What is predictive maintenance? And how is it different from preventive maintenance?

Keeping the integrity of industrial assets is a central necessity of any manufacturing operation. Both predictive and preventive maintenance are proactive methods of addressing this matter and provide much better results than reactive maintenance – which basically means addressing a piece of equipment after it has broken or ceased to function. Having a maintenance plan in place is the first step in avoiding unscheduled stops in your production.

• With preventive maintenance, you will perform checks and adjustments periodically, no matter if the equipment actually requires maintenance efforts. By undergoing regular check-ups your assets will be in better shape to keep production active and without troubles. However, it does require intensive investments in labour and training, and that must be taken into account when deciding which machines should undergo this process and how frequently.
• Predictive maintenance, on the other hand, occurs only when needed, based on asset conditions. It can use the data collected by an IIoT system to identify problems early on – avoiding that parts are run into failure and unnecessary replacements. If any performance outside of parameters is identified, it should incur this kind of maintenance being scheduled.

With Upkip, you can combine both preventive and predictive maintenance efforts. By integrating your maintenance plans, the system lets the necessary people know when it’s time to check-up on machines. Besides, by actively keep track of numerous variables that might affect your equipment’s integrity, such as temperature and vibration, it can tell if there are any potential issues that might come to affect production times. With this, you can eliminate unplanned downtime and improve your overall productivity.