From apartment air conditioning to highly-integrated industrial manufacturers, making important equipment maintenance decisions is inevitable for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Now more than ever in an evolving technological environment, instituting a wrong-fit maintenance program can drain vital resources with upfront internet of things (IoT) investments or increase equipment downtime due to potentially excessive fixed maintenance schedules.
Understanding preventative and predictive equipment maintenance
Embracing both preventative and predictive maintenance strategies at the same time may not always be the right path for a company. An early step in evaluating equipment maintenance strategies is to understand the differences between these two approaches:
- Preventative maintenance programs focus on following pre-established maintenance schedules to prevent equipment breakdown.
- Predictive maintenance programs use technology to gather data to help predict failures and tailor maintenance timing.
Maintenance intervals between the two approaches is one critical differentiator. Using an automotive example, oil change preventative maintenance traditionally is fixed according to intervals (e.g. three months or three thousand miles). For modern vehicles, oil change predictive maintenance is variable in nature (e.g. technology tracks and provides maintenance timing alerts based on vehicle usage and operating conditions). For cutting-edge technology, maximizing equipment runtime and minimizing some pre-scheduled maintenance expenses make a predictive maintenance strategy an attractive option.
Ease of execution is a second key difference between the two strategies. Apartment air conditioning preventative maintenance is straightforward, cost effective with little downtime, and does not require constant collection and analysis of operating data. Predictive maintenance includes gathering and processing performance data and incurring additional technology costs. Although predictive maintenance, according to Deloitte, can save businesses up to 10% of equipment operating costs and provide nearly 20% more uptime, this strategy may not be an appropriate model in all circumstances.
CNA Equipment Breakdown Risk Control offers resources and tailored advice on maintenance strategies. CNA Equipment Breakdown Underwriting offers top-tier proprietary insurance coverage for equipment breakdown – regardless of the type of maintenance program.
The information, examples and suggestions presented in this material have been developed from sources believed to be reliable, but they should not be construed as legal or other professional advice. CNA accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of this material and recommends the consultation with competent legal counsel and/or other professional advisors before applying this material in any particular factual situations. This material is for illustrative purposes and is not intended to constitute a contract. Please remember that only the relevant insurance policy can provide the actual terms, coverages, amounts, conditions and exclusions for an insured. All products and services may not be available in all states and may be subject to change without notice. “CNA” is a registered trademark of CNA Financial Corporation. Certain CNA Financial Corporation subsidiaries use the “CNA” trademark in connection with insurance underwriting and claims activities. Copyright © 2023 CNA. All rights reserved.
