Technology company Intentia has revealed a "fix it when it's broken" attitude to maintenance of industrial plant, equipment, facilities and assets.

An international study, conducted for Intentia by Enterprise Economics in 2003, found 90% of organisations believed pre-emptive maintenance increased productivity and return on assets, but only a third spent more than half their budget on preventive strategies.

"Organisations are under increased pressure to deliver more for less, with reducing resources and budgets. The results show there also appears to be a lack of awareness by management of issues relating to maintenance and the benefits that can be gained by an integrated maintenance system," said Intentia's Adam Eaton.

"Advanced maintenance techniques are not garnering support from broader management and the true value these techniques can bring to an organisation's profitability is not being recognised."

Less than half the 470 survey participants saw maintenance as an investment in productivity and profitability, but viewed it as a corrective approach.

One in eight respondents said their annual loss of production due to plant equipment failure exceeded USD500,000.

"A third of organisations with more than 1,000 staff experienced an annual maintenance-related loss of production of more than USD500,000 - most of which could probably be avoided with the right maintenance strategy," Mr Eaton said.