Safeguarding Critical Assets: The Strategic Value of PM Optimization

A study by ARC Advisory Group revealed that nearly 82% of industrial asset failures occur randomly, even in seemingly well-maintained environments. This underscores the urgent need for PM optimization. It’s not just a matter of improving efficiency, it’s essential for ensuring safety.

Defining Safety-Critical Equipment

Safety-critical equipment refers to assets whose failure can result in catastrophic outcomes.  This includes injury, environmental damage, or regulatory noncompliance. In sectors like aviation, oil and gas, and pharmaceuticals, failure is not just costly; it is potentially fatal.

PM optimization, in this context, is the practice of refining preventive maintenance schedules and strategies to ensure the right work is done on the right equipment at the right time. Unlike routine PM reviews, optimization uses data, risk analysis, and digital tools such as digital twins to fine-tune maintenance for safety-critical assets.

Failure to optimize PMs can have legal implications. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited companies for not performing adequate PM on safety-critical assets, especially when equipment failure leads to injury. Robust PMs serve a dual purpose: they uphold industry best practices and meet regulatory expectations.

Optimization Through Digitalization

Digitalization plays a foundational role in PM optimization. CMMS and EAM platforms such as Oracle EAM and IFS now offer modules that analyze maintenance history, asset criticality, and performance metrics. When combined with digital twins, organizations can simulate the outcomes of deferred or revised PMs, which provides a risk-free way to optimize schedules.

Functional location (FLOC) modeling is another essential tool. By clearly mapping where assets sit within larger operational hierarchies, teams can apply targeted strategies for critical equipment without affecting low-risk assets.

PM optimization also strengthens compliance and audit readiness. With increasing regulatory focus on digital maintenance records, optimized and streamlined PMs within modern EAM systems are essential for ensuring traceability and accountability. For instance, migration to SAP often includes audit logs, workflow approvals, and electronic sign-offs, which are all essential for regulated industries.

Making PM Smarter, Not Just Leaner

It’s important to note that optimizing PMs for safety-critical equipment doesn’t mean cutting back, it means being smarter. In fact, organizations often find themselves increasing PM tasks in specific areas once risk profiles are fully understood.

Through migration to modern platforms, historical inconsistencies in PM frequencies or instructions can be addressed. For example, after migrating their legacy CMMS to a centralized SAP environment, one refinery found inconsistencies in lubrication schedules across similar pumps. Standardizing these not only improved uptime but prevented cascading failures in high-pressure systems.

PM optimization is the bridge between risk management, operational excellence, and digital transformation. It ensures safety-critical equipment remains the anchor of safe, productive, and reliable operations.