With economic uncertainty levels reaching an all-time high, it is necessary to find creative and resilient ways to reduce budgets while boosting the bottom line.

Preventive maintenance is often one of the most tempting to trim, however, doing so could end up costing a business significantly more in the long term, says power management company Eaton South Africa business development manager Jaco Richards.

“Preventive maintenance is often considered an unnecessary operational expenditure that incurs significant costs. Many businesses choose to focus on emergency maintenance when the need arises, rather than investing in ways to avoid them.”

While emergency maintenance seems to be common practice in certain businesses, preventive maintenance can save both time and money. Preventive maintenance avoids expensive downtime and ensures that operations run smoothly.

“Lessons learned should be shared. Therefore, it is important to distinguish that implementing preventive maintenanceis not about fixing problems that already exist, but rather focusing on preventing them from happening at all, or early detection at the least before they cause an actual fault,” explains Richards.

Good maintenance proves its worth on a day-to-day basis, and preventive maintenance can help keep costs down in a number of ways.

Preventive maintenance can reduce unplanned equipment downtime, which is not just frustrating, but also extremely expensive. Every time equipment breaks down, it causes interruptions in business processes and production. This results in money loss and wasted time. Emergency repairs may also be delayed if parts or technicians are not immediately available.

“In many ways, preventive maintenance increases operational efficiency. With a preventive maintenance regime in place, equipment is always running in optimal condition. This means that it uses less energy and other fuel sources, reducing running costs and the businesses impact on the environment.”