What Are the 4 Types of Maintenance?

A Comprehensive Guide for Reliable Operations

Maintenance teams today face a simple but demanding expectation: equipment must work when it’s needed. No excuses, no delays. Whether you’re running a factory line, a cold storage facility, or a fleet of specialized machinery, one unexpected failure can disrupt schedules, increase costs, and create stress across the entire operation.

This is why understanding the four main maintenance approaches—Preventive, Corrective, Predictive, and Condition-Based—matters more than ever. Each one plays a different role in keeping operations stable, and the real value comes from knowing when to use which approach.

In the following guide, you’ll find clear explanations, practical examples, and insights into how a CMMS like Repairist brings all these strategies together, helping maintenance teams stay organized, proactive, and confident in their day-to-day decisions.

1. Preventive Maintenance: The Foundation of Proactive Operations

Preventive maintenance (PM) is the most widely adopted maintenance strategy. It involves planned, scheduled tasks designed to prevent failures before they occur. These tasks can be time-based (e.g., every 30 days) or usage-based (e.g., after 500 operating hours).

Why Preventive Maintenance Matters

• Enables predictable maintenance cycles
• Reduces emergency breakdowns
• Ensures regulatory compliance
• Helps maintain consistent production output

Typical Preventive Maintenance Activities

• Lubricating machinery
• Replacing filters
• Inspecting belts, pulleys, or bearings
• Cleaning critical components
• Function and safety checks

2. Corrective Maintenance: A Necessary but Costly Approach

Corrective maintenance (CM) is performed after a failure has occurred. Although it is often seen as reactive and expensive, it still has a place in a balanced maintenance strategy, especially for non-critical or low-cost assets.

Two Forms of Corrective Maintenance

Unplanned Corrective Maintenance

Triggered by unexpected breakdowns that interrupt production and require immediate attention.

Planned Corrective Maintenance

Performed when an issue is known in advance but scheduled at a convenient time (e.g., minor wear that is safe to postpone).

Benefits

• Simple to implement
• Economical for assets with low failure risk
• Avoids unnecessary maintenance tasks

Risks and Hidden Costs

• Production downtime
• Overtime labor
• Higher repair costs
• Inconsistent asset reliability

3. Predictive Maintenance: Data-Driven Reliability Management

Predictive maintenance (PdM) goes beyond schedules—it uses real-time data, sensors, and analytics to identify potential failures before they occur. Unlike preventive maintenance, which relies on fixed intervals, predictive maintenance relies on asset condition trends.

Common Predictive Maintenance Technologies

• Vibration analysis
• Infrared thermography
• Acoustic sensors
• Ultrasonic monitoring
• Oil analysis
• Energy consumption monitoring

These techniques reveal patterns that indicate early-stage failures.

Key Benefits of Predictive Maintenance

• Minimizes unplanned downtime
• Reduces replacement and spare part costs
• Extends asset lifecycle
• Improves operational reliability

Challenges of Predictive Maintenance

• Requires investment in IoT and sensors
• Needs skilled interpretation of data
• More complex implementation

4. Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM): Flexible and Efficient

Condition-based maintenance sits between preventive and predictive maintenance. It monitors equipment conditions and triggers maintenance only when specific parameters go out of the acceptable range.

Examples of CBM Indicators

• Temperature spikes
• Pressure deviations
• Unusual noise levels
• Oil quality changes
• Unexpected vibration values

When CBM Makes Sense

• For assets that do not require frequent preventive tasks
• When equipment condition is easy to measure
• For facilities wanting to reduce unnecessary maintenance labor

How to Choose the Right Maintenance Strategy for Your Facility

Each maintenance type has strengths and limitations. The ideal solution is a hybrid approach, tailored to asset criticality.

High-criticality assets

Predictive or condition-based maintenance

Medium-criticality assets

Preventive maintenance

Low-criticality assets

Corrective maintenance, supported by periodic visual checks

Understanding the four types of maintenance empowers organizations to design smarter strategies, reduce operational risks, and build high-performing maintenance teams. Whether you rely on preventive schedules, condition-based monitoring, or advanced predictive analytics, a powerful CMMS like Repairist ensures that every maintenance activity is controlled, traceable, and optimized.

Next Steps

Have you received sufficient information about “What Are the 4 Types of Maintenance?” 

repairist is here to help you. We answer your questions about the Maintenance Management System and provide information about the main features and benefits of the software. We help you access the repairist demo  and even get a free trial.

Aybit Technology Inc.

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