Maintenance

MTBFMean Time Between Failures

The average operating time between equipment breakdowns — a key reliability metric where higher is better.

Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) is the average time a repairable asset runs between failures, calculated as total operating time divided by the number of failures. Higher MTBF means greater reliability.

Together with MTTR it determines equipment availability. MTBF is improved through preventive and predictive maintenance and TPM.

Go Deeper
Preventive & Predictive Maintenance guide→TPM guide→
Related Terms
MTTR
The average time to restore equipment to operation after a failure — lower is better.
Availability
The percentage of planned production time that equipment is actually running — one of the three OEE factors.
OEE
The gold-standard equipment metric: Availability × Performance × Quality. World-class is 85%+.
Preventive Maintenance
Scheduled, time- or usage-based maintenance performed to prevent failures before they happen.
TPM
A system for maximizing equipment effectiveness through operator involvement and proactive maintenance, targeting zero breakdowns.

Put MTBF into practice

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