Scheduled preventive maintenance
Interventions at fixed intervals (running hours, calendar, number of cycles): lubrication, replacement of wear parts, checking of clearances and safety devices, following the manufacturer’s plan.
Expertise
Industrial maintenance: find your service provider
Breakdown repair, preventive maintenance, overhaul or retrofit of machines, on-call contracts: describe your equipment and compare quotes from providers.
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A machine that is down often costs more than its repair. Industrial maintenance aims to keep your equipment fit to produce: preventing breakdowns, repairing them quickly and extending service life. It covers machine tools, presses, packaging lines, conveyors, compressors, automation and utility systems. Companies that outsource all or part of this function turn to maintenance companies, manufacturers’ after-sales services or specialist workshops.
The standardised terminology (EN 13306) distinguishes preventive maintenance, split into scheduled and condition-based maintenance, from corrective maintenance, which takes place after a failure. The right balance depends on how critical each machine is, its age, its downtime cost and your in-house resources.
This page helps you prepare a clear request for quotes: services, equipment concerned, price factors, safety obligations and the clauses of a maintenance contract. The more your request details your machines, your downtime constraints and your expectations for response times, the more suppliers can price genuinely comparable offers.
Common services
Condition-based maintenance
The intervention is triggered by the machine’s actual condition, measured by vibration analysis, infrared thermography, oil analysis or parameter monitoring. It avoids unnecessary replacements while anticipating failure.
Breakdown repair and corrective maintenance
Diagnosis and return to service after a mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic or control-system fault, with on-site intervention and supply of the necessary parts.
General overhaul and refurbishment
Dismantling, inspection, replacement of worn components (spindles, guideways, cylinders, bearings), reassembly and testing, with a geometric accuracy check where needed.
Machine retrofit
Modernisation of a mechanically sound machine: new CNC control, drives, PLC, safety devices, operator interface. Compliance of the modified machine must be handled with care.
Maintenance contracts and on-call cover
Scheduled visits, agreed response times, on-call cover outside working hours, sometimes maintenance managed by an external manager using a CMMS tool.
Spare parts
Original, equivalent or remanufactured parts machined from a sample or drawing, with management of a stock of critical parts.
Audit and maintenance plan
Inventory of equipment, criticality analysis (FMECA), definition of maintenance routines, critical parts and performance indicators.
Equipment and machines covered
Machine tools and machining centresPresses, press brakes and sheet-metal machinesPackaging and wrapping linesConveyors, automated storage and retrieval systems and handling systemsCompressors, pumps and utility installationsElectrical cabinets, drives and PLCsIndustrial robots and automated cellsOverhead cranes, hoists and forklift trucksVentilation, refrigeration and air-treatment systems
Typical sites and needs
- Machining and sheet-metal workshops whose machines must stay available
- Food-processing and packaging sites running at high rates
- SMEs with no in-house maintenance department or with a small team
- Extra capacity during annual shutdowns and major works
- Refurbishment of a fleet of second-hand machines before they go into production
- Modernising an older machine by retrofit rather than replacement
- Warehouses and logistics hubs equipped with conveyors, docks and trucks
- Urgent repair of a critical machine, at night or at weekends
What affects the price
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1
Type of machine and criticality
A unique, critical machine with no spare parts in stock is not maintained like a fleet of standard equipment. Technical complexity, age and the availability of documentation affect the time needed.
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2
Type of contract
On-demand time-and-materials work, a fixed price for preventive visits or an availability contract: the supplier’s level of commitment is reflected in the price.
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3
Response time and on-call cover
The shorter the response time and the wider the coverage window (nights, weekends, public holidays), the more costly the supplier’s organisation.
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4
Parts and consumables
Original, equivalent or remanufactured parts, safety stock at your site or the supplier’s, procurement lead times: the parts policy often weighs as much as labour.
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5
Access and working conditions
Distance from the site, work at height or in confined spaces, lock-out, special authorisations: these conditions make the job longer and more expensive.
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6
Documentation and monitoring
Service reports, history by machine, CMMS tracking, availability indicators: detailed monitoring takes time, but lets you improve the maintenance plan.
Tips for a successful request
Post a request- List the machines concerned: make, model, year, serial number, location, and attach any available documentation and diagrams.
- Describe the need (one-off repair, preventive plan, overhaul, retrofit or contract) and, for a fault in progress, the symptoms: error codes, photos, video.
- State the criticality and the lead time expected: acceptable downtime, night-time work, need for on-call cover, production windows.
- Specify what you handle in-house (first-level maintenance, spare parts stock) and what you want to delegate.
- Mention safety requirements: authorisations, lock-out, prevention plan, site access, hygiene or cleanroom constraints.
- Give the location of the site: the supplier’s proximity determines the response time.
Preventive, condition-based, corrective: choosing the right mix
No single strategy suits every machine. A criticality analysis, for example using FMECA, ranks your equipment by the consequences of a stoppage, the frequency of breakdowns and the difficulty of repair. The method is then adapted to each machine.
| Type | Principle and use case |
|---|---|
| Corrective | Repair after failure: low-criticality equipment that is easy to replace |
| Scheduled preventive | Intervene at fixed intervals: known wear components, mandatory inspections |
| Condition-based | Intervene according to measured condition: critical machines that are costly to stop |
Condition-based maintenance relies on measurements: vibration for bearings and spindles, thermography for electrical cabinets and bearing housings, oil analysis for gearboxes and hydraulic circuits. It requires alert thresholds defined with the manufacturer or the supplier, and a team able to make use of the results.
