Plant Maintenance and its Types [Time and Condition Based]

Plant Maintenance

For smooth functioning of a plant it is deemed necessary that all the machines should be in working condition and should be safe to operate. To cater this objective necessity of Plant Maintenance arises.

Plant Maintenance deals with Time based and Condition based maintenance.

What is Time and Condition based Maintenance ???

Time based Maintenance is done on a routine basis. It is done on a particular time interval. For e.g. Planned Maintenance

Condition based maintenance is based on condition of machine. For e.g. Breakdown Maintenance

Types of Plant Maintenance

Plant maintenance can be broadly classified in Breakdown maintenance and planned maintenance. We will discuss both the types and sub-types in detail.

1. Breakdown Maintenance

Breakdown maintenance is performed when a machine part brakes down suddenly. Which results in a breakdown. Performing this kind of maintenance is called Breakdown Maintenance.

2. Planned Maintenance

Planned maintenance is performed before the actual failure of Machine. In Planned maintenance we try to avoid any machine failure and subsequent losses.

Types of Planned maintenance

There are basically four types of Planned Maintenance i.e. Preventive, Predictive, Corrective and Shutdown Maintenance. Here we will discuss each type in detail.

• Preventive Maintenance

Preventive maintenance is maintenance that is regularly performed on a piece of equipment to lessen the likelihood of it failing. Preventive maintenance is performed while the equipment is still working, so that it does not break down unexpectedly.

• Predictive Maintenance

Predictive maintenance techniques are designed to help determine the condition of in-service equipment in order to predict when maintenance should be performed. This approach promises cost savings over routine or time-based preventive maintenance, because tasks are performed only when warranted.

• Corrective Maintenance

Corrective maintenance is a maintenance task performed to identify, isolate, and rectify a fault so that the failed equipment, machine, or system can be restored to an operational condition within the tolerances or limits established for in-service operations.

• Shutdown Maintenance

Shutdown maintenance is performed while equipment is not in use. Shutting down machinery can be costly, but sometimes due to the nature of the defective part/machine, shutdown maintenance is the only viable maintenance procedure.