Preventive vs Reactive Maintenance

What’s the difference between reactive and preventive maintenance, and which strategy is best for you?

Written by: John de Robeck • Published: April 3, 2023 • Updated: March 10, 2026

In asset-intensive organisations and industries, keeping all equipment working in top condition is no small task. Carrying out the right type of maintenance at the right time is key to keeping assets working optimally and safely, reducing downtime from equipment breakdown. However, it’s also important to find the right maintenance strategy and frequency to keep your operations running efficiently without wasting time or money.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the two major maintenance strategies, preventive maintenance and reactive maintenance, and compare the pros and cons to help you decide which strategies are best for you.

What is reactive maintenance?

Reactive maintenance, also known as ‘run-to-failure’ maintenance, is a maintenance strategy where maintenance is carried out as soon as the asset breaks or fails. This maintenance should be completed as quickly as possible to get the equipment back in working order to continue normal business operations.

Pros of reactive maintenance

Cheap in the short term: The biggest advantage of reactive maintenance is that it is very cheap in the short term because there are no maintenance costs incurred until the failure happens. This can be beneficial for organisations on a tight budget, although the eventual repair may be costly.
Little administration necessary: With this maintenance strategy, there’s no need to plan or track equipment maintenance using a CMMS or equipment maintenance software.
Less labour required: Only carrying out repairs and maintenance when the asset breaks down means there’s no need to invest in personnel to maintain the asset while it’s operational. The only time that maintenance and repair staff are required is after a failure.
Ideal for non-critical assets: Reactive maintenance is well-suited to small and non-critical assets where a breakdown won’t impact business operations substantially.

Cons of reactive maintenance

Costly in the long term: While a reactive strategy for maintenance is extremely cost-effective in the short term while an asset is operational, it can quickly become expensive as soon as its condition deteriorates. Unexpected and major problems with the equipment can lead to more expensive repair costs than if the problem had been foreseen and prevented in advance.
Longer downtime reduces productivity: With reactive maintenance, it can take longer to fix the asset because of delays in troubleshooting and repair staff call-outs. This can lead to longer periods of downtime which are damaging to your business’ operations. Lower productivity and unhappy customers can result from this maintenance strategy.
Potentially unsafe: Waiting for equipment such as vehicles or machinery to break before inspection and repair can be less safe for the employees using it.

What is preventive maintenance?

In contrast to reactive, preventive maintenance (sometimes written as preventative maintenance) is where maintenance is carried out before an asset goes wrong. In theory, this proactive approach allows your organisation to avoid issues by nipping them in the bud, thus extending your assets’ lifespans and minimising downtime.

There are a few different types of preventive maintenance; each strategy uses a different factor to determine when maintenance should be carried out.

Types of preventive maintenance

Usage-based maintenance

This maintenance strategy is where maintenance is scheduled after a specified number of hours of use or number of units of work.

For example, a vehicle may undergo an oil change after every 4,000 miles, or a conveyor belt may be maintained after 5,000 hours of operation.

Time-based maintenance

Somewhat simpler than usage-based maintenance, time-based maintenance is a strategy where maintenance is performed at regular intervals. This preventive strategy is also sometimes called calendar-based maintenance.

For example, maintenance on a conveyor belt may occur once every six months, or air conditioning filters may be changed on the first day of every month.

Note: the key feature that differentiates usage-based and time-based maintenance is that usage-based maintenance is based on how much the asset is actually used, whereas time-based maintenance is always carried out after the same time interval regardless of how much the asset is used.

Predictive maintenance

A predictive strategy of maintenance uses asset data and usage information to predict when problems will occur and schedules maintenance before then.

For example, predictive maintenance may involve using sensors to track the temperature of a motor to identify potential issues in advance. Condition-monitoring is a more costly approach to maintenance as it requires more technology and labour, however, it can be a highly effective and proactive way to optimise maintenance.

Prescriptive maintenance

Similar to predictive maintenance, prescriptive maintenance seeks to anticipate when assets will require maintenance so schedules can be optimised. However, the key difference is that it goes a step further than predictive maintenance by collecting data about the asset’s condition and then using artificial intelligence (AI) to anticipate future maintenance needs.

