Preventive maintenance (PM) can be illustrated by looking at the way individuals maintain their cars. Many arrange for undercoating the car with rust proofing, change the oil per instructions in the manual, and get regular tune-ups in an attempt to prevent breakdowns. Thus Preventive Maintenance can be defined as a philosophy based on action to keep equipment in operating condition by means of inspection, detection, and prevention of failure.
Preventive maintenance divides into two categories: scheduled maintenance and monitored maintenance. Scheduled maintenance is set to a certain time period such as hours of operation, number of shifts, or service period (days, weeks, or months). Monitored maintenance is a method of testing to determine when maintenance is needed. The method may be visual observation or statistical process control (SPC). In SPC, control charts are used to warn of a possible failure before it occurs. (Senyo B-S. K. Adjibolosoo, 1995)
Starting a PM Program:
Two basic approaches used to start a preventive maintenance program are "top-down, company-wide" and "pilot."
Top-down, company-wide programs are difficult to implement, especially if there is lack of top management support, potential culture shock, or other risk. Top management may be unenthusiastic about PM, because it perceives additional out-of-pocket costs with unsure payoffs or benefits.
Management understandably may hesitate to change the procedures of an entire plant on the basis of unproven methods. Culture shock is an issue when a maintenance philosophy used since the operation began is replaced with something new. The risks inherent in changing to a PM program can be alleviated by starting the program as a pilot project. The pilot project can be undertaken by department or type of equipment. As successes occur, benefits are reaped, and enthusiasm is generated, the program can be expanded to other areas. Selecting the most obvious trouble area.......
