Preventive maintenance is an important part of facilities management. The goal of a successful preventive maintenance program is to establish consistent practices designed to improve the performance and safety of the equipment and facilities.

Moreover, the planned maintenance of equipment will help to improve equipment life and avoid any unplanned maintenance activity. A successful preventive maintenance program is dependent on the cooperation of all the parties involved. Engineering managers must rely on the knowledge, ideas, and contributions of all the maintenance personnel at the property.

Unfortunately, the implementation of a preventive maintenance program can be time consuming and costly. This creates constant debate as to whether a preventive maintenance program is worth installing. Will all the man hours and money invested in the program outweigh emergency repairs? From our years of experience, we believe that when the program is properly operated the benefits exceed the costs.

In the past the ideology was, "If it's not broke don't fix it". Nowadays the phrase has changed to, "If it's not broken, lets keep it that way".

Here is a list of some benefits of instituting preventive maintenance program in the oil and gas industry

• By implementing a preventive maintenance program machines will work at full efficiency creating profitable uptime, while reducing downtime.
• Reduces the chances of complete machine breakdowns. Problems are recognized earlier with a preventive maintenance plan.
• Reduces downtime to locate and replace missing parts. If a part needs to be replaced it may take a few days to receive. Parts can be ordered before an unexpected failure happens
• Preventive maintenance will reduce the possibility of unnecessary repairs.
• May reduce insurance rates since well maintained machines are much safer.
• Timely, routine repairs circumvent fewer large-scale repairs
• Improved safety and quality conditions for everyone
• Reduces late deliveries that may occur due to downed machinery

There are many reasons why it is important to implement a preventive maintenance program and over time the program will pay for itself. Don't wait until the entire machine goes down and money is lost while it is out of commission. Prevent major catastrophes by stopping the problem before it starts.