Industrial maintenance: importance and benefits
Nowadays, he maintenance occupies a central place in any industrial activity and it is an important challenge for the productivity and competitiveness of companies.
Until now, stuck to occasional repair operations or problem solving. Currently, he industrial maintenance It is a much broader scope of action whose result considerably influences the productivity of industrial plants..
Now well, very often the problems are not known, the methodologies and tools used by maintenance and production department professionals. Normally these events are correlated to the obligations of departments with logistics functions., which due to costs avoid the fact of investing.
These tools, Those who own them will see that they are evolving a lot in recent years thanks to technological advances and, the new solutions industrial maintenance management They considerably facilitate the work of teams in the field.
Have you ever seen a plant that operates without a maintenance team?? Although the management complains about the costs, the maintenance department will never "close". That's because industrial maintenance is an essential service.
With this in mind, In this article we are going to address all the basic and important aspects that you should know regarding industrial maintenance.
What is industrial maintenance?
In general, Industrial maintenance can be defined as a combination of all activities and techniques necessary to preserve the desired operating state of production equipment..
The industrial maintenance concept ensures that all assets are in optimal operating condition. Thus, It is often used interchangeably with the term plant maintenance..
In addition to making sure the equipment is working well, industrial maintenance has another important component: he cost control.
In fact, Keeping assets in good condition is important when it comes to meeting production quotas and ensuring product quality.
The best way to maintain maintenance costs under control while continuing to provide quality maintenance services is set maintenance KPIs, although Sometimes it is an error due to the limitation of functional capacities in bureaucratic synergists, and apply appropriate industrial maintenance systems with the support of a maintenance software.
Behind all this, of course, hay industrial maintenance technicians talented people who perform these essential functions. Unfortunately, they lack the job opportunities to define their work with characterization.
Types of industrial maintenance
Los industrial maintenance processes and programs They are the cornerstone of productivity and reliability of companies.
In this sense, there are several maintenance strategies that come together to offer manufacturers the possibility of optimizing their production lines.
Each company defines its industrial maintenance needs and apply a planning strategy. Depending on the job functions we perform.
Next, We will analyze the main types of maintenance that industries use the most: Then, specifically we have other maintenance of more analytical behaviors.
Corrective maintenance.
Preventive Maintenance.
Predictive Maintenance.
- Condition Based Maintenance. and media analysis.
Corrective maintenance
As the name suggests, he Corrective maintenance applied just after a problem has been detected on a production line.
Corrective measures only focus on fixing the equipment and getting it working again.
This type of industrial maintenance can be planned o unplanned depending on whether or not a maintenance plan.
Unplanned corrective maintenance is necessary when a problem could not be anticipated with preventive maintenance..
Preventive Maintenance
He Preventive Maintenance Used as a reliable way to identify equipment breakdowns or failures before they occur.
Preventative measures are taken to reduce the likelihood of unexpected equipment breakdown or degradation..
For it, A strategic approach is required to launch a preventive maintenance program successfully.
The digitalization of industrial companies has provided many computer and technological solutions that allow technicians to perform, Supervise, track and plan preventive maintenance effectively.
Predictive Maintenance
The emergence of data processing and analysis solutions, as well as the artificial intelligence, has allowed manufacturers plan predictive maintenance based on the forecast of failures and breakdowns.
This type of industrial maintenance allows companies to anticipate problems by planning the necessary interventions and maintenance operations based on predictions..
Thus, Allows you to limit expenses caused by unexpected breakdowns, equipment shutdowns and production interruptions.
Condition Based Maintenance
He condition based maintenance It is probably the most complicated form of industrial maintenance to apply.. Involves periodic reviews and a system failure prevention plan.
Specific, monitors the actual condition of equipment and determines what maintenance is necessary based on certain indicators: performance, upcoming failures, criticality analysis, etc.
Industrial maintenance objectives
He main objective of industrial maintenance is to achieve the fewest possible breakdowns and keep the production plant in good operating condition at the lowest possible cost.
On the other hand, machinery and other installations must be maintained in a condition that allows them to be used at their optimal capacity (profit making) without any interruption or obstacle.
Besides, the purpose of the industrial maintenance division of the factory is to ensure the availability of the machines, the buildings and services required by other sections of the factory to perform their functions with optimal return on investment, whether in material, machinery or personnel.
But, los key objectives of maintenance management can reduce dependence on corrective maintenance and contribute to a more efficient and effective maintenance program.
After all, the maintenance management It is very important in a company. In fact, partly determines the long-term success of the company, since poorly maintained resources can paralyze operations and cause the company to lose money.
On the other hand, he maintenance manager You must know the company's processes in depth and know which processes are the most important for the company's success..
