The Strategy That Costs More Than It Saves
“Run it till it breaks” sounds economical. No unnecessary maintenance, no wasted parts, maximum utilization. But this reactive strategy carries hidden costs that far exceed any perceived savings.
The Visible Costs of Failure
- Emergency repair labor (often at overtime rates)
- Expedited spare parts (premium pricing)
- Production losses during downtime
- Quality issues from abrupt stops/starts
The Hidden Costs Nobody Tracks
- Collateral Damage: A failed bearing often damages the shaft, housing, and connected components.
- Safety Risk: Unexpected failures can injure workers or cause environmental incidents.
- Customer Impact: Missed deliveries damage relationships and reputation.
- Team Stress: Constant emergencies burn out your best people.
- Shortened Asset Life: Equipment run to failure ages faster than properly maintained equipment.
The Math
Studies consistently show that reactive maintenance costs 3-5x more than planned maintenance over an asset’s lifetime. A Rs.50,000 bearing replacement done proactively costs Rs.50,000. The same bearing replaced after failure costs Rs.1.5-2.5 lakhs when you include all consequences.
The Better Way
Predictive maintenance gives you the best of both worlds: you run equipment until it actually needs attention (unlike time-based PM), but you catch issues before they cause failure (unlike run-to-failure). AI makes this practical and affordable.
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