What is the most efficient way to maintain equipment?

preventive maitenance is the best efficient way to maintain equipment , in second place we need of course the other maintenance procedure like curative and corrective

the best way to maintain equipments regularly follow up Maintenance procedure like (preventive , periodical , corrective,.......)

Effective maintenance is only as good as the preventive maintenance plan being undertaken.
Make sure your plan fits with the customer requirements and also the manufactures guidelines, especially where warranty issues can arise.
Be prepared to change your plan until satisfactory results are achieved and always remember preventive maintenance should be seen differntly to reactive maintenance.

Following the preventive maintenance, as well as scheduled maintenance of an equipment.

Preventive maintenance: where equipment is maintained before break down occurs.
This type of maintenance has many different variations and is subject of various researches to determine best and most efficient way to maintain equipment.
Recent studies have shown that Preventive maintenance is effective in preventing age related failures of the equipment.
For random failure patterns which amount to80% of the failure patterns, condition monitoring proves to be effective.
Corrective maintenance, where equipment is maintained after break down.
This maintenance is often most expensive because worn equipment can damage other parts and cause multiple damages.
Reliability centered maintenance, often known as RCM, is a process to ensure that assets continue to do what their users require in their present operating context.

I think the best way is by make a simple table for daily, weekly, monthly and annually check up which is called the scheduled maintenance for any equipment that you have.

Well Trained people to operate & maintain the M/C M/C operating by skillful (well trained) operating person , Preventive maintenance by skillful technical person, Operating the M/C by Good quality of material , maintaining the operation environment condition according to M/C instruction .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maintenance,_repair,_and_operations

Effective Preventive maintenance program is the most efficient way of to maintain equipment.
I do not agree with corrective maintenance since it is comparatively expensive and as such do not qualify to be called "Efficient"

in order to get max.
output from equipment, we should do regular maintenence as well as make a check list of every part of that equipment.
Also we could do preventive , corrective maintenence.
After every breakdown of equipment we should do inspection of equipment on regularly basis.
Well I think preventive maintenence is useful way to maintain equipment.

With proper Preventive maintenance accordance with manufacturer catalog.
And check & recheck at machine running condition then remedial action on any fault at initial condition when machine stop time