This knowledge will help you schedule tasks such as repairs in order of priority and allocate resources to the most important maintenance activities first..
In a nutshell, A maintenance manager who doesn't do his job well can put the company in trouble., regarding programming, costs and regulatory compliance.
Next, We will analyze in more detail the main functions and objectives of industrial maintenance management in a company.
Control costs and budget
He maintenance responsible distributes the budget assigned to the different resource areas of the department to ensure that everything works efficiently.
It is important to include funds in the budget for both planned and emergency or corrective maintenance..
Plan maintenance work
The strategic maintenance management includes having an industrial maintenance program to schedule maintenance work in advance.
This is important because it efficiently allocates appropriate labor time and resources for proactive and preventive maintenance tasks., helping maintenance departments reduce the frequency of major asset failures.
Finally, Maintenance managers must have a clear understanding of the company structure to schedule work effectively. This will help determine the priority of different jobs.
Minimize equipment failures and production stoppages
He maintenance department staff strives to maximize equipment availability, and are better able to do so when preventive maintenance jobs are well managed.
Definitely, Maintenance technicians must be able to stay on top of preventive maintenance to keep machines running so that failures and production interruptions are minimized.
Nevertheless, downtime cannot be completely avoided, so when machines need repairs, These must be done quickly and efficiently..
Extend the useful life of industrial machinery
When maintenance tasks are properly delegated, are prioritized and completed quickly, machines last longer.
Over time, a good maintenance plan improves reliability, availability and ease of maintenance.
This is achieved through proactive maintenance work, which may include preventive maintenance, predictive and condition-based.
Improve product quality
When machines are better maintained, the result is a product quality improvement and a decrease in the number of products that must be discarded or reworked.
At the end of the day, Improving product quality leads to better results from your product and, in turn, more satisfied customers and more sales.
Regulatory compliance
Maintenance tasks must be carried out in a manner that comply with the regulations marked by government institutions at all levels.
In principle, It may seem like a cheaper solution to assign an employee to a team, although the law establishes that two employees must be assigned to that team for safety reasons. In this case, the law will take priority.
The maintenance manager must be up to date with all relevant regulations to avoid having a brush with the law..
Ensure staff safety
Another objective of maintenance management is ensure the safety of all staff, inside and outside the maintenance department.
This is done through periodic boiler inspections, compressors, material handling equipment and other assets that could be dangerous if they malfunction.
When maintenance is managed properly, security increases for all members of the organization.
In practice, many machines can be dangerous when operating normally, but even more so when they work poorly.
Therefore it is essential a proper training about the functioning of each asset, safety do's and don'ts and emergency protocols.
How to manage industrial maintenance in a company
Behind every business success story, There is an industrial maintenance team working behind the scenes to ensure the smooth running of all business activities..
Like any other business function, The maintenance department has many moving parts., and getting all of them to work in sync is a daily job., even more so if the department is underfunded and has limited resources.
Be that as it may, to organize an efficient maintenance department You have to know what the purpose of maintenance is, how to set smart goals and how to set up your maintenance team for success.
The maintenance management It is often seen more as a series of necessary tasks than as an essential part of any industrial process..
Some companies even reduce maintenance management to a "necessary evil", or to a mere and inevitable production cost.
On the contrary, High-performing companies consider maintenance management as a integral part of your business strategy, given its direct impact on productivity and profitability objectives.
Appreciating maintenance management appropriately requires a cultural change throughout the company.
So companies that want to grow their businesses must invest in the right tools and solutions..
In a broader sense, The management of an industrial maintenance department includes:
- Prevent unexpected machine breakdowns.
- Maximize availability and reliability of all operating systems.
- Maintain equipment and operating systems in good condition to eliminate potential security issues and ensure a high level of performance.
- Work with production teams to achieve production goals.
- Support the efforts of other departments.
- Provide quality maintenance services while keeping costs under control.
The planning and scheduling They are essential activities in the production processes of all companies and industries..
If companies want to benefit from a streamlined production and value chain, Why should it be any different when it comes to industrial maintenance processes?
in an ideal world, the person responsible for plan and schedule maintenance I would do it preventatively rather than correctively, but this is far from the norm.
It is more common to find companies that live under a “repair culture” that is inefficient, unsustainable and erodes profit margins.
Getting rid of this common repair culture can be a challenge, since it requires a sincere cultural change from beginning to end.
However, The rewards in productivity and asset performance are well worth developing a culture that values, support and practice preventative maintenance.
Why industrial maintenance is important
For asset-intensive industries, The role of industrial maintenance is important for several aspects, among which stand out:
- Maintain reliable performance of equipment and machinery.
- Safety.
- Energy efficiency.
