organisations aim to prevent such failures at all costs. Add to this the reality that maintenance resources are finite - the same teams are tasked with both preventing and responding to failures - and preventative maintenance appears to be a practical, resource-efficient solution. It enables forward planning of labour and equipment, helping to smooth out scheduling and manage workloads.

When Maintenance Becomes the Problem

However, there’s a real possibility that some equipment is being over-maintained. In fact, the very activities intended to prevent failure may actually contribute to it.

Intrusive Maintenance and Wear

This is especially true for systems where maintenance is intrusive or involves subjecting equipment to stress - such as actuating railway point machines for functional testing. Each movement is a wear cycle, and routine testing four times a year effectively shortens the machine’s operational life by four cycles annually.

The Myth of the “Reset Clock”

A common misconception is that preventative maintenance "resets the clock" on an asset’s lifespan. While this can be true for some equipment - particularly where components are replaced or restored to an "as new" condition - it’s not always the case.

When Maintenance Doesn’t Restore Life

Intrusive maintenance may not reset the clock at all and can even reduce remaining life. Only in certain cases, such as non-intrusive checks or full component replacement, is the clock genuinely reset.

Smarter Strategies for Modern Maintenance

So, does preventative maintenance have a place in a modern asset management strategy? Absolutely. But it should not be applied blindly or uniformly across all equipment types. Over-reliance on scheduled maintenance can reduce asset life, increase operational risk, and waste valuable resources.

The Role of Predictive and Prescriptive Maintenance

With advancements in condition monitoring and performance analytics, predictive maintenance - based on actual equipment condition and performance thresholds - offers a more targeted and efficient approach. In low-risk, low-consequence scenarios, corrective maintenance may be entirely appropriate. And if you really want to get smart, there's prescriptive maintenance, which leverages AI and analytics to recommend the optimal maintenance actions. But we’ll save that for another day.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Ultimately, the key to a successful maintenance program is selecting the right strategy for each asset and business context - and being open to evolving technologies and approaches. What works for one organisation may not suit another. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution - only what’s most effective for your operation.