Written by Industrial Stores Staff 09/05/2022
Whether proactive or reactive, the machine maintenance approach you take will determine your business’s efficiency and productivity.
Proactive maintenance is key to having the essential systems and equipment in your organization working optimally.
For example, it ensures your HVAC system supplies your employees and clients with adequate ventilation and thermal comfort. Having a well-organized spare parts inventory also ensures downtime is reduced by enabling fast repairs and replacements.
Proactively managing your spare parts inventory will also spare you the pressure that comes with reacting to inevitable breakdowns. Other benefits of keeping a proactive spare parts inventory include:
Here’s a table that highlights the main differences between proactive and reactive maintenance approaches.
Proactive maintenance involves extending the lifespan of equipment by avoiding the root causes of failure. It involves continuously monitoring a facility’s systems and equipment and performing routine maintenance.
The proactive maintenance approach encourages pre-planning, which involves keeping the equipment in the best condition and having spare parts ready for times of trouble.
A reactive maintenance approach, on the other hand, works on a “fix-when-broken” basis. With this approach, a piece of equipment or system fails, and it is only then that repairs or maintenance are done.
Proactive maintenance is the best choice if you want to stay on top of your machine maintenance. That said, it's almost impossible to spend 100% of your time and resources on it. However, you’ll experience multiple benefits by striving for 75% proactive vs. 25% reactive maintenance.
Below, we’ll discuss the five practical reasons why you should adopt a proactive spare parts inventory rather than take a reactive approach.
Proactive spare part management ensures your maintenance team has the parts they need in order to perform repairs quickly and efficiently.
Having spare parts ready will help to reduce downtime and ensure that your business processes are not halted for long. In turn, this impacts overall productivity as normal business operations don’t come to a standstill while you try to acquire the needed parts and authorize repairs.
For instance, if the air filters of your HVAC system are clogged, they’ll reduce airflow, cause a foul smell, and make the temperature uncomfortable for your staff and customers. Having spare filters at hand hastens the replacement process and ensures that maximum company profitability is achieved.
Furthermore, proactive maintenance involves checking the health of your equipment routinely to prevent unwarranted disruptions. It also allows you to determine which spare parts are most important to have on hand.
You’ll also prevent delays in the repair and maintenance of equipment that occur as you search for the right spare parts. Ordering spare parts ahead of time ensures you can test whether they are the correct ones before unplanned outages.
Preventive maintenance involves scheduled equipment maintenance performed through routine checks and updates. It allows you time to come up with possible solutions to problems that may result in equipment failure.
Preventive maintenance results in multiple benefits, including:
Predictive maintenance, on the other hand, involves automatically and continuously monitoring equipment to detect anomalies that could lead to problems. For example, routinely checking your HVAC system filters gives you an idea of when to change the parts before you have a full-blown problem.
Relying on reactive maintenance means that you won’t be adequately prepared for failures—and components can fail at the most inconvenient times. However, you can spare yourself and your customers such inconveniences by employing a proactive maintenance strategy.
Identifying the root causes of equipment failure and having spare parts on standby will prolong the life of your equipment and serve as a high-value ROI.
Proactive maintenance helps you avoid complete machine breakdowns, which are costly and inefficient.
Even worse, there’s always a chance for greater damage when one component fails. For instance, failure to replace your HVAC belts on time may result in outrageous energy bills and expensive repair costs.
It could also make the system inefficient and increase the risk of complete system failure.
Purchasing spare belts before a breakdown will allow you enough time to shop around and compare prices so you can get the best deal. Unfortunately, the urgency that comes with a breakdown makes it tempting to buy the parts from a tech who, without a doubt, marks up the price.
Performing proactive maintenance will also save you money in the following ways:
Additionally, well-organized proactive spare parts management will help you avoid purchasing excess inventory, which leads to high carrying, maintenance, and storage costs.
With a good spare parts inventory, you can confidently treat your equipment to routine maintenance so as to keep it in optimal condition and increase its lifespan.
This is also a form of preventive maintenance that allows you to address issues before they cause a machine to crash. It prevents the deterioration of the machinery and reduces the risk of failure.
Effective spare parts management also allows you to rotate parts to ensure they’re operating at full capacity. It is, however, important for spare parts to be stored and maintained properly to increase their shelf life and prevent defects.
Proactive maintenance also ensures the durability of your equipment by addressing the root causes of problems early on.
Are you a contractor, technician, or homeowner looking to increase your spare parts inventory in order to facilitate proactive machine maintenance?
Industrial Stores can help. We have a huge collection of high-quality parts for all the essential systems in your business. These include parts for your heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electrical, refrigeration, and plumbing systems.
Our staff are friendly, professional, and knowledgeable about the best parts for various machines and equipment. We also boast reduced prices and fast delivery times, which our customers have praised us for again and again:
"I just wanted to thank you for your extremely quick shipping."
- Janet Wartschow
"I have the part where it was here early AM- THANKS SO MUCH."
- Teresa Browder
Get in touch to request a quote from our comprehensive inventory. For more personalized service, create a profile here. Either way, we'll work hard to ensure your parts are delivered to you within 24 hours after you’ve placed your order.
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