What type of maintenance involves addressing problems only after they occur?

Reactive maintenance is a type of maintenance that focuses on responding to problems or failures only after they have occurred. This approach is often characterized by fixing issues as they arise, without any prior planning or anticipation of failures. Reactive maintenance can lead to unplanned downtime, which might disrupt operations and increase costs due to emergency repairs, loss of productivity, or damage to equipment.

In contrast, predictive maintenance involves anticipating potential failures based on data and trends to fix problems before they arise. Preventive maintenance is the routine upkeep performed to prevent equipment failures and extend the lifecycle of assets through scheduled servicing and inspections. Scheduled maintenance is the planned maintenance work that is carried out on a predetermined schedule, typically to ensure systems remain operational.

Focusing on reactive maintenance clearly highlights the importance of a proactive maintenance strategy to minimize unforeseen breakdowns and maintain efficiency. Understanding these different maintenance types can significantly influence how an organization approaches its maintenance strategy, impacting overall performance and reliability.