Maintenance is required by all whether it’s human beings or machines and in the case of manufacturing companies this task of maintenance is even more complex and that is the reason why companies have maintenance policies and methods in place. Breakdown maintenance is one of the methods of maintenance in which the asset or machinery is allowed to break down and then only the company takes steps to repair or do maintenance of the asset. In order to understand this concept better one should look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of breakdown maintenance –
Advantages of Breakdown Maintenance
Cost Saving due to Breakdown Maintenance
The first and foremost advantage of breakdown maintenance is that it leads to cost-saving for the company because when the company goes for maintenance activity than it has to pay to the people doing maintenance and if the asset is in working condition then that maintenance activity is merely a formality as there is no use of doing maintenance if the machine is running properly.
Time Saving
It leads to saving of time because when the company does regular maintenance than it leads to stoppage of machines for which maintenance activity is being done and if the production of the company is dependent on that machine then it will lead to waste of time for both workers as well as company which in turn will lead to decrease in the efficiency of the workers.
Distraction
When a company does regular maintenance then it not only stop the work of the machine on which the maintenance is done but it also distracts other machines, as well as workers, and hence breakdown maintenance, has this merit of not distracting the work of others as this maintenance is done only when the machine breakdowns.
Disadvantages of Breakdown Maintenance
Breakdown Maintenance leads to Stoppage of Work
The biggest disadvantage of breakdown maintenance is that it leads to sudden stoppage of the work because since under this method of maintenance there is no planned maintenance the machine can breakdown any time and if it breakdowns during high demand period then it can create a big problem for the company as it takes time to repair the machine which has broken down. In simple words, if we do not take health insurance and we get seriously ill then it will be a big financial burden as there is no health insurance in case of companies planned maintenance is like health insurance which ensures that the company does not suffer financial loss due to sudden breakdown of the machine.
Lack of Safety
Another problem with breakdown maintenance is that it not only leads to sudden breakdown of machines but also poses risks to the safety of the workers doing work on such machines and companies who do not pay attention to the safety of their workers will not get the respect and patronage of their workers which in the long run can be a big problem as no company can run efficiently and effectively without its workers.
Dent to Image of Company
While breakdown maintenance saves company money and time but when the machine breakdowns suddenly and the company is not able to complete its order due to sudden breakdown then it will dent the image or goodwill of the company as in the business world companies prefer those people or companies who complete the orders on time and due to company following breakdown maintenance policy the chances of company’s image taking a hit are more due to sudden breakdown of machines.
As one can see from the above that breakdown maintenance has advantages as well as disadvantages and that is the reason why any company thinking of adopting this strategy should carefully read above points and then only should take any decision.