Maintaining the production capability of an organization is an important function in any production system. To this end, preventive maintenance is widely used by many organizations. The goal of preventive maintenance is to reduce the incidence of breakdowns or failures in the plant or equipment, and to avoid the associated costs. Preventive maintenance is scheduled according to the availability of maintenance personnel and to avoid interference with operating schedules. An important issue in preventive maintenance is the frequency of preventive maintenance. As the time between periodic maintenance increases, the cost of preventive maintenance decreases while the risk (and cost) of breakdowns increases. The goal is to strike a balance between the two costs (i.e., to minimize total cost). Determining the amount of preventive maintenance to use is a function of the expected frequency of breakdown, the cost of a breakdown (including actual repair costs as well as potential damage or injury, lost production, and so on).

Briefly discuss how maintenance managers schedule preventive maintenance?

What advantages does preventive maintenance have over breakdown maintenance?