A maintenance programme is compulsory for the working of a company. Most of these programmes use a combination of predictive maintenance and preventive maintenance. A simple yet accurate predictive maintenance definition would be the system used to predict a maintenance requirement as the name aptly suggests. Preventive maintenance on the other hand involves such maintenances which would prevent any kind of problems. Both have the same target, however, the approach and requirements in both cases are quite different. PDM has widespread use of artificial intelligence (also referred to as Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) in German) in machine learning, and well-integrated IOT devices to detect the condition of the machinery in an industry.
How are both of them different?
- Schedule – One of the key differentiating aspects of the two types of maintenance is the timing of their operation. Preventive maintenance involves inspection and maintenance of components in machinery irrespective of whether they require any maintenance or not. This is generally based on the amount of usage or the amount of time the particular component or machinery has been used. For instance, the servicing of a heater before every winter or a car’s scheduled maintenance after it has been driven for a pre-specified amount of time. On the other hand, predictive maintenance uses artificial intelligence (AI or KI) and machine learning to keep a track of the current condition of the components or machinery it is tracking. It collects data from the various sensors and devices to find out working patterns and provides suitable information to the owners to decide on whether to go for maintenance or not depending on the situation.
- Capital investment – Preventive maintenance does not require any monitoring of conditions unlike PDM. For this reason, PDM has to invest some capital on the component of condition Capital has also to be invested on the training of personnel so that the results of the PDM could be accurately interpreted. For instance, the individuals who analyse vibration patterns must be trained to do so otherwise they would not be able to find out exactly what the patterns refer to. Since these are elements which are not required in preventive maintenance, that system could very well ignore the investment of capital on training, education and necessary equipment.
- Determining factors – Preventive maintenance is based on the average lifespan of an asset or its components. PDM on the other hand is determined on the basis of pre-specified conditions of various components or machinery used in an industry. The information of this sort is gathered by the use of various IOT devices, Big Data and other technologies which continually keep on increasing the efficiency of these devices.
Conclusion:
PDM has various advantages over its counterpart. The owners just need to ensure that they use the right combination of the two types of maintenance. This would ensure the limitation in expenditure on maintenance, however, ensure an efficient analysis. Those who are in charge of the maintenance systems in the company should keep in mind the time required to design and implement a schedule for PDM. With proper planning, training and interpretation of data, the owners would definitely reap the benefits of investing in PDM.