What is routine maintenance?

Routine maintenance refers to any maintenance task that is done on a planned and ongoing basis to identify and prevent problems before they result in equipment failure.

Some common routine maintenance includes regular inspections or service work. These can be carried out on a time-based schedule or on a usage-based schedule.

Routine maintenance tasks are usually fairly straightforward. They typically do not require specialized maintenance training, skills, or equipment to complete. Because of that, routine maintenance can be carried out by staff outside of the maintenance department, such as machine operators.

Examples of routine maintenance

Typical examples of routine maintenance include:

  • Lubricating, cleaning, or adjusting machinery
  • Inspecting equipment to ensure proper operation and safety
  • Replacing parts that show deterioration
  • Checking, testing, and maintaining safety equipment, such as safety barriers, fire extinguishers, or alarm systems
  • Checking for and replacing damaged signage or utilities, like light bulbs
  • General workplace maintenance, such as cleaning floors, replacing HVAC filters, and washing windows, trash removal, and landscaping

Advantages of routine maintenance

There are several advantages to performing routine maintenance at your facility.

  • Routine maintenance can decrease downtime and lengthen the lifespan of equipment when used in conjunction with a well-planned preventive maintenance program.
  • Regular routine maintenance can reduce the need for reactive maintenance.
  • Routine maintenance helps assets and equipment working in optimal conditions, leading to fewer failures, better productivity, higher profitability, and improved safety.

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Summary

Routine maintenance is a straightforward and easy-to-implement method of improving overall maintenance. Most importantly, having a regular routine maintenance system in place frees up organizations so they can focus on implementing more sophisticated maintenance strategies, such as preventive and predictive maintenance.

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