hoolduskulu

Hoolduskulu is the term used in Estonian to denote maintenance cost—the ongoing expense necessary to preserve an asset's functionality and value over its useful life. It covers both physical assets such as machinery, vehicles, and buildings, and non-physical assets like software and facilities infrastructure. Maintenance costs include labor, spare parts, consumables, inspections, service contracts, tools, and the downtime logistics involved in servicing. They are distinguished from capital expenditures on new assets or major upgrades and are usually charged to operating budgets or asset maintenance plans. In many organizations, hoolduskulu is estimated as annual or monthly figures and tracked against actuals to manage reliability and cost efficiency.

Calculation and planning: Many organizations use life-cycle cost analysis to compare options and plan maintenance schedules. Preventive or predictive maintenance aims to reduce unplanned downtime and long-term wear, while corrective maintenance incurs costs after failure. The total hoolduskulu over an asset’s life includes routine maintenance, part replacements, energy use during servicing, and potential productivity losses due to downtime. Proper management relies on asset registers, condition monitoring, and reliability-centered maintenance methods. In budgeting, hoolduskulu informs decisions about outsourcing vs in-house maintenance, service contracts, and inventory management for spare parts. Examples: a manufacturing line requires regular lubrication and belt replacements; a vehicle fleet needs tire replacements and system diagnostics; a data center must budget for routine software updates and hardware servicing.