Every industrial asset requires a deliberate maintenance and investment strategy. The wrong choice costs millions. This guide explains all 11 default strategies, when to apply them, and how to compare them across cost, risk, and reliability.
All 11 strategies compared across 7 decision dimensions. Use this table to shortlist the strategies most relevant to your asset situation.
| Strategy | CAPEX Level | OPEX Level | Risk Level | Life Extension | Reliability | Production Impact | Best Applied When |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
💀 01 Run to Failure | Very Low | Very Low | Very High | None | Very Low | High | Non-critical, easily replaceable assets |
🔧 02 Reactive Maintenance | Low | Low-Medium | High | Minimal | Low | Medium-High | Low-criticality assets with redundancy |
🛠️ 03 Preventive Maintenance | Medium | Medium | Medium | 2-5 years | Medium | Low-Medium | Equipment with known wear-out patterns |
📊 04 Predictive Maintenance | Medium | Medium | Low-Medium | 5-8 years | High | Very Low | Equipment with good sensor coverage |
📡 05 Condition-Based Maintenance | Medium | Medium | Low | 5-10 years | High | Minimal | Critical equipment with continuous monitoring |
🔄 06 Refurbishment / Overhaul | Medium-High | Low-Medium | Medium | 5-10 years | High (post-overhaul) | Medium (shutdown) | Complex equipment nearing end of life |
🔩 07 Partial Replacement | Medium | Low-Medium | Low-Medium | 5-12 years | High | Low-Medium | Assets with identifiable high-degradation zones |
⚙️ 08 Life Extension Program | Medium-High | Medium | Low-Medium | 10-20 years | High | Medium (planned) | Aging assets with significant remaining production value |
🚀 09 Debottleneck + Upgrade | High | Low-Medium | Low | 10-15 years | Very High | Medium (construction) | Assets with capacity or technology constraints |
✨ 10 Full Replacement | Very High | Very Low | Very Low | New Design Life (25-30yr) | Very High | High (replacement) | Technically exhausted assets with long production life ahead |
🏚️ 11 Decommissioning | High (removal) | None | N/A | None | N/A | 100% (permanent) | Assets with no remaining economic value |
Detailed breakdown of each strategy — including cost profile, pros/cons, and typical application context.
No planned intervention. Asset operates until unplanned failure occurs. Lowest short-term cost, highest long-term risk and consequential damage potential.
Repair on breakdown only. Minimal planned maintenance. Some routine servicing but no proactive degradation management.
Fixed time-based maintenance intervals regardless of actual condition. Industry standard for many asset classes. Can over-maintain healthy equipment.
Condition data and trend analysis triggers maintenance at optimal intervals. Maximizes use of available component life while intervening before failure.
Continuous monitoring with threshold-triggered interventions. Real-time health indicators drive work generation. Gold standard for rotating equipment.
Major overhaul restoring asset to near-original condition without full replacement. Typically performed during planned shutdowns.
Replace highest-risk or most degraded components only. Targeted CAPEX focused on items with least remaining life. Smart capital allocation.
Comprehensive program of targeted interventions, upgrades, and inspections to extend service beyond original design life. Requires formal fitness-for-service assessment.
Capacity improvement combined with life extension and technology upgrades. Addresses both aging and throughput limitations in a single investment.
Complete replacement with new equipment. Maximum reliability and performance certainty. Justified when remaining production life is sufficient to recover investment.
Safe, planned removal from service. Managed end-of-life process minimizing safety, environmental, and regulatory risk. Required when production economics no longer support continued operation.
Use the Astrext platform to run all 11 strategies against your actual asset data and get NPV comparison outputs.