Building Maintenance

Building maintenance: complete guide

Facilities management

Maintenance & work orders

Compliance tracking

Preventive Maintenance

Preventive maintenance (PM) is a proactive maintenance strategy in which assets are serviced at predetermined time or usage intervals to reduce the likelihood of failure. Tasks may include inspections, lubrication, filter changes, calibrations, and component replacements. PM schedules are typically based on manufacturer recommendations, regulatory requirements, or historical failure data.

Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS)

A CMMS is software that centralises maintenance information, automates work order management, and tracks the upkeep of physical assets such as plant, equipment, and fleet. It stores service history, schedules preventive tasks, and manages spare parts inventory. Organisations use a CMMS to move from reactive, paper-based maintenance to a structured, data-driven approach.

Maintenance Scheduling

Maintenance scheduling is the process of planning when maintenance tasks will be performed, assigning resources (technicians, parts, equipment), and sequencing work to minimise disruption to operations. Effective scheduling balances preventive maintenance intervals, corrective work priorities, resource availability, and production demands. It transforms a backlog of work orders into an executable plan.

Deferred Maintenance

Deferred maintenance is maintenance work that has been identified as necessary but intentionally postponed to a later date due to budget constraints, resource limitations, or competing priorities. It differs from neglect in that the decision to defer is documented and the associated risks are acknowledged. Deferred maintenance creates a backlog that grows over time if not actively managed, and the cost of remediation typically increases the longer work is postponed.

Emergency Maintenance

Emergency maintenance is unplanned, urgent maintenance performed immediately in response to an equipment failure or condition that poses an imminent risk to safety, the environment, or critical operations. Unlike standard corrective maintenance, which can be scheduled within a reasonable timeframe, emergency maintenance demands immediate resource mobilisation regardless of the time of day or competing priorities. Common triggers include structural failures, hazardous material leaks, fire protection system failures, complete loss of a critical production asset, and safety system malfunctions. Emergency maintenance is the most expensive category of maintenance on a per-event basis because it typically involves overtime labour, expedited parts procurement, unplanned production losses, and higher error rates due to time pressure. Organisations typically aim to keep emergency maintenance below 5 to 10 per cent of total maintenance work orders, with the remainder handled through planned preventive and corrective programmes that are scheduled during normal working hours and supported by pre-staged parts and documented procedures.