Glossary
What is Corrective Maintenance?
Corrective maintenance is maintenance performed to restore an asset to working condition after a fault or failure. It includes diagnosis, repair and testing. It is often unplanned and reactive, but can also be planned (e.g. after an inspection finds a defect).
What it means
Corrective maintenance is what most people mean by 'repair': fix it when it breaks or when a defect is found. It is contrasted with preventive maintenance, which is done on a schedule to avoid failure.
Why it matters
- Corrective work can be reactive (after failure) or planned (after a defect is found).
- It is recorded in work orders with root cause, parts and labour.
- High corrective volume may indicate a need for better PM or design changes.
- MTTR (mean time to repair) is a common metric for corrective maintenance.
Example in maintenance operations
Replacing a failed motor, repairing a leak after an inspection finds it, and fixing a broken conveyor belt are all corrective maintenance.
Related concepts
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between corrective and preventive maintenance?
Corrective maintenance fixes something that has failed or has a defect. Preventive maintenance is done on a schedule to reduce the chance of failure.
Is corrective maintenance the same as reactive maintenance?
Reactive maintenance usually means 'fix when it breaks.' Corrective maintenance can include both unplanned (reactive) and planned repairs—e.g. when an inspection finds a defect and you schedule the fix.
Run maintenance with VectraManage — work orders, PM and reporting in one platform
See pricing Start free