Machines should not be constantly breaking down when they're not even being used, often, they need repairs before they get their first thing to process/produce.
I'd rather this mechanic didn't even exist, every game that has this mechanic ends up removing or substantially reducing its impact on the game, and in this game it's extremely toxic.
Having it only apply based on actual usage will help fairly drastically, but increasing machine durability by about 300% at the very minimum is also going to be a requirement for this to not feel remotely bad.
#Change maintenance to be based on processing time, rather than 'on' time.
lament heart
chrome bloom
YES! I got really frustrated when a machine broke down early game and I discovered the machine was part of the production line for the component required to repair... Ended up having to dismantle another building just to get it.
vestal crane
I agree that maintenance based on process turnover would be great. Maintenance based on fixed time is particularity painful for modules that need colonist to operate at full capacity. I anticipate this change being a bit complicated to implement depending on if the game tallies process turnovers. Alternatively, as the colonist systems get fleshed out the current system may be more favorable vs counting process turnovers.
obtuse kraken
Just completely remove the maintenance. It is the worst part of the whole game. It is not good for the user experience in the game. Nobody likes to build things that breaks.