How to Avoid Too Much Preventive Maintenance?
You’ll definitely want to avoid overdoing it when it comes to preventive maintenance. Thus, there are a few markers you can use to determine whether a preventive action or measure is necessary.
For one, how long has it been since a piece of equipment or technology has been tested, updated, or improved? If possible, always check the work history on the item in question before scheduling a maintenance activity, or keep a log of recent malfunctions and upgrades.
In addition, be careful not to overdo it with simple preventive measures, such as over-salting parking lots in the winter, over-lubricating machinery, or over-scheduling the number of safety walks your employees must take, for example. Such actions will result in lost time, and in other cases, unintentional and preventable damage where there previously was none.
Carefully consider whether a preventive action really needs to be performed. A good rule of thumb is: if you go past the optimum point of repairs and inspections on a particular piece of equipment, you’re doing too much preventive maintenance and wasting money.
Preventive maintenance is truly a matter of common sense, depending on factors like weather conditions, records, recommendations, and timing, among others. If you haven’t yet taken any preventive maintenance measures, start by targeting your business’s most essential equipment, and inspect these items to ensure optimal conditions and functionality.
Only take preventive maintenance actions when the benefits of doing so will outweigh the risks and costs.
