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Preventive and corrective maintenance, do you know the difference?

Vehicle maintenance is essential to ensure the safety and durability of automobiles. 

Among the types of maintenance, preventive and corrective maintenance stand out. But do you know the difference between corrective and preventive maintenance? 

Let’s explore each of them and understand their main characteristics and differences.

What is preventive maintenance?

Preventive maintenance is a set of actions planned and carried out periodically in order to avoid failures and problems in vehicles. 

This type of maintenance includes inspections, adjustments, cleaning, lubrication, and replacement of worn parts before they become defective. 

The idea is to anticipate problems and ensure that the vehicle is always in good condition for use.

Benefits of preventive maintenance

• Reduction of unexpected failures: Less chance of the vehicle breaking down unexpectedly.
• Increased service life: Vehicle components and systems last longer.
• Safety: A vehicle in good condition reduces the risk of accidents.
• Savings: Avoids higher expenses with emergency repairs.

What is corrective maintenance?

Corrective maintenance, on the other hand, is performed after a failure or problem has occurred in the vehicle. 

This type of maintenance is reactive, that is, it is only done when something is already broken or not working properly.

Corrective maintenance can be emergency, when the vehicle needs to be repaired immediately, or planned, when the failure does not prevent the use of the vehicle, but needs to be corrected at an opportune time.

Benefits of Corrective Maintenance

• Direct intervention: Resolves specific problems that have already occurred.
• Lower initial cost: There are no regular expenses for inspections and preventive replacements.

After all, what is the difference between corrective and preventive maintenance?

The main difference between corrective and preventive maintenance is in the predictability and timing of the intervention. 

While preventive maintenance is planned and performed before problems appear, corrective maintenance is done after a fault has been identified.

Comparison between corrective vs. preventive maintenance 

1. Predictability: Preemptive is programmed; corrective is reactive.

2. Cost: Preventive may have regular costs, but avoids larger expenses in the long run; corrective may have lower upfront costs, but may result in higher expenses due to major failures.

3. Impact: Preemptive minimizes unplanned downtime; corrective can cause unexpected outages.

Understanding the difference between corrective and preventive maintenance is crucial for efficient vehicle maintenance management. 

Preventive maintenance, despite requiring continuous investment, provides greater safety, economy and durability to the vehicle. 

Corrective maintenance, on the other hand, although it may seem more economical in the short term, can result in high costs and greater risks in the long term. 

Therefore, a balance between both strategies is essential to keep your vehicle always in optimal condition.