Maintenance Strategy
A maintenance strategy is the selected combination of preventive, condition-based, predictive, corrective, and run-to-failure actions used to manage asset risk.
What this term means in maintenance
A maintenance strategy is the selected combination of preventive, condition-based, predictive, corrective, and run-to-failure actions used to manage asset risk.
Common maintenance strategies
An asset may use:
- Time-based maintenance
- Meter-based maintenance
- Condition-based maintenance
- Predictive maintenance
- Failure-finding
- Planned corrective work
- Run-to-failure
- Redesign
- Standby or redundancy
Practical example
A critical pump uses vibration monitoring, monthly inspection, meter-based lubrication, critical spares, and root cause analysis after significant failure.
How strategy is selected
Selection should consider:
- Required function
- Failure modes
- Consequences
- Detectability
- Asset criticality
- Operating context
- Cost
- Available technology
- Regulatory requirements
Strategy review
Strategies should change when equipment duty, failure history, design, or business needs change.
Common mistake
Choosing one strategy for an entire asset without considering different failure modes can leave risks uncontrolled.
Related concepts
Related maintenance terms
Keep exploring connected CMMS, reliability, and maintenance planning terms.
Reliability-Centered Maintenance
Reliability-Centered Maintenance, or RCM, is a structured method for selecting maintenance and risk-control tasks based on asset functions, failure modes, consequences, and technically effective actions.
Risk-Based Maintenance
Risk-based maintenance prioritizes maintenance decisions according to the likelihood and consequence of equipment failure.
Preventive Maintenance Program
A preventive maintenance program is the controlled set of maintenance plans, tasks, frequencies, resources, standards, and review processes used to reduce avoidable failure.
Glossary FAQs
- What is a maintenance strategy?
The selected combination of actions used to manage asset failure risk.
- Can one asset use several strategies?
Yes. Different failure modes may require different maintenance approaches.
- When should strategy be reviewed?
When duty, history, design, risk, business need, or technology changes.