Preventive maintenance is an important part of facilities management. The goal of a successful preventive maintenance program is to establish consistent practices designed to improve the performance and safety of the equipment at your property.

Moreover, the planned maintenance of equipment will help to improve equipment life and avoid any unplanned maintenance activity. A successful preventive maintenance program is dependent on the cooperation of all the parties involved. Engineering managers must rely on the knowledge, ideas, and contributions of all the maintenance personnel at the property.

Unfortunately, the implementation of a preventive maintenance program can be time consuming and costly. This creates constant debate as to whether a preventive maintenance program is worth installing. Will all the man hours and money invested in the program outweigh emergency repairs? From our years of experience, we at Obmac Field Services Ltd believe that when the program is properly operated the benefits exceed the costs.

There is no doubt that major oil & gas companies operating in Nigeria are currently adopting the reactive maintenance strategies that goes by the “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” motto, a strategy that can sometimes save money short term but often ends up costing even more in the long run. Preventive maintenance, on the other hand, is a carefully designed maintenance program (often using CMMS software) where maintenance tasks are performed routinely in order to avoid larger, costly fixes down the line.

Here at Obmac Field Services Ltd we have recognized the benefits of preventive maintenance and have developed an innovative cost efficient strategy that will enable our client adopt the preventive maintenance strategy for ongoing equipment upkeep. Here is a look at 7 reasons why preventive maintenance is a much better alternative to reactive maintenance.

Cost Savings

Companies that rely solely on reactive maintenance are essentially waiting for a problem to happen, and this can often be a very costly move. Unplanned downtime can result in idle employees, halting the production line, missed deadlines.

An unexpected failure can also mean having to pay technicians overtime and having to pay out extra money for overnight delivery of parts. A preventive maintenance program is meant to avoid these problems through long-term maintenance tasks that are planned for using CMMS software.

Improved Safety

When equipment isn’t working in optimal condition, it creates many hazards, unsafe working conditions and even emergency situations where workers are injured. Preventive maintenance improves the safety of equipment and therefore the safety of company workers resulting in fewer on the job injuries and accidents.

Increased Equipment Efficiency

Obmac Field Services Ltd can help plan routine maintenance such as inspections, oil and fluid changes, part replacements and more. These little fixes can help equipment to run much more efficiently. In turn, a company will benefit from fuel and energy savings because equipment will be running at peak performance.

Decreased Equipment Downtime

While almost all maintenance tasks require some equipment downtime, a preventive maintenance program can decrease and optimize that downtime. For example, a company doesn’t experience unexpected downtime as much as if they were to rely solely on reactive maintenance. Companies can also use Obmac strategy to pre-plan maintenance tasks at optimal times so the downtime experienced is less troublesome. Decreasing equipment downtime is a benefit that saves time in maintenance and day-to-day operations.

Improved Reliability

Preventive maintenance can also help a company to be a more reliable business partner. Customers can count on a company to deliver products, materials, or service on time, without unnecessary delays. A resort with broken air conditioning will not succeed for long. By always offering a reliable product or service, a company can enhance its customer service and improve its reputation.

Conservation of Assets

Most equipment these days is certainly not cheap, but the better a company cares for its equipment, the longer it will last. Preventive maintenance will prolong the life of equipment so a company can get more hours out the equipment, resulting in reduced costs and increased profit.