Implementing the Right Preventative Action

Implementing the Right Preventative Action

There are two instances when you should implement preventative action. First, once a failure occurs and you would like to avoid similar future failures. Second, before a failure occurs, yet an undesired failure mechanism is likely to occur.

Like corrective action there is a wide range of possible preventative actions. The selection of the right actions requires considering customer expectations, business and legal factors, along with the technical and economic feasibility.

Types of Preventative Action

Preventative actions by their definition are done on equipment that has not yet failed. The system may be actively operating, temporarily taken off line, or in a quiescent period.

There are many types of actions including:

• Testing
• Measurements
• Adjustments
• Parts replacement
• Cleaning
• Alignment

These actions may be scheduled or done with each use. Scheduling may be by calendar time, or by operation milestones (hours of operation for example)

Customer Expectations Concerning Preventative Action

The level of understanding concerning maintenance for a product varies both by customer and by type of…