Time-Based vs. Usage-Based Maintenance: Stop Guessing and Start Counting

We have all been there. It is Tuesday morning, and the schedule says it is time to change the oil on Conveyor Belt 3.

Mike (the Maintenance Manager) prints the work order. Tom (the Technician) gathers his tools, shuts down the line, and opens the gearbox.

But when Tom looks inside, the oil is pristine.

Why? Because Conveyor Belt 3 was turned off for two weeks while the team waited for raw materials.

According to the calendar, it was time for maintenance. According to the machine, it was a total waste of time, money, and oil.

This is the fundamental flaw of Time-Based Maintenance. It assumes machines wear out based on the rotation of the earth.

But machines don't care what day it is. They care how many cycles they have run.

What is Usage-Based Maintenance?

Usage-Based Maintenance (or Meter-Based Maintenance) is a strategy where maintenance tasks are triggered by the actual utilization of the asset.

Instead of "Every 3 Months," the trigger becomes "Every 500 Operating Hours" or "Every 10,000 Cycles." This aligns the maintenance action with the actual degradation of the equipment.

It is the same logic as your car. You don't change your car's oil "every January." You change it "every 5,000 miles."

Why do we treat million-dollar factory assets with less sophistication than a Honda Civic?

The Problem: The "Manual Entry" Trap

Most Maintenance Managers understand this concept. They want to switch to usage-based triggers.

But in legacy CMMS platforms, this is a logistical nightmare.

To make it work, someone has to walk to every machine every day. They have to read the odometer or cycle counter. Then they have to walk back to the office and type that number into the software.

If they forget, or type it wrong, the maintenance schedule fails. Because the data entry is so heavy, most teams give up and go back to the calendar.

The Solution: Automating the Trigger

Fabrico eliminates the manual data entry entirely. We treat the machine as the source of truth, not the calendar.

Here is how the Fabrico Workflow changes the game:

1. The Connection: We connect to your PLC or IoT Gateway via our Unified Data Intelligence layer.

2. The Count: Fabrico reads the "Run Signal" or "Cycle Count" tag in real-time.

3. The Logic: You set a threshold in the Fabrico system (e.g., "Trigger Inspection at 1,000 Hours").

4. The Action: The moment the machine hits hour 1,001, Fabrico automatically generates the Work Order and notifies Tom's tablet.

No clipboards. No data entry. No guessing.

The Financial Impact: Saving Spares and Labor

Switching from Calendar to Usage doesn't just save time. It saves hard cash.

1. Reduced MRO Inventory Costs:
If you change a filter every month, but the machine only ran at 50% capacity, you just threw away a filter that had 50% of its life left.

Usage-based maintenance ensures you consume spare parts only when they are fully depreciated.

2. Increased Availability (OEE):
Every unnecessary PM requires a planned shutdown.

If you eliminate 20% of your PMs because the machine didn't run enough to trigger them, you just gave Production 20% more uptime.

Comparison: The Evolution of The Trigger

See the difference between the old way and the Fabrico way.

Conclusion: Listen to Your Machines

Your machines are trying to tell you when they need help.

Time-based maintenance is like wearing noise-canceling headphones. You are ignoring the reality of the production floor in favor of a rigid schedule.

Fabrico takes the headphones off. By connecting your maintenance schedule directly to your machine's heartbeat, you stop wasting labor on healthy machines and start focusing on the ones that actually need you.

Stop fixing what isn't broken.

Ready to automate your maintenance triggers?

Let us show you how easy it is to connect your machines to your maintenance plan.
Book a Demo with Fabrico Today