A Risk-Based Maintenance (RBM) approach determines the most economical use of maintenance resources with the end goal of minimizing any risk of failure. Assets that have a greater risk and consequence of failure are maintained and monitored more frequently while assets that carry a lower risk are subjected to less stringent maintenance monitoring.
The first step of RBM is to identify your high-risk assets and plot them into a simple risk matrix:
The second step involves developing a maintenance strategy, focusing on the orange area in the risk matrix as those assets make up the highest risk of lost productivity and safety if they fail.
Risk-Based Maintenance is important because:
- It identifies problems before they happen, which will minimize downtime because maintenance can be planned
- When maintenance is planned, you can avoid ‘reactive maintenance’ which has many overhead costs, more equipment downtime, higher costs for parts and shipping, and more time lost responding and diagnosing the equipment.
- Safety improves because equipment brakes down less
- Risk-Based Maintenance extends the useful lifecycle of assets
- Contributes positively to the reputation of companies because the negative impact of an equipment failure is far-reaching down the supply chain
Unplanned downtime is a silent killer. Market benchmarks indicate that unplanned maintenance typically costs three to five times more than when it is planned.
Adopting a Risk-Based Maintenance approach provides a systematic approach to determine the most appropriate asset maintenance plan which when implemented will minimize the risk of asset failure. Avoiding asset failure will have a positive effect on the ROI of your assets, safety, avoiding unplanned downtime, reputation, and your bottom line.
FAQs
Risk-based maintenance is a strategy that prioritizes maintenance activities based on the likelihood and impact of equipment failure. Assets with higher risk receive more frequent monitoring and servicing, while lower-risk assets are maintained less often to optimize resources and reduce unnecessary work.
It is important because it reduces unplanned downtime, lowers maintenance costs, and improves operational reliability. By focusing on high-risk assets, companies can prevent failures that would otherwise cause major disruptions, safety issues, and financial losses.
It improves safety by identifying and addressing potential equipment failures before they occur. This reduces the chances of sudden breakdowns that could lead to accidents or hazardous conditions. It also improves reliability by ensuring critical equipment stays operational for longer periods.
Preventive maintenance follows fixed schedules regardless of equipment condition, while risk-based maintenance uses risk assessment to decide what needs attention and when. This makes risk-based maintenance more targeted and cost-efficient.
Industries that rely on critical or expensive equipment benefit the most, such as manufacturing, oil and gas, construction, utilities, and heavy infrastructure. These sectors face high costs from downtime and therefore gain significant value from risk-based prioritization.
