Proactive vs. Reactive Maintenance: Examples & Benefits of Both

A malfunctioning machine is a common fear among maintenance team members. If, say, a conveyor belt in a factory breaks down, it can have a significant impact on the productivity and profitability of the business. 

To deal with this fear, managers can take a proactive or reactive maintenance approach. Choosing which one best fits the business’ day-to-day operations as well as short-term and long-term planning goals is an important decision that will affect how equipment failure is controlled and properly handled.

Understanding Proactive Maintenance

To decide which maintenance type best fits the needs of your business, it’s necessary to understand the difference between the two. Let’s start with proactive maintenance since many managers believe this is the best approach. In simple terms, proactive strategies involve performing maintenance tasks on assets before they reach a critical state or break down. Proactive measures are taken even if the asset is working perfectly as a way to avoid potential problems in the future. It’s the equivalent of getting an oil change on your car every 30,000 miles. 

Although there is never a guarantee that a machine won’t fail, having a more proactive attitude toward maintenance and taking preventative measures can lower the risk of it happening.

Types of Proactive Maintenance

Proactive leaders will be happy to know that there are several types of proactive maintenance, which fit different scenarios and asset needs. Examples of these include:

Routine Maintenance

Routine maintenance involves general check ups and cleanings for a machine as a whole. It is not necessarily thorough, as its purpose is to keep the overall condition of assets in good standards. Inspections are usually carried out at specific intervals that are measured in either time or usage. 

Preventive Maintenance

Similar to routine maintenance, preventive maintenance is performed regularly as a way to minimize the risk of equipment failure. Important tasks are carried out before any issues arise, and they’re typically performed on a schedule. The key difference from routine maintenance is that preventive maintenance normally uses strategic planning to inspect specific parts of a machine that are indispensable for the asset to work efficiently. 

Condition-Based Maintenance 

No matter how proactive you are, failure can happen. In these cases, most machines are equipped with alerts that are triggered when a problem occurs. Condition-based maintenance calls for a quick assessment of the situation to determine the actions needed to avoid a more serious or permanent malfunction. 

Benefits of Proactive Maintenance

Many managers are big fans of proactive maintenance because it reduces the likelihood of an emergency situation. When assets are in good condition, they usually have a longer lifecycle and increased uptime. This, in turn, means that if you ever want to sell a piece of equipment, it will be in better condition and have a higher resale value. 

This type of maintenance can also potentially decrease costs. Emergency maintenance normally calls for experts to come in at a moment’s notice — an inconvenience that commands higher per-hour rates. Many repairs are also costlier once they reach a critical stage as failure could mean having to replace expensive parts or machines. Of course, if you have fewer repairs, it also equates to cost savings associated with equipment downtime and the bottlenecks associated with productivity being stalled.

Another key benefit of proactive thinking is that it ensures equipment safety. Malfunctions can sometimes put workers in jeopardy. A jam in a conveyor belt or the air conditioning shutting down during a heatwave can lead to health issues or workplace accidents. 

Disadvantages of Proactive Maintenance

While proactive maintenance has many perks, there are a couple of reasons that it is not always implemented. Its main downside is that it requires higher upfront costs. You may not be paying someone to come in at the last minute, but you will have to pay technicians to inspect, clean and repair assets on a regular basis. 

Implementing this approach is not always possible. Companies need time and resources to make a maintenance plan, manage technician schedules and ensure that there is enough cash flow to guarantee timely payments. To be successful, proactivity requires planning and big-picture foresight, and the responsibility for this time-consuming task usually falls onto managers. 

Understanding Reactive Maintenance

In contrast, reactive maintenance is done as a reaction to equipment failure. This approach involves waiting until assets break down before assigning a work order for a technician to come in and fix the issue. 

Although this may happen unexpectedly, managers are aware that problems can arise with equipment, particularly if it’s not being maintained proactively. To prepare for inevitable breakdowns, there is usually an emergency plan in place that outlines the steps to be taken when machines stop working properly. 

