One of the main pillars of computerized maintenance management software (CMMS) and enterprise asset management (EAM) is scheduling preventive maintenance. It helps ensure assets are operating at peak performance and efficiency as often as possible, saving you money and time you’d otherwise spend repairing them. In fact, preventive maintenance has a whole range of benefits — which is what we’re going to dive into in this article.
Repair, Don’t Replace
Think of assets like you would your body — if your knee is making a weird clicking noise, you probably go to the doctor to get it checked out before it becomes something worse. This is preventive maintenance on the human asset, and the same concept applies to your business’ physical assets. Preventive maintenance helps you repair assets as they need small tune-ups rather than replacing them outright.
Better Savings and ROI
These piecemeal repairs save you money in the long run, which brings us to our next benefit. First of all, repairing small parts of an asset is likely much 
cheaper than buying a new one. But you’ll save nickels and dimes in other areas too. For example, preventive maintenance significantly decreases asset downtime. If an asset isn’t operational, it’s not making you money, so this has a bigger impact than you might initially expect.
The scheduling features of preventive maintenance software let you schedule the technicians you need when you need them, preventing both over- and under-scheduling. The routine maintenance also prevents the need for emergency repairs that call in every worker, saving you money and your workers stress.
Extended Asset Lifetimes
Not only does preventive maintenance reduce asset downtime, it also extends the lifetime of your assets. Repairing them frequently reduces strain and stress that result in early break-down, so preventive maintenance helps you get the most out of every asset. You can also perform predictive maintenance, where you replace single parts when they are near failure according to historical data, to extend asset lifespans.
You also reduce the risk of catastrophic failure by performing routine preventive maintenance tasks. For example: an aging hose that pumps fluid into a machine that ruptures due to inadequate maintenance not only makes a mess, it also can pose a danger to employees and damage equipment permanently.
Lower Carbon Footprint
Want to save money and save the planet? Preventive maintenance software can help with that too. More efficient assets often use less power or fuel as they perform at their peak, lowering your organization’s carbon footprint. Most CMMS systems also offer facility management features that help you manage HVAC, energy usage and other tasks that impact the greenness of your business. Preventive maintenance on ventilation ducts or aging facilities can improve the operation of your facility in addition to making it more planet-friendly.
Better Safety
You know what’s not safe? Equipment that breaks down unexpectedly. Preventive maintenance helps maintain a safe environment and compliance with regulations regarding site safety. This keeps your workers safe and your organization protected from litigation due to hazardous work environments. A good preventive maintenance routine can even reduce your insurance payments!
Forecasting/Planning
When you track your assets closely through asset management, you will have a better understanding of their overall health. Most organizations make 
predictions about asset lifecycle when they procure new assets, but preventive maintenance tracking helps you make more accurate predictions through data. Let’s say you guessed your asset would last three years, but it actually ended up lasting five because of routine care. Next time you purchase a similar asset, you can estimate how long it will really last. The more times you repeat this process, the more accurate your predictions will become.
These are just some of the many benefits that preventive maintenance software can offer your organization. Get in touch with us to learn about how you can implement a CMMS software system and start reaping the benefits of preventive maintenance today!
April 9th, 2019 | Bergen Adair for FacilityONE Technologies
