Curative maintenance: definition and role
Curative maintenance applies when a machine or installation breaks down and is in very poor condition. In this case, the equipment needs to be partially or completely replaced. It comes into play after unsuccessful corrective and preventive measures have been put in place, and involves replacing broken parts or even the whole system.
Curative maintenance covers a fairly broad field, as it can apply to minor work (replacing part of the system) or major work (changing the whole system).
Generally, this type of maintenance entails a complete and prolonged shutdown of activity, which can cause heavy losses for the company.
What are the benefits?
Although considered a reactive approach, curative maintenance has certain advantages.
It can be less expensive in the short term, as maintenance actions are only carried out in the event of an actual breakdown or failure.
It also enables flexibility in resource management:as maintenance actions are only required in the event of failure, resources can be allocated more flexibly and adjusted according to actual needs.
Moreover, its implementation is simple as it does not require rigorous planning and monitoring. It can be rapidly adapted to operational needs and constraints.
Finally, curative maintenance enables prioritizing maintenance actions by focusing on the most critical equipment.
Equans Digital, your partner for equipment maintenance
Our teams have real expertise in planning, implementing and managing maintenance activities.
First, we analyze datafrom your equipment, assess potential risks and identify areas requiring special attention. Next, we develop programs associated with this analysis, determining necessary maintenance tasks, appropriate intervals and monitoring methods. Finally, we plan and coordinate the maintenance-related tasks to be performed and monitor the equipment's performance.
With a view to continuous improvement, our experts identify optimization opportunities for your company, and can also train operators in good corrective maintenance practices.
What are the curative maintenance operations?
Failing, especially over the long term, leads to an emergency situation for teams, and there are two types of operation to remedy this:
This responds to a temporary solution. This operation saves time and provides better control over future expenses during the repair.
This is a definitive maintenance operation. It aims to restore the repaired machine to its original performance.
CMMS and corrective maintenance
Ideally, it's essential that maintenance isn't just curative.
A CMMS solution will simplify the achievement of a maintenance department's objective, which is, above all, to avoid breakdowns and reduce corrective maintenance to a minimum. It is also useful for corrective maintenance operations. Thanks to traceability and the history of interventions, technicians are aware of the follow-up and behavior of equipment, which saves them time during any maintenance operation.
Procedures can also be integrated into the CMMS, whether they are simple or complex. In the latter case, it will be very useful to be able to consult the data sheet and the procedure to be followed.
Which type of maintenance should you choose?
An analysis of your needs is necessary in order to choose wisely between the right maintenance to implement, to optimize the breakdown management of your machines.
Preventive, curative, predictive maintenance... The choice of appropriate maintenance depends on the objectives set by the company (cost reduction, asset availability and durability ...) but also on the technical capacity available(automated intervention, remote intervention, CMMS software...).
The former focuses on resolving the failure immediately to restore normal operation, while corrective maintenance goes beyond simple repair by seeking to identify and correct the root causes of problems in order to prevent recurrences.
The former aims to prevent breakdowns and keep equipment running smoothly, while the latter focuses on repairing equipment after a breakdown.