Preventive maintenance program: from breakdowns to planned work

Preventive maintenance (PM) services equipment on a planned schedule to prevent failures, instead of waiting for things to break. For plants, warehouses, hospitals, hotels and fleets, a good PM program reduces downtime, extends asset life and makes maintenance costs predictable. It also cuts the emergency repairs and rush purchases that hurt budgets.

Maintenance types

Most organizations use a mix. The goal is to shift work from reactive to planned for critical assets.

Step 1: Rank assets by criticality

Not every asset deserves the same attention. Score assets on impact of failure (safety, production, customers, cost) and likelihood. Focus PM on high-criticality assets first. Run-to-failure can be acceptable for cheap, non-critical items.

Step 2: Define PM tasks and intervals

For each critical asset:

• Tasks from manufacturer recommendations, experience and failure history
• Interval by time or usage
• Checklist with steps, safety precautions and acceptance values
• Estimated time, skills and spare parts needed

Start simple and refine intervals based on what you find during inspections.

Step 3: Schedule and issue work orders

The system generates PM work orders when due. Planners schedule them around production, assign technicians or vendors and reserve spare parts. Completed work orders record findings, time, parts used and follow-up needs.

Step 4: Handle service requests

Users still report problems between PMs. A service request process lets anyone report an issue on an asset, which maintenance triages into a work order. Link requests to the asset to build its history. See internal helpdesk and ticketing.

Step 5: Manage spare parts and consumables

Downtime often comes from waiting for parts. Keep critical spares in a depot with minimum levels, track issuance to work orders and reorder in time. See consumables management.

Maintenance KPIs

See also OEE and production KPIs.

Vendor-maintained assets

Elevators, generators, aircon systems and many machines are maintained by vendors under service contracts. Track contract terms, scheduled visits, service reports and costs per asset, and verify that visits actually happen.

Getting started

1. List critical assets and their current maintenance practices.
2. Create PM checklists for the top 20 critical assets.
3. Set up work orders and service requests in one system.
4. Review PM compliance and breakdowns monthly.
5. Expand to more assets as the routine stabilizes.

Where Cirquolus fits

Cirquolus Asset management handles service requests, engineering work and vendor service, consumables and depot, and fixed asset records with valuation. Production plants can link maintenance to production monitoring, and improvement projects can be run in the improvement portfolio.

Frequently asked questions

What is preventive maintenance?

Planned maintenance performed at set intervals or usage levels to reduce the likelihood of equipment failure.

How do you create a preventive maintenance schedule?

Rank assets by criticality, define tasks and intervals from manufacturer guidance and history, then schedule recurring work orders.

What is PM compliance?

The percentage of preventive maintenance work orders completed on time.

What is the difference between preventive and predictive maintenance?

Preventive maintenance follows fixed intervals. Predictive maintenance uses condition measurements to decide when to act.