Last updated on March 26th, 2024 at 07:02 pm
What Is Preventive Maintenance?
Preventive maintenance is the strategy taken to proactively recognize and address equipment issues that could cause further damage. It is a systematic approach that facility managers can take to foresee and prevent disastrous equipment downtime before they take place. To do this, facilities management personnel undertake routine maintenance, equipment inspection, and asset repairs to make sure that everything runs as smoothly as the manufacturer intended.
Typical Preventive Maintenance programmes involve checklists for each piece of equipment which broadly include the following areas:
- A set schedule for routine inspections
- Regular cleaning
- Lubrication of moving parts
- Restoration of broken parts
Types of Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance can either be time-based, usage-based, or a mixture of the two.
· Time-based Preventive Maintenance: This approach to preventive maintenance includes a set schedule where regular inspections will be conducted. Typically, this is used for bounded and critical assets.
· Usage-based Preventive Maintenance: With a usage-based approach, facility managers conduct maintenance after a fixed amount of runtime. A good example is a vehicle, which one should send for servicing after it travels a certain mileage. Usage-based preventive maintenance is suitable for equipment with irregular usage and may reduce the number of times preventive maintenance needs to be performed.
How can FacilityBot Help You with Preventive Maintenance?
When it comes to planning and keeping tabs on preventive maintenance, it is best done with the help of a CMMS system.
Here are ways FacilityBot can help with your preventive maintenance programme:
Easily Create Custom Checklists:
FacilityBot is equipped with an in-built form-builder where you can customize your checklist and set schedules as necessary. The appropriate technician can then view the task on the ’To-Do’ list along with the scheduled date.
Complete Checklists on Mobile Tablets
Technicians have the option to utilize web browsers or mobile tablets in ticking off the checklist. This allows the technician to record progress while on the move. Photo and Video Evidence can also be attached to the Requests as proof of accomplishment.
Sign off on Checklists Digitally
Say goodbye to the submission of paper checklists to be endorsed by supervisors. FacilityBot brings you the ability to digitally sign off on preventive maintenance checklists and multiple levels of sign-off are supported.
Generate Maintenance Calendars
Calendar view is available for every preventive maintenance checklist schedule. It is easily downloadable and available for viewing. With this, you can quickly see the schedule of maintenance activities and send it to relevant parties for planning.
Easily Retrieve Checklists for Audits
With all checklists digitally stored, there is no need to maintain physical files. Searches for old checklists are easily performed in seconds. Checklists can be digitally linked to assets, so the maintenance history of the asset is easily retrieved. Asset replacement decisions can be data-driven.
What To Do Next?
Preventive maintenance is a complex activity, particularly for large buildings with hundreds or thousands of assets. Proper operational procedures supported by technology are essential to make sure that checks are performed in the correct way and corrective actions are undertaken.
With the availability of reasonably priced, cloud-based Software-as-a-Service Computerized Maintenance Management System like FacilityBot, there is little reason for Facilities Managers not to leverage technology to support their preventive maintenance activities, even for small or medium-sized facilities. The Return on Investment is easily justified when one considers productivity savings, potential downtime costs, and improved asset lifecycle decision-making.
