Predictive Maintenance Explained 

Predictive Maintenance is an upkeep strategy that involves using data analysis tools and techniques to detect anomalies and predict equipment failures before they occur, ensuring timely maintenance. This approach helps minimize downtime, reduces maintenance costs, and extends the lifespan of machinery.

Gain More with Predictive Maintenance

Assessing the Return of Investment (ROI) on Predictive Maintenance without a deeper understanding of the business domain, problem space, and necessary solutions may be challenging. Thus, there are a lot of differences between the companies, the environment they operate in, and their circumstances.

A well-implemented predictive maintenance program can significantly enhance ROI by enabling remote monitoring and data analysis.

To assess the ROI of Predictive Maintenance every company must conduct this exercise on their own because only then can they provide relevant information that can be further used to make decisions. Now, let’s discuss some examples and areas you should consider when assessing the investment.

How the Costs Play Out 

The first thing to consider is the cost structure of the Predictive Maintenance strategy. The costs can be divided into one-time costs (hardware replacement, installations, training, building maintenance platform, etc.) and recurring costs such as energy and computation power use for new solutions, labor, and management costs. 

A computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) can centralize maintenance management and leverage real-time data to optimize resource allocation and reduce costs.

In general, the cost of Predictive Maintenance may sometimes be overwhelming as there are many things to consider and the costs of building and maintaining the AI-based predictive strategy can be significantly higher than the high-level costs of reactive or scheduled preventive maintenance. Thankfully, to assess the ROI we are not only looking at the cost, but also the gain, which is the utmost benefit in Predictive Maintenance.

Calculate your Gain 

To calculate the gain of ROI for Predictive Maintenance the company must assess its current state and calculate the expected results, such as a reduction in unplanned machine downtime, an increase in maintenance staff productivity, and a reduction in upkeep costs.

Monitoring critical assets can provide valuable insights into the health of machinery, leading to significant economic benefits.

According to a survey “Readiness for Predictive Maintenance at scale report 2023“ conducted by Senseye and published by Siemens AG among 174 large manufacturing and industrial businesses the benefits of the predictive strategy projects can be enormous. Some reported by the customers’ outcomes were:

  1. Up to 85% improvement in downtime forecasting accuracy.
  2. Up to 50% reduction in unplanned machine downtime.
  3. Up to 55% increase in maintenance staff productivity.
  4. Up to 40% reduction in maintenance costs.

Final Thoughts

Predictive Maintenance, a game-changer in contemporary maintenance strategies, is increasingly being adopted by companies aiming to enhance operational efficiency and asset longevity. Implementing predictive maintenance requires a well-trained maintenance team and a robust predictive maintenance solution, system, and technology to perform proactive maintenance tasks and reduce reactive maintenance, unplanned downtime, and maintenance costs, ultimately leading to reduced downtime and improved operational efficiency. 

By leveraging advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and IoT, this proactive approach allows businesses to anticipate and address equipment issues before they escalate into costly failures.

The benefits are substantial, ranging from reduced downtimes and extended machinery lifespan to significant cost savings and improved safety compliance. However, the implementation of Predictive Maintenance does come with notable initial costs. Despite this, the long-term gains – both financial and operational – typically outweigh the initial investment, making Predictive Maintenance a compelling option for forward-thinking companies.

Of course, a company wanting to implement it into their maintenance strategy must make the necessary assessments first to make sure Predictive Maintenance is the right choice for them.

Want to find out what your ROI on Predictive Maintenance will be? Contact us at stxnext.com, and we’ll assess that for you during a call.