Levels of intervention range from simple adjustments entrusted to the operator to heavy refurbishment; French standards documentation describes five (FD X 60-000). Define what your staff will do and what the supplier will do. Common indicators, such as availability rate, mean time between failures or mean time to repair, make performance measurable and form the basis for the periodic review of the contract. If you need new parts, a CNC machining workshop can remanufacture them.
Safety and regulation: what the supplier must master
Before any intervention, energy is cut off and locked out: this is lock-out/tag-out (consignation). Staff working on or near electrical installations must hold an electrical authorisation (habilitation électrique, standard NF C 18-510 in France), issued by the employer after training. When an outside company works at your premises, you analyse the risks together; a written prevention plan is required in certain cases in France, notably for dangerous work. Hot work, work at height or in confined spaces calls for additional precautions, training and protective equipment: ask the supplier how it organises its technicians’ safety and what procedures it applies on site.
Maintenance does not replace statutory periodic inspections (lifting equipment, electrical installations, pressure equipment, etc.), which are entrusted to a body or a competent person depending on the equipment. Ask who carries them out and who keeps the reports.
Retrofit calls for particular vigilance: a modification that changes a machine’s functions, performance or risks may require a new risk assessment and, if substantial, a conformity assessment with CE marking under the Machinery Directive, which is due to be replaced by a European regulation. Specify who bears this responsibility. For mechanical or electronic assembly and adjustment, see the mechanical assembly and electronics pages. Meaflow checks companies’ SIRET numbers (the French company registration number), not their insurance or their authorisations: ask for the supporting documents.
Maintenance contract: clauses to check
A good contract starts with a precise scope: equipment covered and excluded, type of visits, parts included or not. It then sets service levels: acknowledgement time, response time, time to return to service, hours and days covered by on-call cover. Also specify what counts as normal wear and what is charged outside the contract, for example after misuse.
- Critical parts: stock held at your site or the supplier’s, procurement lead times, original or equivalent parts.
- Reports and history: a report after each intervention, history by machine, recommendations.
- Programs and data: backup of PLC and CNC programs, ownership, return at the end of the contract.
- Remote maintenance: remote access, IT security, traceability of connections.
- Term and exit: commitment, notice, renewal, price review.
- Liability and insurance: cover, caps, exclusions, up-to-date certificates.
After an intervention, specialist cleaning may be needed: see industrial cleaning and maintenance. To frame your tender, our specification generator helps structure your requirement, and the guide choosing an industrial subcontractor provides a grid of criteria.
Guides to go further
How to choose an industrial subcontractor: 10 criteria
Skills, capacity, quality, proximity, responsiveness, references, financial strength, communication, price and contract: 10 criteria and a comparison grid.
Comparing three subcontracting quotes without getting it wrong
Scope, assumptions, unit price and fixed costs, lead time, terms, quality, Incoterm: the method and the grid to compare three quotes on an identical basis.
Related expertise
Mechanics & assembly
Assembly, integration, machine maintenance
Electronics
PCBs, wiring, board assembly, electrical cabinets
Industrial cleaning
Workshops, machines, warehouses, high-pressure cleaning
CNC machining
Milling, turning, 3- to 5-axis machining centres
Frequently asked questions
A question not answered here? Visit the help centre or write to us.
What is the difference between preventive, corrective and condition-based maintenance?
Corrective maintenance takes place after a breakdown. Preventive maintenance anticipates: at regular intervals (scheduled) or according to the machine’s actual condition (condition-based, by measuring vibration, temperature or oil). Most sites combine all three: preventive on known wear components, condition-based on critical machines, corrective on less sensitive equipment.
What does a maintenance contract contain?
It defines the equipment covered, the type of visits, acknowledgement and response times, on-call windows, the treatment of parts, the reports provided and the financial terms: fixed price or time and materials. Also specify the term, the notice period for termination and responsibilities in the event of prolonged downtime. Compare quotes on the same list of equipment.
Do I need on-call cover for my machines?
Only if a stoppage outside working hours carries a significant cost: continuous production, cold chain, safety. On-call cover guarantees that a technician responds within an agreed time, at night or at weekends, but it has an organisational cost. Assess criticality machine by machine, then ask for separate acknowledgement and response times.
Is the retrofit of a machine regulated?
Yes. A modification that changes a machine’s functions, performance or risks may require a new risk assessment, or even a conformity assessment and CE marking if it is substantial. Ask the supplier which modifications it plans, who bears responsibility for compliance and what documents it will give you.
What authorisations should you ask a maintenance technician for?
It depends on the work: electrical authorisation to work on or near electrical installations, lock-out training, authorisations to operate equipment or access platforms, site safety training. In France, these authorisations are issued by the employer after training. Ask for them in writing before the intervention and formalise the safety rules in a prevention plan.
Should you use the manufacturer or an independent supplier?
The manufacturer knows its machine, has original parts and may make some warranties conditional on following its maintenance plan. An independent supplier often works on several makes, with more flexibility and proximity. Check the terms of your warranty, then compare real competence on your machine, parts lead times and technician availability.
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