- Compliance with regulations.
- Warranty coverage.
Besides, Preventive maintenance can have a significant impact on operations costs, as opposed to selectively treating a problem when it occurs.
There is a false belief that industrial maintenance has nothing to do with production. But, In reality it is quite the opposite.
The industrial maintenance area must always be supporting production by what is, occurs without any news.
As the production of companies began to be carried out with higher quality, industrial maintenance had to evolve at the same time.
From this evolution, predictive maintenance emerged. Eventually, has been a great advantage, since it is not necessary to stop production to know the status of the machines; in addition to making an appropriate plan when intervention is needed.
Therefore, the manager of a company, who think that maintenance is a waste of money and time, You are making a mistake that will cost you much more than you think..
Not doing enough maintenance on a company's equipment, it's a danger to productionn, since at any moment a machine will seriously fail, causing you to lose production and even a human life.
The scope and importance of maintenance They can vary depending on the type of plant and what is produced. It goes without saying that an equipment breakdown can cause an inevitable loss of production..
When a major breakdown occurs in a continuous production factory, the entire production process stops.
As a result, the company may experience a immediate loss of productivity and a loss of thousands of euros per hour.
It is an established fact that a poorly maintained industrial plant will require an expensive repair at some point..
Finally, add that industrial equipment such as machines, Conveyor belts and various production equipment wear out and require regular maintenance to function correctly.
Past and future of industrial maintenance (Brief History)
Industrial maintenance management as an important part of corporate strategy and as a profession has not always existed in the way we see it today.
It is a concept that has evolved throughout the world, especially in the last 50 years, with even more evident advances in the last decade.
What began as the exclusive responsibility of engineers and technicians has grown to become the backbone of business operations, as organizations realize the impact maintenance can have on their efficiency and bottom line.
The beginnings of industrial maintenance
Industrial maintenance management has its origins in the manufacturing industry.
The ability to harness steam for energy, train transportation and the invention of basic communications (telephones and radio) marked the beginning of the First Industrial Revolution (18th century) and the gradual shift from human labor to machine production.
In the first instance, factories managed their machines in a simple way: use it until it breaks and repair it only when it no longer works.
So the focus was on corrective maintenance and there was no type of planned maintenance..
Downtime then was not as critical as it is now, so the operation of assets in breakdown maintenance was not considered a big problem.
However, with the Second Industrial Revolution (mid and late 19th century) electric machines arrived, which created the need for more complex maintenance.
At the moment, plant engineers gradually became more proactive in taking care of them.
In practice, identified and established a frequency based maintenance pattern, that is to say, replacing parts such as belts, among others, at specific intervals.
Despite which, This was a huge waste., since they used to change the parts following a strict schedule, whether it was necessary or not.
Turning point in industrial maintenance management
In the decade of 1950, The industry was in full reconstruction to recover from the consequences of the Second World War, especially in Germany and Japan.
The manufacturing space became increasingly competitive and tolerance for downtime in the industry decreased.
On the one hand, Japanese engineers started a new trend that consisted of following the manufacturer's instructions on the care of each machine during its operation.
This trend gave rise to what we know today as "preventive maintenance.". Little by little, encouraged technicians and other specialists in charge of machinery to develop programs to lubricate equipment, and then note and report any observations to help prevent damage to machines.
Although this significantly reduced downtime, it was still an expensive and inefficient action. The parts continued to be replaced with a strict time criterion, even when they could have worked longer.
On the other hand, in the decade of 1960, The search for more effective industrial maintenance strategies received a boost after the arrival of the Boeing 747.
The aeronautical industry I needed improve reliability; through a maintenance strategy with a clear structure to reduce accidents.
Thus was born the reliability-focused maintenance. The term was first used in public by United Airlines. Shortly after, The concept was quickly adopted by other industries.
Over time, Other companies began to recognize that maintenance was a fundamental strategy and not an add-on; coming to recognize its impact on profits.
From then until today, the following generations of maintenance professionals have increasingly adopted proactive elements in your maintenance strategy, which has led to the development of other maintenance strategies such as risk based maintenance and the total productive maintenance.
Introduction and impact of technologies in industrial maintenance
Although many things have happened since the beginning of the industrial revolution, a few ago 200 years, It seems that the most drastic changes have occurred in recent 50 years.
Especially since the year 2000 to date, Technological innovations in all areas of life are greater than ever in the history of humanity and industrial maintenance management is not left out..
The impact of these new technologies has affected the following aspects of maintenance management:
Communication
Since the use of the wireless technology until the mobile phones/tablets with Internet access and other portable devices, Technology has completely changed the way industrial maintenance teams work..
They no longer have to meet in person with a supervisor to obtain work assignments or convey vital information.
