When should I start a preventive maintenance program?

Ideally, you should try implementing a preventive maintenance program as soon as possible. You’ll want to start small, and you’ll need to have a few things going for you first. Preventive maintenance is an ongoing endeavor, so you need the resources in place to be able to handle it.

Before You Get Started

Before getting started with a PM program, consider these questions:

• Do you have enough staff on board to handle recurring maintenance checks and upkeep?
• Are you capable of providing training to transition over to PM processes and software?
• Do you have the administrative processes in place to plan and schedule PM tasks?

Are you ready to start a PM program?

If you answered “no” to any of the questions above, it may be best to take care of those items first before creating a full-blown PM program. More growth may be necessary, or you may simply need to make adjustments to your maintenance management processes.

For example, if your maintenance manager doesn’t currently have time to plan out maintenance tasks, they may need to delegate some of their tasks to another staff member before a PM program becomes feasible.

On the other hand, if you can answer “yes” to each of these questions, you’re ready to get started with a preventive maintenance program. Keep in mind that PM may be simpler than you think. You’re probably performing some PM tasks already, such as lubrication or cleaning. Creating a PM program is simply structuring those tasks into an organized plan.

As you start your PM program, keep in mind that you don’t need to put every asset you own on your program. In fact, you probably shouldn’t plan preventive maintenance for everything. When starting out, you’ll want to make plans for one item at a time, adding assets as your capacity increases.