Building a preventive maintenance program

A preventive maintenance (PM) program is a set of scheduled tasks, one set for each asset, that gets done on time and can be checked afterward. Three decisions shape it: which assets get PM, which maintenance strategy each asset gets, and how often each task runs. The records a team keeps decide whether those decisions can be tested later.

Start with a master equipment list, ranked by importance

Start with a master list of the equipment in the facility, then rank each item by its importance to the operation, process, or mission. Define both the equipment’s criticality and the cost of its downtime when you decide the mix of maintenance each asset gets. List the equipment in the asset register template.

Sort each asset into preventive, reactive, or predictive maintenance

Sort each asset into one of three kinds:

• Preventive: equipment subject to wear, consumable equipment, equipment with a known failure pattern, and equipment where the manufacturer recommends maintenance.
• Reactive: small parts and equipment, non-critical equipment, equipment unlikely to fail, and redundant systems.
• Predictive: critical equipment, equipment with random failure patterns, equipment not subject to wear, and systems that incorrect PM can make fail.

Read The cost of PMs vs unexpected failures for what reactive and preventive maintenance cost, and how to move an asset from reactive to preventive.

Schedule a time-based task only where age shows wear

Schedule a time-based task only where the asset’s record shows wear by age. NASA’s reliability-centered maintenance guide warns that an arbitrary preventive task often increases the failure rate, by resetting infant mortality.

Set each interval from its basis, then adjust it from the record

Set each interval on the basis that fits the asset:

• Manufacturer recommendations: the task list and base interval. Where the record is thin, start there.
• Location, application, and operating environment: the base interval is set by these three.
• Remote locations: modify the schedule where parts and service are not readily available.
• Calendar or run time: a schedule in calendar days or operating hours. A CMMS can generate the work order from either.
• Mean time between failures (MTBF): it gives only the average age at which failure occurs, not the most likely age, and nothing about how age affects reliability.
• Condition monitoring: choose monitoring intervals so that at least three fall before the anticipated onset of failure.

Adjust each interval from what the work orders show.

Choose hours or the calendar for each schedule

Schedule a task on run hours where its wear follows use, and on the calendar where it follows time. Where a task has both, use whichever comes first.

• Hours: equipment that wears with use and whose hours vary. Two identical machines that run different hours wear at different rates, so one calendar interval does not fit both.
• Calendar: parts that age while idle, whether or not the machine runs.
• Whichever comes first: a schedule set to Either triggers on whichever of the calendar date or the hour reading is reached first.

Take the readings on a set routine, so that the hours remaining are current. In FixAhead, record each reading on the asset’s Asset Health tab. Current Hours shows the last reading and the hours remaining.

For an hour-based schedule in FixAhead, follow step 4 of the setup below, and choose Hour Meter as the Trigger Type in place of Calendar. Enter the hours between work orders under Every hours. Choose Either (First to Trigger) to run on both.

Track overdue PM work orders at each month end

Track the PM work orders that are overdue at the end of each month, and watch that count over time.

Rank breakdown and PM work on one priority scheme

Agree a priority scheme in writing with management, and apply it to breakdown and PM work alike. US federal guidance (FEMP) ranks work at six levels, from emergency to deferred:

• Emergency: life, health, safety, or mission-critical risk is involved.
• Urgent: continuous operation of the facility is at risk.
• Priority: mission support and project deadlines.
• Routine: first come, first served.
• Discretionary: desired but not essential.
• Deferred: done only when resources allow.

Decide which rungs of the ladder get the High Priority switch on their work orders, and work the rest in the ladder’s order. Flag a work order as a breakdown when it is one.

Size and work your backlog in four steps:

• Measure it in hours. Estimate the hours of work in each open work order, PMs included, and add them up. Divide the total by the crew’s available hours in a week; the result is the backlog in crew weeks. Open work sits in the Assigned and In-Progress columns of the Work Orders kanban board.
• Age it. Note how long each open work order has been open.
• Clear out stale and duplicate items. Close only duplicates and work orders that no longer apply. Never close work that is still needed, to make the backlog look smaller.
• Work it by the ladder. Work the open items in the ladder’s order, from emergency down, and split them between crews. A technician who cannot finish a work order on the Android app puts it on hold with a reason, such as Unavailability of equipment or Waiting for external support. It stays In Progress, so it still counts in the backlog.

A new program starts with a project that finishes in six months to a year

Choose one project that can finish in six months to a year, on equipment with a visible history of trouble, and likely to show immediate, positive results. Keep accurate records so that before and after results can be compared.

Make each task checkable before you schedule it

Write each task so someone can check it was done, as How do you know preventive maintenance is really being done? sets out. For a machine with no manual, read How to write PM checklists with no manuals.

FixAhead creates PM work orders before they are due

Set a recurring schedule, and FixAhead creates each PM work order before its due date. PM compliance shows by asset. On the Android app, technicians follow step-by-step checklists and capture a photo for each photo-required task.

Set up preventive maintenance in FixAhead

Before you import, create the locations the file names under Organization, and the asset categories under Library. Add the assets and the procedure first; the schedule uses both.

1. Import your assets

On Assets, press Import Assets, download the template, and fill in one row for each asset. Under Upload File, choose the CSV or Excel file, then read Ready to Import: rows listed under Validation Errors are skipped, and the rest come in when you press Import Assets.

2. Add the procedure

Under Library, open Maintenance Procedures and press Add Procedure. Name the procedure and describe it, add a row for each task, tick Mandatory Task? or Photo Required? where a task needs it, then press Add Procedure.

3. Name the task and assign it

Under Library, open Preventive Maintenance and press Add Preventive Maintenance. Name the task, choose its asset and the technician it is assigned to, then press Add Schedule.

4. Set the calendar and the lead time

Choose Calendar as the Trigger Type, then set Repeat every, the Start Date, and End Date or Never End. Set Assign Workorder to the number of days before the due date that the work order is assigned, then press Add Procedure.

5. Choose the procedure

Choose Select a procedure, then pick the procedure you added under Choose Procedure. Press Add Preventive Maintenance to save the schedule.

6. Read PM compliance

Open Reports & Analytics, choose the Maintenance tab, and open PM Compliance, then set the time range at the top right. Each asset shows its Scheduled, Completed, and Overdue work, its Compliance %, and its Status, and you can filter by Excellent, Good, or Poor.

Ask each vendor about schedules before you buy

Put these questions to each vendor before you sign:

• Can a schedule run on calendar time, on meter readings, or on both?
• Can each task on a schedule require a photo or a reading?
• How is PM compliance calculated, and can the on-time tolerance be set for each schedule?
• Can I export the schedule and completion history for each asset?

To set a named product beside FixAhead, read FixAhead vs eMaint, FixAhead vs Fiix, FixAhead vs Limble, FixAhead vs MaintainX, or FixAhead vs UpKeep.

Set the first schedule on one asset

Choose one asset from the project you picked. Set its task list and base interval from the manufacturer’s recommendation, and adjust the interval from what its work orders show as the schedule runs. Start from the preventive maintenance checklist template.