Preventive maintenance (PM) is the proactive side of facility management. It encompasses all the steps taken to reduce downtime, avoid unpleasant and expensive surprises, and ensure compliance with regulatory bodies.
A common preventative maintenance definition is “a scheduled set of activities designed to prevent equipment failure.” This involves systematically inspecting, cleaning, replacing, and repairing equipment, systems, and infrastructure on planned schedules. The goal isn’t just to prevent breakdowns; it’s to optimize asset performance, extend its life, and create predictable maintenance budgets while preventing unplanned capital expenditures and costly emergency repairs.
Below, we deal with the most common questions asked about preventive maintenance:
Rather than reacting to a problem after it happens, preventative maintenance aims to ensure the problem never happens in the first place. Although there are ongoing expenses associated with preventative maintenance, it has numerous benefits, all of which save the business money in the long run, while improving safety and predictability for workers. These benefits include:
Not all equipment, systems, and infrastructure need to be put on a preventative maintenance schedule. While preventative maintenance offers major benefits for many types of assets, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution.
Preventive maintenance is not ideal for assets that:
Preventive maintenance should be reserved for assets that are:
Put simply, preventative maintenance is a strategic choice and should not be a blanket policy. Choosing where to apply it is key to maximizing its value.
Preventive maintenance can be scheduled based on time (ex, monthly, quarterly, or according to the season), usage (ex, hours in use, cycles completed), or they can be compliance-driven.
The type of preventive maintenance schedule depends on the type of equipment or machinery, manufacturers’ recommendations, and how critical that asset is to daily operations. For some equipment and machinery, a time-based schedule is enough, while others may need maintenance after a certain number of operating hours or production cycles. Many facilities managers rely on maintenance management software to automate task timing, track asset usage, and adjust schedules based on real-time data and operational priorities.
Preventive maintenance looks different depending on the industry and the specific assets on site. Here are some examples of how preventative maintenance plays out in real-world settings:
Regardless of the industry, preventive maintenance tasks typically include:
By implementing a consistent preventative maintenance routine, organizations can reduce reactive work orders, extend the life of their assets, and ensure operations run smoothly day to day.
Preventive maintenance is standard for any well-run business, but it doesn’t always happen. What stands in the way of comprehensive preventive maintenance programs?
First, they take time and planning to implement, and not everyone has the skill or experience to do that effectively. Second, there are up-front costs for training and software. Staffing can also be an issue; extra full-time employees with a thorough understanding of the principles of preventive maintenance and the specific assets involved are necessary for a good preventive maintenance program, and training may present additional costs. Without the right tools, software and personnel in place, setting up and maintaining a resilient preventive maintenance system can be a challenge.
What is preventative maintenance when it first gets off the ground? An effective preventative maintenance program starts with a series of crucial steps. The goal is to create a system that prioritizes your most critical assets, schedules tasks at the right intervals, and coordinates your preventive maintenance teams.
Make a list of the equipment, systems, and infrastructure that are under your facility’s umbrella and that require ongoing maintenance. Focus first on high-value or critical assets: those that are expensive to replace, heavily used, or essential to daily operations.
Use equipment manuals, service histories, and downtime reports to figure out what type of maintenance is needed and how often. This helps you choose the right maintenance triggers, whether time-, usage-, condition-, or compliance-based.
Whether equipment needs attention weekly, monthly, or seasonally, having a centralized scheduling system ensures nothing falls through the cracks. Outline detailed tasks for each asset (ex, inspect belts, clean filters, lubricate joints) and schedule them at reasonable intervals. Don’t throw everything you have at your preventive maintenance program: maintain a balance between cost and projected risk.
Decide who is responsible for each task and outline expectations clearly.
Keep detailed records of completed tasks, findings, and parts and supplies used for the task. This helps with budgeting, compliance, and adjusting the program along the way. Also, keep complete records of equipment specifications, maintenance history, failure patterns, and performance metrics. Historical data will help your preventive maintenance teams make smart decisions about maintenance frequency, part replacement schedules, and long-term asset management.
Monitor performance, track failures, and adjust your schedule as needed. A good PM program evolves over time to stay effective and efficient.
Review new asset acquisitions with an eye to how they will fit into your preventive maintenance program. Look for new technologies that will make maintenance more predictable. Work with a vendor that provides plenty of information and support, including training, implementation guidance, and ongoing technical assistance.
Preventive maintenance software, like a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS), simplifies the planning, scheduling, and execution of your preventive maintenance program. A CMMS can do all of the following:
Expect preventative maintenance to continue to evolve into the area of predictive maintenance, an emerging strategy that builds on the foundation of preventative maintenance. By using sensors, performance data, and analytics, predictive maintenance aims to forecast when equipment is likely to fail so that maintenance can happen just in time.
While it offers the potential for greater efficiency, predictive maintenance can be more complex and resource-intensive to implement and may not be cost-effective for all types of facilities. For many, a well-executed preventative maintenance program is a solid starting point. The right system can even support a future shift toward predictive strategies by helping you collect consistent, reliable maintenance data over time.
With Maintenance Care’s powerful CMMS platform, setting up and managing your preventative maintenance program has never been easier. From automated scheduling and mobile access to custom task views and real-time reporting, our software helps you stay ahead of facility-related issues to keep operations running smoothly and safely.
As your preventive maintenance program adapts to new standards and technologies, count on Maintenance Care to grow along with you. At the forefront of preventative maintenance software, we offer solutions that are scalable and designed to interface cleanly with predictive maintenance tools.
Whether you’re managing a recreational facility, a government complex, a transportation hub, or you’re a small business owner, Maintenance Care gives you the tools to coordinate your technicians, get the most out of your assets over the long term, and reduce unplanned downtime.
Contact us to request a demo or learn more about how Maintenance Care can work for your facility.