Industrial maintenance technicians can communicate with all other team members from the most remote locations.
They can also record and report any asset issues in real time with absolute accuracy using their phones' camera and video features..
Industrial maintenance activities
With the introduction of different sensors that can transmit information about the status of equipment and possible failures in real time, technicians are no longer tied to the outdated practices that were common in past decades.
The remote automation is another technological tool that now allows industrial maintenance personnel to monitor and control an organization's external facilities, especially when it is not convenient to have personnel stationed there permanently, such as in underwater facilities or in very remote and hostile climates.
Software support
He software support It has become normal and not an exception. So, the use of sophisticated computer programs, like the computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) and the enterprise resource planning (ERP), has contributed to moving from corrective maintenance times to more proactive strategies, As the risk based maintenance and the state based monitoring.
Thus, used together or in isolation, These programs will help a company manage critical activities within industrial maintenance management, especially inventory control, project management, work order management, etc.
The possible future of industrial maintenance
With the continued growth of the digital transformation, Consumers now expect a high level of technological advancement in the environment in which they work and from the machines with which they interact.
Let's briefly look at two key areas where digital transformation is expected to impact industrial maintenance management.:
The Internet of Things
Some industries (For example, mining and manufacturing) They are especially sensitive to equipment downtime and any failure can cause considerable losses..
Virtual/augmented reality
The virtual reality (RV) y augmented reality (RA) They are more common in the aircraft maintenance sector, although other organizations may find ways to incorporate them into their maintenance management.
Some areas in which both find application are
- Technician training through simulators when real-life training is not practical, convenient or carries a lot of risk of damaging expensive equipment.
- Technical assistance in carrying out your maintenance tasks. Using VR or AR, Technicians can show experts at a remote location what they need help with and these specialists will guide them in carrying out inspections, necessary inspections or repairs.
Benefits of industrial maintenance for your company
Industrial maintenance is a practice that must be adopted in all companies that use machinery in the manufacturing of their products..
This service, which can be carried out continuously or permanently, focuses on different stages of the production process and results in numerous benefits.
Next, We will see a list of the advantages generated by industrial maintenance for companies:
- Allows you to carry a history of preventive interventions, corrective and predictive, to each of the teams. This way, complies with local and international regulations.
- Recommended industrial maintenance practices can help you extend the life of plant and machinery by slowing down the wear process.
- He machine life cycle is much more productive y, sometimes, can be expanded through modification interventions.
- industrial maintenance guarantees the operational availability of your equipment necessary for emergencies at all times.
- Se reduces the risk of workplace accidents, by having better controlled the operation of the machines, avoiding critical damage.
- He production cost is much more efficient, because less time is lost due to mechanical failures, electrical or electronic.
- It makes the work environment is much more pleasant, thanks to the reduction of stress for operators, supervisors, technicians and production leaders.
- As there is no loss of time or raw materials due to urgent work, significantly improves the quality of products or services offered by the company.
- helps you improve operational efficiency of the plant.
Conclusions
In conclusion, Industrial maintenance is nowadays essential for companies offer high quality products at the lowest possible cost.
The function of maintaining the equipment in optimal conditions is its reason for being and cannot be deleted If a company wants to be competitive.
In a nutshell, Industrial maintenance should be considered a long term investment.
In a competitive environment, the plant must operate efficientlye and downtime should not interrupt production.
To achieve these conditions, you must develop and implement an effective maintenance strategy that can plan, control and direct all activities related to industrial maintenance.
Whether preventative or ongoing, los industrial maintenance services They are a practice that must be implemented.
Through these actions, your company will be able guarantee the necessary conditions so that there are no failures in the various stages of production.
This way, los productivity levels will be maintained and the competitiveness of your company will be assured.
Do you need an industrial maintenance service for your company??
In we have the knowledge, the resources and experience of more than 20 years to provide exceptional plant maintenance services that help your production processes thrive without interruption.
The maintenance of industrial plants is one of the main services we offer to our clients.
Our staff is highly trained to offer complete maintenance packages that help you maintain and improve the efficiency of your operations.
The industrial plant maintenance services that we offer will Help keep downtime to a minimum and keep your costs under control through proven and reliable processes that involve the maintenance of industrial plants and the repair and replacement of equipment as necessary.
We perform various plant maintenance services:
- Corrective maintenance
- Preventive Maintenance
- Industrial maintenance outsourcing
- Project management
- Assembly and maintenance of industrial machinery and equipment
- Thermography
- Vibration analysis
- Industrial facilities of all types
- CMMS implementation
- Industrial Safety
Our maintenance professionals They serve a number of different industries, such as steel and foundry, food and chemical processing, as well as manufacturing in general