Corrective maintenance (CM) is maintenance work done to restore an asset to working order after a fault has been found. The fault may be a full breakdown, a defect reported by a user, or a problem spotted during an inspection. When it follows an unexpected failure it is often called reactive or breakdown maintenance. When it is a deliberate choice for cheap, non-critical items it is called run-to-failure.
Some corrective maintenance is a normal part of every programme. The questions that matter are how much of it is unplanned, and whether it is happening on assets where a breakdown is expensive or unsafe.
Immediate vs deferred corrective maintenance
| Item | Immediate | Deferred |
|---|---|---|
| When | Straight away | At a later, planned time |
| Why | Safety risk, or a critical asset has stopped | The asset still works safely or can be bypassed; parts or a downtime window are needed |
| Example | A hospital lift stops between floors | A dripping valve found on an inspection round, fixed at the next shutdown |
| Cost | Higher: overtime, rush parts, disruption | Lower: planned labour and parts |
Immediate corrective work on a safety-critical failure is often called emergency maintenance. Log deferred work straight away so it is not forgotten.
Corrective maintenance examples
| Industry | Example of corrective maintenance |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing | Replacing a seized conveyor motor bearing after the line stops |
| Healthcare | Repairing an infusion pump that alarms during use, then testing it before it returns to service |
| Education | Replacing a failed projector lamp reported by a teacher |
| Hospitality | Repairing a guest-room air conditioner that will not cool |
| Facilities | Clearing and repairing a leaking roof drain found during a building inspection |
| Logistics | Replacing a forklift hydraulic hose that burst during a shift |
| IT | Replacing a cracked laptop screen or a failed drive in a server |
Commercial corrective maintenance services are outside contractors who carry out repairs for a fee, often under a service contract with agreed response times: HVAC, lift, generator or kitchen-equipment specialists, for example. Record their jobs on the asset like in-house work, and check the asset's warranty before calling one out.
The corrective maintenance process
- Detect and report the fault, the symptom and the asset.
- Raise a [work order](/glossary/work-order) of type corrective, with a priority based on safety and impact.
- Make it safe. Isolate the asset or tag it out of use if needed.
- Diagnose the cause, not just the symptom.
- Repair or replace the failed part, using in-house staff or a vendor.
- Test and return to service, recording time, parts, cost and downtime.
- Review. If a fault keeps recurring, change the preventive plan or the design.
Corrective vs preventive maintenance
| Item | Corrective | Preventive |
|---|---|---|
| Timing | After a fault | Before a fault, on a schedule |
| Planning | Often unplanned | Planned |
| Best for | Low-cost, non-critical, easily replaced items | Critical assets and anything with safety or compliance risk |
| Main cost | Downtime and secondary damage | Labour and parts for servicing that sometimes was not needed |
See preventive maintenance for the other side. If the share of unplanned work is rising on critical assets, the preventive programme needs attention. Track how long repairs take with MTTR. For a side-by-side comparison with costs and a worked example, see preventive vs corrective maintenance.
Common mistakes
- Fixing the symptom again and again without finding the root cause.
- Not recording small repairs, so the asset looks more reliable than it is.
- No priority rules, so the loudest request is fixed first.
- Paying for repairs still under warranty because nobody checked.
- Running critical equipment to failure by default rather than by decision.
Spreadsheet vs software
A shared repair log in a spreadsheet records what broke and when, but it rarely captures parts, cost and downtime consistently. A CMMS keeps each job on the asset, so its running cost is visible when deciding to repair or replace.
Corrective maintenance in Asetavo
In Asetavo maintenance (Business plan), corrective jobs are work orders raised on the asset with a priority from low to urgent. Each records the technician or outside vendor, parts and labour cost and downtime minutes, and moves through Open, Assigned, In progress, On hold and Completed. A tool returned damaged at check-in is a natural trigger for one. Every completed job appears on the asset's Maintenance tab, alongside the warranty and service contracts that cover it.
