Last Updated on June 27, 2023 by Ossian Muscad
Breakdown maintenance is essential to keeping any asset functioning properly and ensuring its resilience. When equipment fails unexpectedly, it can cause costly downtime and disruption to your business operations. Fortunately, there are ways to minimize the impact of breakdowns with effective preventive strategies.
This guide will take you through the advantages of breakdown maintenance, the different maintenance techniques available, and tools that can help streamline the process for improved asset resilience. By implementing these practices into your organization’s workflow, you’ll be better prepared for unexpected failures and gain a competitive edge in today’s market.
What is Breakdown Maintenance?
Breakdown maintenance, also known as reactive or corrective maintenance, is a maintenance strategy that involves repairing or replacing equipment and machinery only after it has failed or malfunctioned. This approach is taken when the equipment can no longer function properly or efficiently, and restoring it to its normal working condition is deemed necessary.
The main purpose of breakdown maintenance is to fix issues as they arise rather than prevent them through regular maintenance or scheduled inspections. This strategy can be cost-effective for non-critical or low-cost equipment where downtime does not significantly impact production or operations.
However, it may not be suitable for critical equipment or systems where unexpected failures can lead to significant losses in productivity, safety risks, or damage to other components. In such cases, preventive or predictive maintenance strategies are often more appropriate.
Advantages of Breakdown Maintenance
You can use breakdown maintenance for managing facilities that involve non-critical equipment and disposable items such as batteries, light bulbs, and fuses. This method is convenient when equipment failure does not pose a safety risk. The company can benefit from using this method. With that said, here are some of the advantages of breakdown maintenance:
Minimally Demanded Workforce
Breakdown maintenance requires fewer skilled personnel compared to other maintenance strategies, as there is no need for regular inspections or preventive actions. This can benefit organizations with limited staff or smaller teams, as the workforce can focus on other tasks until a failure occurs.
Greatly Reduced Maintenance Costs
Since breakdown maintenance only involves repairs or replacements when equipment fails, it can lead to significantly lower maintenance costs. This is especially true compared to preventive maintenance, which involves scheduled inspections and maintenance activities that may not always result in immediate cost savings.
Easily Detected Replacement Needs
With breakdown maintenance, the need for equipment replacement becomes evident once a failure occurs, making it easier for organizations to identify and address worn-out or outdated machinery. This can help prevent the continued use of inefficient or unreliable equipment, improving overall performance and reducing long-term costs.
Types of Breakdown Maintenance
Choosing the right maintenance plan for your business can have a positive impact on maintaining productivity. If equipment is showing signs of wear and tear but not affecting performance, consider using a breakdown maintenance approach. There are two main types of breakdown maintenance:
Run-to-Failure Maintenance
Run-to-failure maintenance is a type of breakdown maintenance where equipment is intentionally allowed to operate until it fails, at this point, repairs or replacements are carried out. This strategy is often used for non-critical equipment with low failure rates or when the cost of preventive maintenance outweighs the benefits.
The primary advantage of run-to-failure maintenance is its simplicity and cost-effectiveness, as resources are only allocated when a failure occurs. However, this approach can lead to increased downtime and may not be suitable for critical equipment or systems with high failure consequences.
Emergency Maintenance
Emergency maintenance is a type of breakdown maintenance that involves urgent repairs or replacements in response to unexpected equipment failures that pose immediate risks to safety, productivity, or operations. This maintenance strategy is typically employed when a critical system or component experiences an unforeseen malfunction, necessitating immediate action to prevent further damage or operational disruption.
Emergency maintenance can be more expensive and time-consuming than other maintenance strategies, as it often requires mobilizing resources on short notice and working under high-pressure conditions. Despite these challenges, emergency maintenance is essential for addressing critical equipment issues and minimizing the impact of unexpected failures.
