Reactive Maintenance: Definition, Advantages, and Key Functions

Downtime is not only an inconvenience but also a costly setback. However, lots of companies continue to approach maintenance with a “fix it when it breaks” mentality. We call this reactive maintenance.

Reactive maintenance remains a widely used strategy across facilities, manufacturing plants, and infrastructure systems in the city-state.

However, the big question is whether this approach is sustainable in Singapore’s competitive and efficiency-driven environment. In this article, we’ll delve into the realities of reactive maintenance, explore how it works, and discuss its potential benefits and drawbacks for your business.

What is Reactive Maintenance?

Reactive maintenance is the practice of repairing machinery and equipment only after a failure or malfunction occurs.

This method is frequently applied in Singapore’s manufacturing, facilities management, transportation, and construction sectors, particularly for non-essential assets or companies with limited maintenance resources.

Since you’re not paying for routine maintenance, it may appear cost-effective initially. Still, if you use it heavily, it could result in unplanned downtime, increased repair costs, and safety hazards.

How does Reactive Maintenance Work?

Reactive maintenance in Singapore refers to the practice of not taking any maintenance action until a machine or asset breaks down. Once the failure occurs, a technician or maintenance team is dispatched to assess the issue, source any necessary parts, and restore the equipment to working condition.

Here’s how the process typically works in a Singaporean setting:

• Failure detection: Reported by on-site staff such as factory operators, building technicians, or
  It can be detected through alerts from basic monitoring systems, especially in sectors such as HVAC or facilities management.
• Work order creation: Once a breakdown is reported, a maintenance request or work order is generated. In modern setups, this may be logged in a CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System).
• Technician dispatch: A technician or repair team is sent to diagnose the issue. In Singapore, where speed and uptime are crucial, many companies collaborate with third-party maintenance vendors or maintain in-house emergency teams on standby.
• Repair & replacement: The faulty component is either repaired or replaced. If spare parts aren’t readily available, delays can occur; this is why local stockholding and supplier speed are critical in Singapore’s tightly scheduled industries.
• Asset restart and testing: After the repair, the equipment is restarted and thoroughly tested to ensure it operates smoothly. Documentation is typically completed afterward for auditing and compliance purposes, especially in regulated industries.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Reactive Maintenance

In Singapore’s efficiency-driven environment, reactive maintenance remains a vital component, particularly in complex situations.

Here’s a breakdown of the advantages and disadvantages of reactive maintenance:

Advantages (+)

• Lower initial costs: No need for regular inspections, monitoring systems, or full-time maintenance staff—ideal for small businesses or non-critical equipment.
• Simpler to implement: No complex planning or scheduling is required, making it easy for teams to focus on operations until a breakdown occurs.
• Flexible for short-term operations: Best suited for temporary sites like construction projects or pop-up facilities that don’t justify long-term maintenance investments.

Disadvantages (-)

• Unplanned downtime: In Singapore’s time-sensitive sectors such as logistics and manufacturing, unexpected breakdowns can cause costly delays and workflow disruptions.
• Higher long-term costs: Emergency repairs, overtime labor, and express part orders can be significantly more expensive than scheduled maintenance.
• Asset lifespan is reduced: Waiting for equipment to fail before servicing it can lead to accelerated wear and tear, shortening its usable life.

Preventive and Predictive Maintenance

Here’s a clear explanation of Preventive and Predictive Maintenance in Singapore, especially relevant to industries like manufacturing, logistics, real estate, and facilities management:

Preventive maintenance

To lower the chance of equipment failure, preventive maintenance involves carrying out routine, planned maintenance procedures, such as inspections, lubrication, and part replacements.

Examples in Singapore include air conditioning servicing in malls, elevator checks in condos, or production line maintenance in Jurong’s industrial parks.

Predictive maintenance

To determine when an asset is likely to fail, predictive maintenance utilizes real-time data and sensors, including temperature, runtime, and vibration analysis. To ensure that maintenance is only performed when required.

Examples in Singapore include chiller systems in data centers, robotics in precision manufacturing, or predictive HVAC servicing in green-certified buildings.

How much more brilliant could your maintenance strategy be? Explore HashMicro’s pricing scheme and discover how our reactive maintenance solutions can help you save time, reduce costs, and alleviate headaches.

Click our banner below to learn more about securing up to 70% funding for your business through the CTC Grant.

Utilizing the CMMS Program With HashMicro Asset Management

In any business, unexpected equipment failures can disrupt operations, impact service delivery, and inflate costs.

HashMicro Asset Management System streamlines reactive maintenance through its innovative, cloud-based Maintenance Management System (MMS), designed to support both emergency and scheduled repairs.

In reactive maintenance, every second counts. Hashy AI from HashMicro enhances speed, accuracy, and decision-making when you’re dealing with sudden equipment failures or urgent repair needs.

Here’s how HashMicro enhances reactive maintenance in Singapore:

• Centralized work order management: Easily log, assign, and track breakdown requests in real-time, whether from factory staff, building tenants, or technicians- no more manual paperwork or delayed responses.
• Fast technician dispatching: Assign maintenance jobs instantly to in-house or external technicians based on location, availability, and skill set, ideal for Singapore’s tight service-level expectations.
• Real-time asset status monitoring: Track asset histories, failures, and past interventions to make smarter decisions, even when relying on a reactive strategy.
• Mobile access for field teams: Technicians can receive alerts, update job progress, and upload photos directly from the field using mobile devices, speeding up repair times across warehouses, offices, and sites.
• Spare parts & inventory tracking: Integrate with inventory modules to ensure that replacement parts are available when needed, which is crucial in Singapore, where storage space is limited and every minute of delay matters.
• Detailed reporting and insights: Analyze the root causes of frequent breakdowns, track maintenance costs, and identify opportunities to shift from a reactive to a preventive model over time.

Conclusion

Many businesses in Singapore are switching from solely reactive maintenance to hybrid or predictive approaches, particularly for critical assets, in an increasingly digital and efficiency-driven environment.

HashMicro Asset Management System is the best option to enhance your reactive maintenance with the most comprehensive software for enhancing asset monitoring effectiveness in the present and future times.

Try our free demo to see how our solution can fit perfectly into your business and get yourself up to 70% funding from the CTC Grant today!

FAQ About Reactive Maintenance

• What are the four types of maintenance?

  Preventive maintenance – includes regular and periodic (time-based) schedules. Corrective maintenance occurs when an issue is noticed. Predetermined maintenance follows a factory schedule. Condition-based maintenance occurs when a situation or condition indicates maintenance is needed.

• What are the 3 P’s of maintenance?

  The three P’s of maintenance – Preventive Maintenance, Predictive Maintenance, and Prescriptive Maintenance – are often used interchangeably. But they each have their distinct meaning.

• What is the 80/20 rule in maintenance?

  This rule suggests that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. By applying this principle to maintenance practices, businesses can strategically allocate resources, reduce costs, and ensure smooth operations.