Reactive maintenance, often called “post-failure repair,” is a maintenance strategy where the equipment is only repaired when it fails. Unlike preventive or predictive maintenance, the reactive approach does not require regular inspections or planning, making it a simpler and cheaper solution at first glance. However, in the long run, this approach may not be economically or operationally sustainable.

Reactive maintenance has its place in most companies, but it is important to combine it appropriately with other maintenance strategies to ensure smooth operations and minimise losses.

How does reactive maintenance work?

Reactive maintenance is based on the principle of waiting for the failure. In practice, this means that maintenance and repairs start only after the equipment has failed. The process involves several key steps:

1. Failure detection and reporting: Notification of the responsible person or department about the problem.
2. Diagnosis: Identifying the cause of the failure and the extent of the damage.
3. Ensuring the availability of spare parts: If not immediately available, this can increase repair time and cause downtime.
4. Repair or replacement: The actual maintenance of the damaged component or of the entire device.

This approach is often applied to expendable equipment, the failure of which does not have an immediate impact on the overall operation of the business.

Advantages of reactive maintenance

Reactive maintenance has several advantages that may be particularly attractive for smaller companies or lower priority equipment:

• Lower start-up costs: There is no need for complicated planning or regular inspections.
• Easy to implement: This approach does not require a robust maintenance system or specialised software.
• Efficient use of resources: Working time and financial resources are allocated only to the maintenance of equipment that fails.

Disadvantages of reactive maintenance

Although reactive maintenance has several advantages, it also carries significant risks and long-term costs:

• Higher overall costs: Unexpected repairs can be more costly than regular preventive maintenance.
• Long downtime: Failure of critical equipment can cause unplanned downtime and losses.
• Loss of productivity: Critical failures can have a domino effect and affect the overall business operations.

When is reactive maintenance appropriate?

Reactive maintenance is not ideal for all situations, but it is justified in certain cases:

• Inexpensive equipment: For inexpensive or easily replaceable components.
• Expendable equipment: When the failure is not critical to the overall operation of the business.
• Unexpected breakdowns: Reactive maintenance can serve as a complement to other types of maintenance in dealing with emergencies.

Combining reactive maintenance with other strategies

Modern industrial plants usually combine reactive, preventive and predictive maintenance. This combination brings several key benefits:

• Cost optimization: Preventive maintenance is focused on critical equipment, while reactive maintenance is applied where it makes sense.
• Higher reliability: Predictive maintenance uses data to analyse and predict potential failures, minimizing downtime.
• Flexibility: The combined approach allows companies to respond to different situations efficiently and without unnecessary losses.

Conclusion

Reactive maintenance can be a useful tool in certain situations, but it is not advisable to use it as the only strategy. The right combination of reactive, preventive and predictive maintenance can help minimise costs, maximise productivity and keep the business running smoothly in the long run.

If you want to find out how to effectively combine different maintenance strategies in your operations, we will be happy to share our experience and help you find the best solution!