Asset downtime costs organisations and the country millions each year, either directly or indirectly in lost productivity. However, much of it can be avoided with preventive maintenance – proactive care designed to keep assets running efficiently and safely.
SFG20, the UK industry standard for building maintenance since 1990, has long championed building safety. This guide leverages our expertise to explain what preventive maintenance is, why it matters and how to implement it effectively so your facilities stay safe, reliable and productive.
Preventive Maintenance is a strategy used to maintain equipment, machinery and facilities. The strategy is designed to prolong the life of business assets,
infrastructure, resources and equipment.
Rather than addressing issues after they arise (known as Reactive Maintenance), Preventive maintenance uses regularly scheduled inspections, servicing and maintenance activities to help prevent unexpected breakdowns and costly repairs.
The main purpose of preventive maintenance is to ensure that assets remain in the best possible working condition, minimising the risk of unexpected failures and subsequent downtime, which can have operational consequences for a business.
Preventive maintenance also helps businesses to:
This approach puts companies in control of their maintenance activities, rather than working on a continual reactive basis.
At SFG20, we advocate for a blended approach of maintenance strategies including Preventive Maintenance. To create a balanced maintenance strategy, it’s important to blend different maintenance approaches based upon the risks associated with each asset type and its availability.
Preventive maintenance typically involves the following main approaches:
Regular preventive maintenance ensures that equipment and systems operate reliably, efficiently and safely.
By proactively maintaining assets and addressing small issues before they become major problems, organisations can reduce downtime, lower repair costs and extend the life of their assets.
The following tasks are commonly included in preventive maintenance programs:
In some cases, more extensive servicing or repairs (known as corrective maintenance) may be required if this is identified during regular preventive maintenance tasks.
This can involve the repair, heavy reconditioning, or replacement of certain parts.
At a broader level, preventive maintenance encompasses the maintenance of the physical facility that supports various electrical and mechanical systems.
This includes tasks such as ensuring that HVAC systems and electrical systems are functioning properly and in compliance with regulations.
Preventive maintenance doesn’t just keep your assets in optimal condition.
By regularly testing and servicing equipment in line with the latest legislation, you can help to keep your organisation compliant and in turn ensure the safety of those who use your buildings.
Properly maintained assets are less prone to malfunctions that could pose risks to workers or users.
All of these risks can be avoided by understanding your assets, using the right Facility Management (FM) software tools and following industry recognised standards such as SFG20.
Preventive maintenance ensures that all assets – from systems to individual assets – operate at peak efficiency.
Regular monitoring and upkeep not only helps assets reach and often exceed, its intended lifecycle but also maintains optimal performance standards.
This proactive approach significantly reduces costly emergency repairs. By extending the life of your assets, you minimise frequent replacement expenses and avoid large, unexpected expenditures when vital equipment fails.
Many factors contribute to business success, but productivity is one of the most powerful.
To maximise outputs, profits, and growth potential, you must take proactive steps to prevent equipment downtime.
Frequent breakdowns don’t just halt operations: they damage productivity and increase costs, which could harm your reputation.
Implementing a preventive maintenance strategy ensures that equipment and systems are regularly serviced and performing at their best.
In fact, studies show that preventive maintenance can reduce unplanned equipment downtime, helping businesses stay productive, profitable and competitive.
Poorly maintained or faulty electrical and mechanical assets don’t just risk downtime: they can also consume significantly more energy than systems operating at peak efficiency.
By implementing preventive maintenance and efficient scheduling, your organisation can identify and resolve issues early, optimising performance and reducing unnecessary energy waste.
Lower energy consumption not only reduces operational costs but also strengthens your sustainability credentials, enhances brand reputation, and opens new opportunities with environmentally conscious partners and customers.
Reactive maintenance and the downtime it causes can be extremely costly.
Depending on the organisation and its outputs, running systems and equipment to the point of failure can be more expensive compared to performing regular upkeep. This is not only because of the premium costs for emergency labour and rush-ordered parts, but also due to lost productivity and disruption.
In contrast, studies from the U.S. Department of Energy show that preventive maintenance programs can reduce overall maintenance costs by 12–18% compared to reactive approaches.
By investing time and resources into preventive maintenance, organisations minimise unplanned breakdowns and extend the lifespan of critical assets, which can result in cost savings.
Implementing a comprehensive preventive maintenance (PM) program often requires additional resources such as increased staffing requirements and greater time allocation for maintenance procedures.
There's a delicate balance to strike in PM programs.
Over-maintenance relates to unnecessary wear and tear of assets and can occur when resources are allocated to prevent every conceivable problem, maintenance is performed more frequently than necessary, or focus is placed on issues that pose minimal threat to operations.
The initial costs associated with PM may be daunting, particularly for smaller businesses.
Expenses to consider include purchasing specialised equipment, implementing new systems, providing staff training and setting up maintenance management software.
To wrap up, Preventive Maintenance aims to address potential issues before they escalate into major problems and is an essential investment in the longevity, efficiency and compliance of your assets.
Understanding the principles of preventive maintenance is just the beginning: without a clear grasp of your compliance responsibilities, it’s likely that you won’t get very far.
It’s SFG20’s mission to help you maintain compliance and in turn sustain the safety of your buildings.
That’s why we’ve created an Ultimate Guide To Compliance to help you understand your responsibilities in the clearest way possible and make compliance easier and more manageable.