Industrial Maintenance Companies

What an industrial maintenance company does

An industrial maintenance company keeps machinery, equipment and production systems in proper operating condition: it prevents failures, reduces unplanned downtime and extends asset life.

Hiring a specialized company lets the plant focus its resources on its core business and transfer technical responsibility for maintenance to a dedicated, certified team.

Preventive maintenance

This is planned maintenance, carried out at scheduled intervals whether or not the equipment shows a failure. It includes inspection, cleaning, lubrication, adjustments and replacement of wear parts.

Its main advantage is reducing unplanned downtime, which is the most expensive kind because it stops production without warning. It is the recommended approach for critical equipment whose failure stops the entire line.

Corrective maintenance

This is the intervention carried out after a failure. It can be planned, when the failure is anticipated and the work is scheduled, or unplanned, on an emergency basis.

Unplanned corrective maintenance has the highest cost: on top of the repair, there is the cost of lost production. That is why a good maintenance plan aims to keep it to a minimum.

Predictive maintenance

This is maintenance based on the actual condition of the equipment, monitored with technology. It makes it possible to anticipate a failure before it happens and intervene at the right time. The most common techniques are:

• Vibration analysis: detects imbalance, misalignment and bearing wear.
• Thermography: identifies abnormal hot spots in electrical panels and motors.
• Oil analysis: reveals internal wear and contamination.
• Ultrasound: detects leaks and incipient failures.

It is the most cost-effective approach: work is done only when needed, but before the failure occurs.

How to choose an industrial maintenance company

Seven objective criteria for evaluating a supplier:

1. Certifications: ISO 9001 (quality), ISO 14001 (environmental) and ISO 45001 (occupational health and safety).
2. Regulatory compliance: the Brazilian regulatory standards NR-12 (machinery), NR-13 (boilers and pressure vessels), NR-10 (electrical safety) and NR-33 (confined spaces).
3. Technical responsibility: an engineer registered with CREA (Brazilian Regional Council of Engineering), issuing an ART (technical responsibility record).
4. In-house, trained crews, with no chain subcontracting.
5. Own fleet and equipment, which reduce dependence on third parties and lead times.
6. Track record and experience in your industry.
7. Emergency response capability.

TSL meets these criteria, with more than 40 years of experience in the oil and gas, petrochemical, mining and energy industries. See also industrial hydroblasting, industrial tank cleaning and steam boiler rental.

Industrial maintenance service providers: what to evaluate

When hiring industrial maintenance service providers, check whether the supplier offers a contract with performance indicators (SLA), a dedicated team, a documented maintenance plan and emergency response capability.

Outsourcing maintenance only adds value when the supplier takes on real technical responsibility, rather than simply supplying labor.