In the previous stages of the maintenance pyramid, maintenance tended to be centered on individual parts or assemblies - a defect in a machine is imminent or occurs - maintenance responds to the individual event.
If maintenance is approached strategically, one looks at overall systems, an entire production, or a complete portfolio of machines in the field. This is also where the domain of "as-a-service" concepts begins: If a company operates machines at a customer's site and supplies the customer with the output of these machines, a strategic approach is unavoidable. If one enters a service contract to supply a certain quantity of parts, it makes much sense to use the experience gained on one machine to optimize all other machines before the same defect occurs on them.
Reliability Based Maintenance aims to ensure the reliability of a complete machine park. For this, in addition to the real-time sensor data of the entire machine park, current data on all machines is required at all times - the operator must know exactly which machine has which status.
If a defect occurs, an analysis is made of which "sister machines" with the same components exist and how likely it is that the same defect will occur on these machines. In addition, a new component is developed that avoids this defect.
Thus, it may happen that components are updated on several machines that are perfectly fine but have been identified as a threat to reliability.
Since this is not necessarily useful from a business point of view, Financially Optimized Maintenance applies the technology of Predictive Maintenance to the entire machine fleet. In other words, the sister machines are identified, but they are not simply replaced; instead, the components of these machines are put under closer observation, so to speak. If the values begin to drift as expected, the component can be replaced by its improved version.
Digitalization is changing maintenance: Instead of repairing or stubbornly replacing parts at specific points in time, sensors, data analytics and other technologies enable machines or entire machine fleets to operate with maximum efficiency and reliability.
This requires increasingly complex and far-reaching holistic IT tools as complexity increases. More and more data is being integrated and used in the process. Documentation, spare parts catalog, CAD data and other electronic information provide the overall picture of a machine or machine park that is necessary to approach the topic of maintenance in an equally holistic manner.
Our innovative service information system Quanos SIS.one provides you with the tools you need to align your maintenance strategies for the future.
Now you know what Strategic Maintenance is all about. But would you like to take another look at the previous levels of the maintenance pyramid?
Read here what Operational Maintenance (Reactive Maintenance and Preventive Maintenance) and Tactical Maintenance are all about.
