At MaintenX, we often emphasize the benefits of preventative maintenance to help our customers see why they need these services for their facilities. Preventative care may seem like an unnecessary expense until it is neglected, and your facility equipment suffers for it. However, we also understand the benefits of reactive maintenance strategies for certain pieces of equipment, and how to utilize this run-to-fail method in our overall maintenance service.
While reactive maintenance can help you save money on some facility equipment maintenance, many technicians make mistakes when using this strategy. Below are five things to never do when implementing run-to-fail maintenance at your commercial facility:
Using run-to-fail on critical equipment
Reactive maintenance is typically most appropriate for equipment that is not stable and non-essential, such as lighting or hardscape. You don’t need to plan to change light fixtures until they go out, or repair exterior structures until they become damaged if they’re not essential to your facility’s functioning. However, it’s unwise to allow your HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or roofing systems to fail because when they do, they’ll cause serious disruptions at your facility.
Allowing equipment to fail over and over
Run-to-fail maintenance can be used for new equipment that doesn’t experience problems often, or for periodic repairs that don’t occur often. However, if a piece of equipment is having the same issue over and over, you need to implement a preventative maintenance strategy to address it and save money on repeated service.
Using run-to-fail maintenance throughout a system’s service life
Run-to-fail maintenance is best utilized for newer pieces of equipment where preventative care is not needed. However, as your system ages, it will need more frequent service to ensure it runs properly. This can help extend your system’s service life rather than retiring early due to excess repair work.
Not having a plan in place for when the equipment fails
If you’re going to run a reactive maintenance program, you need to be prepared when breakdowns occur. If your maintenance strategy is non-existent, you will end up paying the price in after-hours service calls, expensive emergency repairs, and repeat maintenance.
Using run-to-fail without a maintenance team in place
If you have no one to call when a reactive repair is needed, then you don’t really have a strategy at all. It can take hours for a service technician to reach your facility in the event of an emergency, especially if you are a new customer. If you want your reactive maintenance plan to work, you need a reliable team in place to take the call.
MaintenX can help you incorporate reactive maintenance strategies into your overall maintenance plan to reduce costs and improve your overall facility function. To learn more about our reactive and preventative maintenance services, give us a call today!
