Planned Preventative Maintenance is a key concept in many industries. It serves as a proactive strategy to ensure that your equipment and assets remain in pristine working condition, preventing the nightmarish scenario of unexpected and costly breakdowns.

In this article, you’ll discover the basics of PPM, how it works, its benefits over reactive maintenance, and how it’s applied in various industries.

At Cooper Weston, our team can work alongside you to provide a PPM program to ensure your equipment is running well, safely and efficiently. To get in touch, call us on 0800 669 6229.

Definition of PPM (Planned Preventative Maintenance)

The term PPM in maintenance stands for Planned Preventative Maintenance, a strategy you’ll find vital in keeping your equipment in optimal working condition. It’s a proactive approach that involves scheduling regular inspections and maintenance tasks. This way, you can detect and fix issues before they become bigger problems.

The Basics of PPM

In order to fully understand PPM, you’ll need to grasp its fundamental components and how they work together. PPM is essentially a schedule of regular checks and upkeep tasks to prevent breakdowns and failures.

It involves inspections, part replacements, cleaning, and testing. It’s not about fixing things when they break but preventing them from breaking in the first place.

How PPM Works

To get the most out of your PPM strategy, you’ll need a clear understanding of how it functions. PPM works by scheduling regular maintenance tasks to prevent unexpected breakdowns. These tasks are set in advance based on the machine’s operating conditions and lifespan. The aim is to nip potential problems in the bud, reducing costly and disruptive downtime.

You’ll need take a number of steps in order to successfully carry out your scheduled maintenance strategy:

1. Asset Identification and Assessment

  • Identification of Critical Assets: You’ll need to identify all of the critical assets within your organisation. These are the machines, equipment, or systems that are vital to your operations and whose failure could have significant repercussions.
  • Condition Assessment: With your critical assets identified, the next step involves assessing their current condition. This evaluation encompasses factors such as wear and tear, usage patterns, historical performance data, and manufacturer recommendations.

2. Determining Optimal Maintenance Frequency

  • Data-Driven Decisions: Armed with data about your critical assets, you can make informed decisions about the optimal maintenance frequency. This frequency can vary based on factors like asset type, usage intensity, and environmental conditions.
  • Balancing Act: Striking the right balance is crucial. Over-maintaining assets can be costly while under-maintaining them can lead to unexpected breakdowns. PPM helps you find that sweet spot.

3. Defining Maintenance Tasks and Procedures

  • Tailored Maintenance Plans: Each critical asset may require a unique set of maintenance tasks and procedures. This could involve routine inspections, lubrication, calibration, cleaning, or parts replacement.
  • Procedural Clarity: It’s important to define these maintenance tasks clearly, specifying who is responsible for each task and detailing the step-by-step procedures to be followed. This ensures consistency and adherence to best practices.

4. Scheduling Regular Tasks

  • Setting Up a Maintenance Schedule: Once you’ve identified critical assets, determined maintenance frequency, and defined tasks, the next crucial step is scheduling. Maintenance schedules can be daily, weekly, monthly, or based on specific triggers like equipment runtime hours or condition-based alerts.

5. Continuous Monitoring and Adjustment

  • Data Collection: PPM doesn’t stop at scheduling. It’s an ongoing process that involves continuous monitoring of asset performance. BMS (building management systems) and other technologies can help collect real-time data for condition monitoring.
  • Feedback Loops: Regularly review the effectiveness of your PPM program. Are tasks being completed as planned? Is there room for improvement in task definitions or scheduling? Feedback loops are essential for refining your PPM strategy over time.

By implementing a well-structured PPM strategy that follows these steps, you’ll be well-equipped to maintain your critical assets efficiently, reduce downtime, extend equipment lifespan, and keep your operations running smoothly. Planned Preventive Maintenance is not just a concept; it’s a proactive approach that empowers you to take control of your maintenance activities and drive the reliability and longevity of your assets.

PPM vs. Reactive Maintenance

When you compare PPM to reactive maintenance, it’s clear that both approaches have their pros and cons, but understanding those can help you make the best decision for your business.

PPM is a proactive method. You schedule regular check-ups to prevent breakdowns, which can lower overall costs and downtime. However, it requires more planning in advance.

On the other hand, reactive maintenance waits for a problem to occur before addressing it. It’s less time-consuming upfront, but sudden breakdowns can cause unplanned downtime and potentially higher repair costs.

Your choice should reflect your business’s specific needs and resources. Balance is often the key, and combining these strategies can produce optimal results.

Work with Cooper Weston for expert PPM solutions

Is your business in need of a planned maintenance partner? At Cooper Weston, we provide regularly scheduled maintenance services to ensure that your company’s assets remain functional. We work with a range of industries to provide a planned preventative maintenance schedule and undertake regular maintenance work to enhance systems.

To get in touch please contact us through our website or call us on 0800 669 6229.