Corrective Maintenance: A Guide to Enhancing Asset Reliability

Corrective maintenance is essential for keeping your assets in optimal working condition by fixing any detected issues. Tasks involved in corrective maintenance can be either planned or unplanned. Here’s what you need to know about this critical aspect of asset management.

What is Corrective Maintenance?

Corrective maintenance refers to activities that fix faults in machinery or equipment, restoring them to proper working order. It encompasses both planned maintenance and unplanned maintenance.

Scenarios for Corrective Maintenance

Corrective maintenance is triggered under three main conditions:

1. A problem is detected through condition monitoring.
2. Routine inspections identify potential faults.
3. Equipment unexpectedly breaks down.

Types of Corrective Maintenance

Corrective maintenance tasks are categorized into two types: planned and unplanned.

Planned Corrective Maintenance

Planned corrective maintenance is structured and anticipated through:

1. Run-to-Failure Strategy: Allows non-critical assets to operate until they fail, then repairs or replacements are performed. This is typically used for assets with redundancies or those easy to repair.
2. As Part of Preventive Maintenance: Detecting issues via inspections or condition monitoring enables planning and scheduling repairs before failures occur.

Unplanned Corrective Maintenance

Unplanned corrective maintenance occurs when:

1. An unexpected breakdown occurs between scheduled maintenance intervals.
2. Assets fail suddenly due to the absence of a preventive maintenance plan.

Examples of Corrective Maintenance

Planned Scenarios

1. Fan Replacement: Using a run-to-failure approach, a fan operates until it fails and is promptly replaced due to its minimal impact on operations.
2. Bearing Replacement: Detecting faulty bearings during a conveyor system inspection and replacing them prevents potential failure.

Unplanned Scenarios

1. Compressor Breakdown: A compressor fails unexpectedly before its scheduled maintenance, necessitating immediate repairs.
2. Forklift Repairs: In the absence of scheduled maintenance, a forklift breakdown leads to urgent, unplanned corrective actions.

When to Use Corrective Maintenance

Corrective maintenance is beneficial when:

• Potential faults are identified during preventive maintenance.
• Condition monitoring detects anomalies signaling possible failures.
• Non-critical assets run to failure without serious consequences.
• Safety is not compromised, and several redundancies are in place.

Enhance Maintenance with CMMS

Utilizing a CMMS can efficiently manage maintenance tasks. It ensures timely corrective measures, minimizes downtime, and maintains a high level of asset performance.

By preparing for corrective maintenance needs, such as ensuring the availability of necessary parts and training staff, organizations can focus on improving planned maintenance and reducing the frequency and impact of unplanned corrective actions.