If you work in construction, you must have heard this phrase a thousand times: “Let’s fix it when it breaks.”
Imagine you’re in the middle of a project. Suddenly, an excavator breaks down, and your work stops. All of your maintenance crew stops working. The entire deadlines shift. And then, the next moment, you find yourself scrambling to get a mechanic on the site.
This is what reactive maintenance is all about. Fix it when it breaks. And while reactive maintenance is often seen as a worst-case scenario or is considered a wrong approach in the construction industry, here’s the twist—sometimes, it can make sense.
Yes, you heard it right—reactive maintenance might not always be the wrong approach.
While preventive maintenance is considered the gold standard in the maintenance realm, predictive maintenance is like the holy grail, and it can be even better, especially if you have the right technology.
However, in the real construction world, where job sites always move, timelines shift, and budgets stretch, reactive maintenance still plays a key role.
Imagine visiting a dentist only when you are facing excruciating pain. It is not an ideal approach, but it might not be a bad idea for a small filling or just a one-time emergency.
In this blog post, we will learn all about what reactive maintenance really means in construction, when it is considered appropriate, and how maintenance teams can use it without letting it run their job sites into the ground.
What is reactive maintenance in construction?
Reactive maintenance is a maintenance strategy that follows the practice of repairing or replacing a piece of equipment only after it fails to perform or breaks down. No scheduled checkups or preventive measures are taken into account with this maintenance approach.
Keep in mind that reactive maintenance is a maintenance strategy where action is only taken after equipment has broken down or failed.
Let’s understand how reactive maintenance differs from other maintenance strategies, such as preventive and predictive maintenance.
Reactive maintenance vs. preventive maintenance and predictive maintenance
| Maintenance Type | Trigger | Planning | Example |
| Reactive | Failure | None | Repairing a broken loader mid-shift |
| Preventive | Time/Usage | Scheduled | Servicing a generator every 500 hours |
| Predictive | Condition Data | Smart/Forecasted | Replacing a pump based on vibration sensor alerts |
Common examples of reactive maintenance in construction
Here are some common examples of reactive maintenance in the construction industry:
Emergency equipment repairs on-site
Imagine yourself working on a site where a concrete mixer suddenly stops functioning midway through, halting the process on a foundation. Since no maintenance was scheduled before, you would have to bring in a technician to repair the equipment on-site immediately. This urgent, unplanned maintenance is a classic example of reactive maintenance, which is entirely driven by the unexpected equipment failure.
Swapping out a dead battery in a skid steer
Imagine yourself in the shoes of an operator. You arrive for your morning shift on the site only to find that the skid steer is not starting. After performing quick diagnostics, you realize that the skid steer’s battery has failed. Instead of having a battery health check system in place, you and your team decide to replace it on the spot to continue work. It might be a minor issue for you, but this unexpected and unplanned fix is still reactive maintenance.
Calling a mobile mechanic after a sudden hydraulic failure
Being an on-site construction manager, you’re supposed to use a backhoe, a mechanical excavator. In the middle of trenching, your backhoe experiences a hydraulic system failure. Its oil starts leaking, and one of its arms becomes unresponsive. With no spare unit available on the site, as the site manager, you end up calling a mobile mechanic to get it urgently repaired, because you have a tight job deadline to meet. The repair takes several hours, which results in project delays and additional costs. This is another classic example of reactive maintenance.
When reactive maintenance actually makes sense
While reactive maintenance is not ideal for your equipment, it can still make sense sometimes. There are some real-world scenarios where reactive maintenance is practical and even smart.
Low-cost, non-critical equipment
You can think of saw blades, handheld tools, or extension cords. The repairs and replacements for the low-cost, non-critical equipment is cheap and quick.
End-of-life assets
Investing in preventive care for equipment or assets that will be retired in a few months is not a good idea.
Remote or temporary job sites
If uptime is not mission-critical for your organization, then reactive maintenance can keep the costs down.
Seasonal or one-time-use tools
Reactive maintenance may work well, especially when you’re using equipment sparingly or for short-term projects.
Small crews or ultra-fast jobs
When you work with small teams or with those working on fast turnarounds, proactive maintenance may not be feasible. This is where a reactive maintenance strategy can work.
Checklist: Is reactive maintenance right for this asset?
You can create a checklist and verify whether reactive maintenance is right for your equipment.
Here’s what the checklist should look like:
- Is the asset non-critical to project progress?
- Would failure cause minimal safety or compliance risk?
- Is the repair cost lower than the cost of scheduled upkeep?
- Is the equipment nearing the end of its lifecycle?
- Is this a remote or short-term site?
If you said yes to most of these, reactive might be your best (or only) option.
When reactive maintenance goes wrong: The real costs of a break-fix strategy
Studies report that run-to-failure strategies may result in costs 2 to 5 times higher than those of well-planned preventive measures.
On the other hand, a 2022 Plant Engineering survey found that 35% of assets are still handled via reactive maintenance, leading to 3.3× more downtime, 2.8× more lost sales, and 16× more defects compared to facilities with proactive strategies.
First, we discussed the situations where reactive maintenance could be right for your equipment. Now, let’s shed some light on situations where reactive maintenance can get tricky. When this break-fix maintenance strategy is applied too broadly or to the wrong equipment, it can quickly become a logistical nightmare for construction workers.
Let’s understand when reactive maintenance can go wrong.
