Preventive vs Corrective Maintenance
Preventive maintenance is planned work carried out at set intervals or conditions to keep equipment running and prevent failures. Corrective maintenance is work carried out after a fault is found, to restore equipment to working order. Most organizations need both, but shifting the balance toward preventive work usually reduces unplanned downtime and emergency costs.
Key differences
| Preventive maintenance (PM) | Corrective maintenance (CM) | |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Calendar, usage or condition | A detected fault or failure |
| Planning | Scheduled in advance | Raised as a work request, then prioritized |
| Impact on operations | Planned, short interruptions | Often unplanned downtime |
| Cost profile | Predictable labor and parts | Can include emergency purchases and overtime |
| Typical KPIs | PM compliance, due PM failures, PM cost | Downtime, MTTR, repair cost, failures per equipment |
How to balance preventive and corrective work
- Build a complete asset register and classify assets by criticality.
- Create PM plans for critical assets first, based on manufacturer guidance and your failure history.
- Route every fault through a work request so corrective work is recorded.
- Review failures per equipment and repair versus PM effort regularly.
- Adjust PM frequency where failures repeat, and reduce it where it adds no value.
Tracking PM and CM in Steady OMS
Steady OMS schedules preventive maintenance, tracks the PM performance meter and due PM failures, and handles corrective work through work requests and work orders. Its benchmarking view compares repair activity with PM effort, and its cost management KPIs separate repair cost from PM cost.
Related reading: MTBF and MTTR explained · Maintenance for industrial operations
Frequently asked questions
Is preventive maintenance always cheaper?
Not always. Over-maintaining low-risk assets wastes labor and parts. The goal is to apply preventive maintenance where failure is costly or unsafe, and accept planned corrective work where it is not.
What is a “due PM failure”?
It refers to preventive maintenance that was due but not completed successfully. Tracking it shows where PM plans are not being followed.
Talk to Steady Solutions
Tell us about your sites, assets and processes, and our team will show you how Steady OMS, ERP or HIS fits your organization. You can also contact us directly or call +966 55 337 0220.