What is a Preventive Maintenance Plan?
A preventive maintenance plan is a document that aims to organize preventive maintenance tasks to better maintain the condition of buildings, machines, equipment, facilities, and the like. It helps preventive maintenance procedures flow smoother, and inspectors, managers, and maintenance professionals work more efficiently by reducing their mistakes and informing them clearly of what to look out for.
Importance and Benefits
Having a preventive maintenance plan is an important part of conducting any preventive maintenance task. Primarily, it serves as a guide on conducting a preventive maintenance check for maintenance professionals, inspectors, machine operators, asset managers, and building managers.
It can be confusing and tiring to create and manage a preventive maintenance plan, however, which is why templating it and reproducing it in a set format can be beneficial in the long run. In particular, having a preventive maintenance plan template can shorten the time it takes to conduct maintenance checks and reduce errors because it will be your reference.
Using a templated preventive maintenance plan can also make it easier to identify points for improvement or missed opportunities in preventive maintenance, as everything will be standardized.
Other benefits of having a preventive maintenance template include:
- Improved safety and compliance: With a preventive maintenance plan template, you can easily conduct safety checks on your building and equipment. By ensuring that equipment is running properly, businesses can reduce the risk of accidents and injuries and meet regulatory compliance requirements.
- Improved equipment reliability: Using a preventive maintenance plan template can help address issues early on and identify them during the planning stage. This way, businesses can prevent equipment breakdowns and avoid costly repairs. This can also help avoid premature equipment failure and reduce the need for replacement.
- Reduced downtime and repair costs: Preventive maintenance plan templates can help reduce downtime and repair costs by addressing issues before they become major problems. By performing regular maintenance activities, businesses can also determine potential issues early on and schedule repairs accordingly, minimizing the impact on operations.
- Better asset management: Using a preventive maintenance plan helps you better keep track of and manage your assets. By tracking maintenance history and identifying trends, businesses can make more informed decisions about equipment replacement and upgrades.
- Increased productivity and efficiency: Preventive maintenance can help increase productivity and efficiency by reducing downtime and avoiding unexpected breakdowns. By ensuring that equipment is running at its optimal level, businesses can also improve the quality of production and reduce waste in processes and product development and maintenance.
What to Include in a Preventative Maintenance Plan Template
Each preventive maintenance plan will differ based on what needs to be inspected and serviced. A typical one has sections for the following elements:
- Risk assessment and welfare check: List down any risks that may be encountered during the preventive maintenance check and the possible mitigation procedures for them.
- Capability to perform tasks: Ensure your employees are properly equipped with the right training before working.
- Lone working procedure: Provide instructions and safety precautions for lone workers to take for preventive maintenance.
- Status of equipment: List down the status of the assistive equipment you plan to use to ensure they are in good working condition.
- PPE: Provide instructions on the proper PPE to use and wear and when they should be utilized.
- Final check: Include a section to safeguard the preventive maintenance plan and ensure that all safety and preventive measures have been taken.
Here is a preventive maintenance plan sample report for reference:
How to Use and Integrate into Preventive Maintenance Tasks
Your new preventive maintenance template should be used before the actual preventive maintenance itself. As it is a plan, accomplishing it before anything else can help you set expectations for your other tasks, as well as adjust your procedures accordingly.
After this, the next step is to establish a maintenance schedule. The schedule should indicate the date and time of each maintenance activity and the person responsible for performing the maintenance. It’s crucial to follow the maintenance schedule strictly to avoid any unexpected downtime.
It is also essential to train employees on the importance of the preventive maintenance plan. Doing so before assigning responsibilities is crucial to the success of a preventive maintenance plan. It is important to designate specific tasks for each employee and ensure that they understand their roles and responsibilities.
Consider doing your preventive maintenance plan template digitally with preventive maintenance software. Going digital can help streamline maintenance activities and ensure the preventive maintenance plan is executed efficiently. Look for one that can help automate tasks such as scheduling maintenance activities, tracking maintenance history, and generating maintenance reports. This can help reduce the administrative burden on employees and improve the overall effectiveness of the preventive maintenance plan.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
While having a preventive maintenance plan can provide numerous benefits to a business, there are also common mistakes that businesses can make. Here are some mistakes to avoid when creating and implementing a preventive maintenance plan:
- Neglecting small issues: It is important to address any potential issues, big or small, as soon as they are identified to prevent them from becoming major problems.
- Having an irregular maintenance schedule: Always make sure to determine the optimal maintenance frequency and schedule for each piece of equipment based on its usage and other factors.
- Not following the preventive maintenance plan: It is important to follow your created plan and complete all required maintenance activities to ensure that the preventive maintenance check is successful.
- Improper record-keeping practices: Poor record-keeping can lead to missed maintenance activities and incomplete maintenance history, making it difficult to identify potential issues and make informed decisions.
- Lacking employee training: Insufficient employee training can lead to improper maintenance activities and safety issues.
FAQs about Preventive Maintenance Plans
A preventive maintenance plan should be created and used before performing preventive maintenance. As it is a plan, it is meant to help guide the preventive maintenance process. Preparing this document beforehand makes it easier to carry out maintenance tasks without a hitch.
Some factors that can affect the effectiveness of a preventive maintenance plan are:
- The staff performing the task
- The machines to be used and inspected
- The cost of performing preventive maintenance
- The risks one might face
A preventive maintenance plan is to be used before the preventive maintenance itself. On the other hand, a preventive maintenance audit will be used after all preventive maintenance tasks have been completed.