Downtime delays
When one of your mission-critical equipment fails or breaks down, your entire work can halt. For example, when a broken excavator breaks down, your whole crew can become idle. Every missed hour will add to your labor cost and cause project delays. This is where reactive maintenance should not be a good approach.
Emergency repair costs
Sometimes, emergency repair costs can increase your maintenance costs. Rush parts, after-hours calls, and overtime labor can add to your expenses.
Safety hazards
Malfunctioning equipment increases the risk of injuries or site accidents. Therefore, implementing a reactive maintenance strategy would not be a good idea.
Compliance risks
Missed inspections or faulty machinery can lead to violations and legal trouble. To avoid such a problem, you should not stick to reactive maintenance.
Reduced asset lifespan
Reactive-only strategies often ignore long-term health, accelerating asset wear. Therefore, if you want to increase your equipment’s lifespan, you’d better not consider reactive maintenance.
Best practices: How to use reactive maintenance strategically
While we do not recommend keeping a reactive maintenance strategy as your only strategy, it is good if you keep it handy. Consider it as a tool in your toolbox.
If used strategically, reactive maintenance shouldn’t go wrong. Let’s explore some best practices to use reactive maintenance strategically:
Make it a part of your maintenance policy
It is important to remember that not all equipment needs the same treatment. Identify which equipment would need reactive maintenance.
Track incidents in your CMMS
An advanced computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) can help you log unplanned repairs and identify patterns early on. Several CMMS solutions are available in the market, such as EZO CMMS, MaintainX, and UpKeep. You need to choose one wisely. EZO CMMS is a robust CMMS solution that can help you track reactive and preventive work, monitor costs, and receive real-time alerts when patterns emerge.
Monitor trends
Performing reactive work orders can help you identify and monitor deeper issues like poor inspections or undertrained maintenance teams.
Set automated review triggers
You can flag any equipment that breaks down three times in a month. With this information, you can shift it to a preventive schedule.
Reactive vs. preventive vs. Predictive: Quick decision guide
| Feature | Reactive | Preventive | Predictive |
| Trigger | Failure | Time/Usage | Condition-based data |
| Cost | Low upfront, high long-term | Moderate | High upfront, low long-term |
| Downtime Risk | High | Low | Very low |
| Use Case | Low-risk tools | Critical machinery | High-value assets with sensors |
Should you use reactive maintenance?
Reactive maintenance isn’t inherently bad—it just needs to be applied thoughtfully and used strategically.
✔️ Use reactive maintenance when:
- The asset is low-cost or non-critical
If your asset is not that expensive, easy to replace, and not critical to your project timeline (think small hand tools, temporary lighting, or extension cords), then the cost of the failure would be low. In such cases, it is better to wait until it breaks. - Equipment is nearing end-of-life
Investing in preventive maintenance may not be a good idea when your equipment is scheduled for replacement or repair. Reactive maintenance can stretch its remaining usability without unnecessary upkeep. - You’re working on short, mobile projects
You do not need to invest in preventive maintenance for short-duration projects or temporary job sites. Reactive maintenance would be a practical, cost-saving approach for all the fast-moving, short-term jobs. - You’ve built it into your workflow intentionally
With your maintenance strategy, if you can define which assets are allowed to run-to-failure and you can track them accordingly, then reactive maintenance can be an intentional, controlled option rather than a reactive effort.
✖️ Avoid reactive maintenance when:
- Downtime is expensive
When it is evident that a single equipment failure can bring your entire project to a halt, make your crew members idle, or delay subcontractors, eventually increasing the cost of unplanned downtime, then it is a good idea to prevent reactive maintenance and opt for preventive maintenance. - Safety or compliance is at risk
Any equipment critical to the site’s safety (such as lifts, excavators) or subject to regulatory inspections should be maintained properly and should never run to failure. A single breakdown can lead to injuries, fines, or legal action. - You’re trying to extend equipment lifespan
When equipment is run to the point of failure, it can drastically reduce its usable life and increase the total cost of ownership. If your organization values the long-term value of assets, then it is better to take a more proactive maintenance approach, such as preventive maintenance.
We do not deny that reactive maintenance has a place in construction. It can be efficient, smart, and even cost-effective when used in the right situations.
However, applying too broadly or without planning can lead to spiraling costs, safety concerns, and increased unplanned downtime.
It would be safe to say that reactive maintenance is not wrong—it’s just not always right for your organization. You can use it and make it part of your balanced maintenance strategy (use it more like a tool), not your default.
Frequently asked questions
What is reactive maintenance?
It’s a maintenance strategy where equipment is fixed only after failure, without prior planning.
What are examples of reactive maintenance in construction?
Emergency engine repairs, unplanned part replacements, and mobile service calls after breakdowns.
What are the four types of maintenance?
The four types of maintenance are as follows:
- 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 is the difference between corrective and reactive maintenance?
Corrective maintenance is a proactive approach that is focused on rectifying identified issues. In contrast, reactive maintenance is a hands-off approach until failure.
What is the difference between planned and reactive maintenance?
Planned maintenance can be efficient for mission-critical equipment such as HVAC systems, boilers, roller shutters, gutters, and roofs. Reactive maintenance can be effective when it comes to dealing with minor or unexpected repairs that may not be vital to your work.
What is an example of reactive maintenance?
An example of reactive maintenance is a keycard that enables a guest to access their room. It is considered working until it stops functioning. Since replacing or repairing the keycard is cost-effective and easy for an employee to perform, a reactive maintenance approach is best.
