Improve Asset Maintainability: Reliability and Cost Reduction

Maintainability refers to how easily and efficiently a system or equipment can be maintained or restored to its optimal operating state. It impacts operational performance, downtime, maintenance costs, and workplace safety.

The concern for maintainability begins during the asset specification and design phase. While engineering teams handle design for a short period, production and maintenance teams will manage the asset throughout its life cycle.

Early involvement of industrial maintenance professionals ensures better maintainability and fosters collaboration between engineering and maintenance.

Key Considerations for Equipment Specification

Manufacturers may follow global trends and regulatory standards, but not all features fit every situation. For better maintainability, consider:

• Easy access to components for maintenance and part replacement
• Safe removal of panels, doors, and modules
• Protection against risks such as heat, vibration, and moving parts
• Simple testing and inspection procedures

Why Corrective Maintenance Hurts Maintainability

Maintainability is directly related to the reliability of the equipment in operation, which is only acquired by defining a maintenance plan, establishing the best approach according to the criticality of each asset.

Reactive maintenance — waiting for equipment to fail — does not improve maintainability. Instead, preventive and predictive maintenance strategies reduce failures and allow planned interventions, minimizing downtime and resource waste.

In both cases maintainability is improved.

Documented Processes and Continuous Training

The importance of defining and documenting maintenance processes lies in the relevance of maintenance staff performing their activities well, both for reliability and for the total maintenance cost aspect.

Clear documentation and standardized procedures are essential for reliability and cost control. Benefits include:

• Organized manuals and diagrams for quick troubleshooting
• Accessible documentation to reduce downtime
• Standardized processes for consistent quality
• Recording lessons learned for continuous improvement
• Ongoing training using tools like One Point Lessons (OPL) for quick, visual learning

One Point Lessons (OPL) consists of few (20%) words and large (80%) representation by picture, graph, diagram of what and how to perform – or what and how not to perform – that particular task.

It can be used whenever an important message needs to be communicated and understood. Its purpose is to convey and ensure the best retention of learning, a simplified and timely form of training.

Boosting Equipment Availability

Availability depends on both reliability and maintainability. Predictive maintenance provides insights into asset health, anticipating failures and improving operational efficiency. Investing in predictive strategies is key to achieving higher reliability and maintainability.

Partner with Dynamox experts to enhance reliability and maintainability across your operations.