Types of Reactive Maintenance

As with proactive management styles, reactive management involves several types of reactive maintenance, which can be used depending on a given situation. Examples of these include:

Breakdown Maintenance

Reactive leaders use this approach when equipment breaks down in real time. As an emergency reaction, it tends to hurt a company’s bottom line since it causes an interruption in production. The length of downtime varies depending on whether the machine can be easily repaired or if it needs extensive work or replacement.

Run-to-Failure Maintenance

This is a planned reactive strategy that involves knowingly allowing equipment to keep running until it fails. It may seem counterintuitive, but it can reduce downtime while you place work orders and wait for technicians to come. It’s important to note that you should never use this approach with machines whose failure can pose a safety risk to workers. 

Corrective Maintenance

Corrective maintenance corrects issues as they arise. The focus of this reactive behavior is usually on a specific part of the equipment that needs to be fixed so the machine can run. Issues can be fixed before total failure when there are warning signs of an upcoming breakdown.

Emergency Maintenance

Emergency maintenance is never planned, as it always describes a situation where there is a safety risk for technicians and other workers. Because it is potentially dangerous, evacuation of other staff tends to be part of the protocol before technicians can go in and repair the equipment. 

Benefits of Reactive Maintenance

There are several reasons why a maintenance manager might choose to have a reactive mindset over a proactive one when it comes to problem-solving. The main one is that reactive maintenance requires fewer upfront costs. Expenses happen less often because machines should not break down regularly. Businesses that don’t yet have much liquidity may choose to tackle issues as they arise rather than invest heavily in the upkeep of assets. 

Similarly, reactive maintenance requires fewer staff members. Technicians are called when needed rather than scheduled to come in to regularly check on equipment. This, in turn, means that there is less planning involved, as managers don’t have to constantly coordinate schedules or put in routine work orders.

Disadvantages of Reactive Maintenance

Of course, there are potential disadvantages in choosing a reactive approach to machine maintenance. Because equipment is left to run until it breaks down, it tends to have a shorter life span, which can result in higher expenses as costly parts or entire machines need to be replaced. Expenses are normally more unpredictable, so managers who choose this approach should make sure there are sufficient funds to cover these costs when they do happen. There may also be higher energy costs for some machines, as equipment that is not running efficiently may use more energy in order to keep functioning. 

Unexpected downtime is the biggest disadvantage of reactive maintenance. Since it is difficult to predict when a breakdown or failure will happen, you will likely be faced with unplanned interruptions. There is a risk of a malfunction happening when the business has a large volume of orders, which could translate into an inability to fulfill demand in a timely manner and the loss of profit.

When to Use Proactive vs. Reactive Maintenance

Managers don’t necessarily have to choose one maintenance type over the other, as each strategy has its advantages and disadvantages. Typically, the best approach is to incorporate both into your maintenance roadmap, depending on the needs and resources specific to the business. 

For instance, say that there is a significant uptick in business during a particular holiday. If the budget doesn’t allow for year-round proactive maintenance, it might make sense to be proactive only during this time since all equipment needs to be operating perfectly to keep up with demand. During slower seasons, you could take a more reactive approach.

You could also be proactive with equipment that is necessary for a successful operation of the business, but reactive with equipment whose breakdown won’t result in interrupted production. Budget, staff capacity and the backlog of orders should all be taken into account when deciding when and how to use either type of maintenance

Moving From a Reactive to Proactive Maintenance Strategy

The first step in implementing a more proactive approach into your maintenance plan is to evaluate your current strategy and define key goals. For example, if you want to minimize downtime for a machine that keeps breaking down, then you know you’ll need to shift to a more proactive mindset. 

From there, you’ll want to prioritize your most valuable assets. Machines that are essential for the business to thrive and those that represent a significant investment should always be maintained proactively. You don’t want interruptions that could hurt the business’ bottom line. 

Once you have outlined your new plan, you need to communicate the goals and strategies to the maintenance team. This might involve changes in schedules, the hiring of new staff members and different protocols. 

Of course, having a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), such as Coast, can help you manage asset inventory, seamlessly assign work orders and determine the frequency of preventive maintenance tasks.