What is the difference between reactive, preventive, and predictive maintenance?
Reactive maintenance fixes equipment after it fails. Preventive maintenance services equipment on a fixed time or usage schedule to prevent failure. Predictive maintenance uses condition monitoring to act only when data shows a developing fault. Mature plants run mostly planned work, blending preventive and predictive on critical assets and minimising reactive.
These three strategies describe when maintenance happens relative to failure. Most plants use a mix, and the goal is not to eliminate any one of them but to shift the balance away from expensive reactive work toward planned preventive and predictive work on the assets that matter.
| Dimension | Reactive | Preventive | Predictive |
|---|---|---|---|
| When work happens | After failure | On a fixed schedule | When condition data signals a developing fault |
| Cost per job | Highest (emergency) | Moderate | Lower, work done just in time |
| Production risk | High, unplanned stops | Low if compliant | Low, with early warning |
| Best used for | Truly run-to-failure, low-criticality assets | Predictable wear, well-understood intervals | Critical assets with detectable failure modes |
| Main risk | Expensive surprises | Over-maintaining or slipping compliance | Collecting data nobody acts on |
The aim is to move work left to right where it pays: minimise reactive, right-size preventive, and apply predictive to critical assets with detectable failure modes. The reactive percentage is the scoreboard.
Frequently asked questions
Is predictive maintenance always better than preventive?
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