Make 2023 the Year of Reliability-Centered Maintenance

The end of the year is a cathartic time. Not only does it present an opportunity to reflect on the past 12 months; it’s also a chance to think about the future in a proactive way. For manufacturers, it’s an opportunity to take a look around the factory and ask one simple question: “How can we make next year even better?” The answer, for many, revolves around embracing reliability-centered maintenance — and there’s no better time than the end of the year to start exploring opportunities.

What is reliability-centered maintenance?

Maintenance and reliability have always been cornerstones of a well-functioning factory, and they’re preceded by a mindset of continuous improvement and proactive action. For many manufacturers, the new year is a time to rededicate efforts to improve reliability by taking better care of equipment on the factory floor. As we look ahead toward 2023, many manufacturers are committing to reliability-centered maintenance.

This process focuses on making machine maintenance as efficient, cost effective, and safe as possible. By recognizing that different assets require different types of maintenance — from high-tech monitoring to run-to-failure methods — reliability-centered maintenance helps producers find the best possible strategy for every machine on the factory floor. And for most, the best approach is a preventive one.

Improving reliability in 2023

There are several critical ways manufacturers can prioritize reliability-centered maintenance in the new year. A little proactive action can make all the difference in keeping production lines running efficiently throughout the year. Here’s how to start:

• Participate in failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) to understand failures. By understanding all possible failures — and their root causes — producers can make more informed decisions to plan mitigation tasks that will enable them to detect failures early or avoid them completely.
• Invest in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and real-time monitoring. Embrace IIoT technologies to predict equipment health and maintenance needs well before breakdowns and downtime damage your bottom line.
• Create a preventive maintenance schedule. Examine an asset’s maintenance and repair history to discover key breakdown patterns. Then, develop a preventive maintenance schedule and take proactive measures between breakdowns.
• Create maintenance standard operating procedures (SOPs) and train against them. Craft detailed documents that explicitly define best practices and quality standards when it comes to asset maintenance. Train against them, not only to protect equipment but also to promote safety across the factory floor.
• Renew partnerships with trusted partners. Not all maintenance is best tackled in-house. By relying on a reputable maintenance service partner, especially for preventive maintenance, manufacturers can protect assets throughout the year.

Creating peace of mind in the new year

Reliability on the factory floor demands a mindset rooted in prevention. By investing in technologies and training, manufacturers can develop a culture of proactive maintenance and accountability. This investment not only protects valuable machines and equipment, but also maximizes product quality and employee safety.