Preventive maintenance can follow a time-based approach, a usage-based approach, or a combination of the two. Let’s look at examples of each.
Time-based Preventive Maintenance
Time-based preventive maintenance goes by a variety of names, a main one being "calendar-based" maintenance. No matter which term your department uses, this approach involves setting up a preventive maintenance schedule to perform regular inspections on pieces of equipment, especially those that would have a severe impact on production in the event of a breakdown.
Time-based preventive maintenance is best used for bounded assets (such as fire/safety equipment) and critical assets (such as HVAC systems and pumps), though facility managers can use this approach for any asset that requires preventive maintenance. Here are a few examples to illustrate.
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“Inspect parking lot for cracks once a month”
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“Change air handling unit filters every three months”
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“Inspect water heaters semi-annually”
Usage-based Preventive Maintenance
Usage-based maintenance, also called “runtime maintenance,” is an approach that triggers maintenance after a certain amount of asset runtime (such as every “X” amount of kilometers, miles, hours or production cycles).

Usage-based preventive maintenance makes sure that equipment continues to operate as the manufacturer intended. Unlike time-based maintenance, which occurs on a more rigid schedule, usage-based maintenance occurs as often as an asset needs it, whether it’s every month or every six months — whichever comes first. Check out these examples of usage-based preventive maintenance.
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“Inspect belts every 100 hours of production”
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“Service motor vehicles every 5,000 miles”
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“Lubricate pumps every 10,000 run-hours”