For example, while predictive maintenance will monitor the temperature of a motor and alert you to future maintenance needs when it surpasses a particular temperature, indicating that it may break in the next few weeks, prescriptive maintenance means analysing all the temperature data to predict the asset’s lifespan and schedule maintenance accordingly.

While prescriptive maintenance is the most intelligent solution, it also requires the most data and the most technologically advanced tools to work effectively.

Pros of preventive maintenance

Reduces equipment downtime: By anticipating equipment maintenance and repair needs and handling these before an asset failure, preventive maintenance reduces unexpected downtime. This means organisations can avoid major disruptions that damage productivity and reduce customer satisfaction.
Minimises emergency repair costs: In the long run, it can be cheaper to carry out minor repairs frequently instead of waiting for a major equipment failure that is costly to fix. This makes budgeting easier as employing maintenance staff and purchasing replacement parts is more regular.
Can boost equipment lifespan: With an effective preventive maintenance schedule, your team can optimise asset use and keep equipment in great operational shape for longer. By boosting the assets’ lifespans, this helps you get the best value from assets.
Improves safety: Preventive maintenance reduces the risk of unexpected and potentially dangerous failure in asset-intensive organisations. With frequent inspections and repairs, you can ensure a safer working environment for employees who use the equipment.

Cons of preventive maintenance

Can be costly to carry out frequent maintenance: In the short term, preventive maintenance can seem like a costly or unnecessary expense, especially when carrying out non-critical repairs. However, the improved productivity and reduced risk of major breakdown is often seen to be worth this expense.
Possibility of over-maintaining equipment: With poorly planned preventive maintenance, there’s a risk of over-maintaining equipment, leading to unnecessary costs or downtime, or even in some cases causing damage to the asset. For this reason, it’s important that the preventive maintenance strategy finds the right balance.
Requires an effective system to track and schedule maintenance: Planning, scheduling, monitoring asset condition, creating work orders, and assigning maintenance tasks can make your equipment maintenance complicated and time-consuming. For this reason, it’s important to use a CMMS or maintenance software to streamline and ensure accuracy in all equipment maintenance.

Preventive vs reactive maintenance: Which is best for your organisation?

Both these strategies of equipment maintenance may have their appropriate uses within your operations. For example, for equipment that is not critical to your operations or is very cheap to repair or replace, reactive maintenance can be a great strategy. However, if your organisation also uses equipment or machinery that is essential to production, is very expensive, or if your industry requires greater health and safety compliance, preventive maintenance is a better strategy for these critical assets.

Moreover, the maintenance strategy you choose will also depend on other factors such as your production schedule, personnel availability, and the technology you have available for monitoring and implementing maintenance.

In short, your organisation may use just one method of equipment maintenance or you might use a mix of different strategies for different types of assets. The more complex your maintenance needs, the more useful maintenance software will be to your organisation.

To find out more about maintenance strategies for complex assets with multiple composite elements, read our guide to equipment maintenance for complex assets.

Maximise value from equipment using equipment maintenance software

Equipment maintenance software, sometimes referred to as a CMMS or Computerised Maintenance Management System, is essential for organisations looking to optimise and streamline maintenance. FMIS equipment maintenance software supports your maintenance strategies by:

Creating time-based or usage-based preventive maintenance schedules for individual assets
Defining the maintenance tasks to be performed
Planning parts to be used in maintenance and third party purchasing
Automatically generating work orders for maintenance jobs, and sequencing and packaging them
Managing the equipment lifecycle
Automating analysis of assets’ value and cost of repair
Providing visibility over the asset register by tracking usage, condition, location, and more using barcode and RFID tagging
Generating custom analytics reports on asset maintenance and use

… and much, much more.

As part of our full-featured asset management software, the equipment maintenance module can also integrate with your existing ERP and finance systems. To find out more about FMIS asset management and equipment maintenance software, book a demo today or get in touch with our expert team.

Try FMIS software today

For more information on how FMIS can help you effectively track and manage your assets and equipment, please get in touch with an FMIS consultant or call us on +44 (0) 1227 773003.