Planned maintenance is the routine of performing inspections, minor repairs, cleaning, and upkeep, rather than waiting until something breaks down to take action. In fewer words, planned maintenance, also known as preventive maintenance, is a proactive rather than reactive approach.
Failure to timely diagnose any potential malfunction and operational issues with machines or buildings can have dire costs, both in terms of time and money.
However, adhering to a planned maintenance schedule can prove to be one of the best business decisions of building or facility managers, for these reasons:
1. Transparency and Predictability
The primary responsibility of a facility or a building manager is to enable efficient communication, respond to the customers’ needs timely, and ensure the smooth running of their premises. At the same time, they’re the ones optimizing the budget, liaising with many different suppliers and service providers like technicians, plumbers, or delivery workers.
While juggling a set of complex duties, a regular and fixed maintenance schedule can ease some of their workloads. It can bring transparency and predictability to their day-to-day operations, allowing them to focus on excellent service.
Especially at a time characterized by uncertainty due to COVID-19, the transparency and predictability brought forward by a planned maintenance schedule is invaluable. It can help facility managers to enjoy greater control in all aspects of their work, including control over budget, assets’ behavior, and other uncertainties.
2. Enhancing Building Safety
If not maintained properly, even the most user-friendly and high-tech devices and machinery can be safety hazards. However, adhering to a planned maintenance schedule ensures that all equipment and machinery operate smoothly, without posing any risks to people interacting with them.
Moreover, during planned maintenance, technicians can identify if the building is compromised in terms of risks such as fires or burglary.
Thus, in the face of these significant risks, even minor repairs and adjustments can save lives and property.
3. Optimizing the Workflow
If there’s a technical malfunction in a building or a facility, it might abruptly stop the work, and interrupt any ongoing plans and processes. The
unpredictable nature of the damage, or the repair schedule, might force facility managers or executives to alter business decisions. Undoubtedly, this interruption can cost a great deal of money, time, and even reputation.
However, a planned maintenance schedule prevents bad surprises stemming from technical malfunction. It helps people and companies to remain productive and keeps the workflow optimal.
4. Increasing Equipment Longevity
In medical sciences, there’s overwhelming evidence that early diagnosis saves lives and significantly accelerates a patient’s quality of life. The same applies to electronics, buildings, or machinery, too.
When a technician can identify the beginnings of a problem before it accelerates, it’s easier to treat it and prevent it from worsening.
Thus, a planned maintenance schedule can increase equipment longevity, which can benefit businesses in many different ways.
5. Environmentally Responsible
Increased equipment longevity not only reduces time and costs, but it’s also more environmentally responsible. Once companies don’t need to renew or replace equipment frequently, there’ll be less harmful electronic waste piling up in landfills.
Furthermore, a regular maintenance schedule is an excellent opportunity to save resources. Service providers such as plumbers or electricians can analyze whether there are potential water leakages or excess energy usage. This way, they can give recommendations to building or facility managers to tackle these.