How To Conduct Breakdown Maintenance
Conducting breakdown maintenance involves a series of steps to ensure that equipment is properly repaired or replaced after a failure. Here’s a general outline of the entire breakdown maintenance process:
Identify the Failure
The first step is identifying and diagnosing the equipment failure. This may involve visual inspections, reviewing error messages, or analyzing performance data to determine the cause of the malfunction.
Assess the Impact
Evaluate the consequences of the equipment failure on productivity, safety, and operations. Determine if the issue is critical, requires immediate attention, or can be temporarily managed until a more convenient repair time.
Isolate the Equipment
If necessary, isolate the affected equipment from other systems or processes to prevent further damage or hazards. This may involve shutting down the equipment, disconnecting power sources, or implementing safety barriers.
Gather Necessary Resources
Mobilize the required personnel, tools, and replacement parts to address the failure. Ensure maintenance teams have the appropriate training, expertise, and access to technical documentation to perform the repairs effectively.
Perform Repairs or Replacements
Once resources are in place, conduct the necessary repairs or replace the faulty components. This may involve disassembling the equipment, removing damaged parts, installing new components, and reassembling the machinery.
Test and Verify Functionality
After completing repairs, test the equipment to ensure it functions correctly and efficiently. This may involve running diagnostic tests, monitoring performance indicators, or conducting a visual inspection to confirm that the issue has been resolved.
Document the Maintenance
Record the details of the breakdown maintenance, including the date, nature of the failure, actions taken, and any relevant observations. This documentation can help inform future maintenance decisions, track equipment performance over time, and identify recurring issues that may warrant a change in maintenance strategy.
Resume Operations
Once the equipment is confirmed to be functioning properly, reintegrate it into the production process or operations. Monitor the equipment closely for a period to ensure no further issues.
Remember that each organization and type of equipment may have unique requirements and procedures for breakdown maintenance. Always follow your organization’s guidelines and safety protocols when conducting maintenance tasks.
Create a Breakdown Maintenance Plan Using a Low-code Platform
If your organization is looking to streamline the breakdown maintenance process, it may be worthwhile to consider investing in a low-code platform. Low-code platforms are software development tools that let businesses create applications without manual coding. Organizations can develop custom maintenance programs and dashboards for tracking issues by leveraging such a platform.
DATAMYTE is a quality management platform with low-code capabilities. The DataMyte Digital Clipboard, in particular, is a low-code workflow automation software that features a checklist and smart form builder. This tool lets you create a comprehensive breakdown maintenance plan that you can use and share with your team.
To create a checklist or form template using DATAMYTE, follow these steps:
- Log in to the DATAMYTE software and navigate to the ‘Checklist’ module.
- Click “Create Checklist.”
- Add a title to your template; select the category where it belongs.
- Start adding items to the template by clicking “Add Item.”
- Define the description of each item, what type of answer it requires, and other relevant specifications (e.g., reference documents, acceptance criteria, limits).
- Assign a team member responsible for conducting the inspection using the template.
- Add signature fields for approvals (e.g., supervisors, quality assurance personnel).
- Save the template—you can now access it anywhere, and it will be available on any device.
DATAMYTE also lets you conduct layered process audits, a high-frequency evaluation of critical process steps, focusing on areas with the highest failure risk or non-compliance. Conducting LPA with DATAMYTE lets you effectively identify and correct potential defects before they become major quality issues.
With DATAMYTE, you have an all-in-one solution for creating and implementing a breakdown maintenance plan. Book a demo now to learn how DATAMYTE can help you streamline your organization’s maintenance process.
Conclusion
By utilizing breakdown maintenance, businesses can reduce the cost and complexity of emergency repairs and quickly restore operations after a malfunction. Breakdown maintenance is essential to any equipment maintenance strategy—it helps organizations proactively respond to unexpected failures and keep their systems running smoothly. With the right tools and technologies, such as DATAMYTE’s Digital Clipboard, organizations can effectively create a breakdown maintenance plan and ensure their equipment is serviced correctly. Get started today!
