What Is Routine Maintenance? Exploring the Key to Equipment Longevity

Routine maintenance refers to a set of regularly performed maintenance activities. Routine maintenance activities are essentially the performance of regular maintenance, which may include inspections or machine servicing. These activities can be done daily, weekly, monthly or yearly, depending on the machine in question and its requirements for upkeep.

In addition, some are simple maintenance tasks and can be performed by non-technical specialists, saving organisations and teams a lot of time and resources. The ultimate goal of routine maintenance is to ensure that systems are kept updated and functioning optimally.

In short, routine maintenance is a proactive approach to maintaining machinery, equipment and assets within a manufacturing, production or industrial environment

Most routine maintenance activities are carried out as part of a predefined workflow process. Before a work order is created for a maintenance technician or a member of the maintenance crew, the process begins with the following steps:

1. Select an asset: A piece of equipment or a machine is selected by a manager of a maintenance department, which forms a part of the organisation's standard maintenance process. 
2. Determine if the selected asset needs routine maintenance: The maintenance manager will consult with the machine’s manual or other documentation and determine whether the asset requires routine maintenance. 
3. Pick a time interval for maintenance: If a machine does need routine maintenance, a time interval is established for when maintenance activities should be performed. 
4. Schedule routine maintenance: Finally, the maintenance manager will schedule routine maintenance by creating a work order and assigning it to a relevant team member to carry out at a fixed date. This ensures that no emergency breakdowns occur that could lead to costly downtime, which are common features of reactive maintenance or emergency maintenance. Such routine inspections are critical for overall equipment performance.

It is important to note that if an asset does not require routine maintenance, such maintenance is simply not scheduled. The maintenance manager will make a careful decision and will not schedule a work order for that asset.

Repairs and maintenance of machines are an ongoing process. While repairs involve a lot more detailed work, maintenance is a comparatively simpler process that involves carrying out routine tasks that may include activities such as:

• Conducting equipment inspections to verify proper functionality and safety.
• Inspecting and renewing damaged signage or utilities, such as light bulbs.
• Verifying, testing and upkeeping safety equipment, including safety barriers, fire extinguishers or alarm systems.
• Applying lubrication, cleaning or making adjustments to machinery.
• Substituting deteriorated parts with new ones.
• Undertaking general workplace upkeep, such as floor cleaning, HVAC filter replacement, window washing and waste disposal.

By following a routine maintenance checklist, scheduling work orders for the right assets at the right time and carrying out routine maintenance, maintenance teams can ensure greater benefits for their organisation. Among the advantages of routine maintenance are:

• Minimising downtime: Idle time in manufacturing can put production processes under pressure and lead to lower outputs and productivity. However, routine maintenance addresses this issue proactively and helps to minimise downtime.
• Fostering fewer failures: When machines operate at optimal capacity and are maintained on a regular basis, their longevity and lifespan increase. In addition, this leads to fewer equipment failures, resulting in more streamlined operations and production processes.
• Increasing productivity and profitability: Routine maintenance is an overall strategy that can increase organisational productivity and profitability due to well-functioning equipment, smooth production lines and processes and timely and quality outputs manufactured.
• Diminishing the necessity for reactive maintenance: Organisational efficiency is boosted when routine maintenance steps in. Through it, the reliance on reactive maintenance is greatly reduced, meaning that reactive maintenance efforts are kept to a minimum.
• Elevating safety standards: When machines and equipment operate well, there are fewer chances of asset malfunctions that could cause potential safety hazards for teams that operate the machines.
• Saving costs: When implementing scheduled maintenance, routine maintenance tasks can save organisations a lot of money. This ranges from costs associated with lower downtime, replacing or repairing costly equipment, costs related to managing maintenance teams, etc.

The benefits of a CMMS system (computerised maintenance management system) cannot be overstated for organisational efficiency in the equipment and machinery management department. Industrial operations benefit greatly from routine maintenance and routine maintenance, in turn, greatly benefits from a CMMS. The latter streamlines processes through efficient work order allocation and routine maintenance scheduling that helps teams create a smoothly functioning production environment.

Looking for the right solution to streamline your routine maintenance operations? Fabrico’s CMMS is the right answer. Explore our solution in more detail and discover why it’s the perfect fit to meet your organisation’s asset management needs

Implementing and optimising your routine maintenance strategies should be a priority for your team and organisation.

And this can be achieved when you transition to more advanced maintenance work and strategies through software while upholding the foundations of routine maintenance.

With Fabrico’s maintenance software helping you achieve these goals, streamlining your production processes through optimally functioning equipment and machines can become a reality.

What is the difference between routine maintenance and periodic maintenance?

Routine maintenance focuses on servicing and inspecting machines on a regular basis, while periodic maintenance, or time-based maintenance, is carried out at predetermined intervals.

What is the difference between routine and preventive maintenance?

Whereas teams that perform routine maintenance often take small steps and actions to ensure that machines operate smoothly, preventive maintenance or preventative maintenance involves the element of forecasting potential issues in the future and addressing them before they arise.

What are routine repairs?

Routine repairs are repairs that are carried out as part of basic maintenance tasks, which restore a piece of equipment to a good working condition. These repairs are generally carried out proactively at predetermined time intervals.