What is Preventive Maintenance? A Complete Guide
Contents
To keep equipment, buildings, and other property in good shape, maintenance is very important. If you don’t undertake maintenance, malfunctions will happen, which will cost you money in repairs, downtime, and safety risks. Preventive maintenance (PM) is a way to stop problems from happening before they happen. The PM makes sure that equipment and systems are checked, serviced, and fixed as needed on a regular basis instead of waiting for something to break down.
Understanding Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance (PM) is the regular, periodic service of assets while they are still in use to keep them from breaking down, keep prices down, and keep safety standards high. PM is proactive, while reactive maintenance only happens once equipment breaks down. It makes daily operations more reliable and provides FM teams more control over uptime, budget, and compliance.
Types of Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance isn’t just one thing; it’s a set of tools. The most important thing is to know what tool to use for what job. These are the six main types of preventative maintenance. Each one is meant to make the best use of resources, lower risk, and be in line with real-world operational goals.
Time-Based Maintenance (TBM):
Regular maintenance every day, week, or year, no matter what state the asset is in. Great for things that need to wear out or be compliant, such as fire systems and HVAC filters.
Usage-Based Maintenance (UBM):
PM is based on how the asset is actually used (hours, cycles, mileage) instead of a calendar. Best for things that aren’t used very often, like generators or fleet vehicles.
Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM):
Keeps an eye on real-time asset indications like temperature and vibration and starts maintenance when certain criteria are crossed. Good for important, high-value assets like HVAC compressors and industrial motors.
Predictive Maintenance (PdM):
Using machine learning and IoT data to predict errors before they happen is a data-driven strategy. Great for systems that are very important, such as industrial chillers and production lines, where failure costs a lot.
Prescriptive Maintenance:
AI-powered, It not only forecasts failure but also uses advanced simulations to suggest particular actions and the best time to do them. Best for big, complicated portfolios with a lot of data, such as smart campuses or airports.
Risk-Based Maintenance (RBM):
It puts PM duties in order of importance based on how bad an asset’s failure would be, not merely how old or how much it has been used. Important for facilities with different types of assets, such as HVAC in a data center and hallway lighting.
Also read: Top 10 Reasons to Use CAFM Software For Facility Management 2026
What is a Preventive Maintenance Plan?
A Preventive Maintenance (PM) Plan is a written, organized way to take care of equipment. It includes doing maintenance activities on a regular basis to avoid unplanned breakdowns. A PM strategy makes sure that assets are repaired while they are still in excellent operating condition, which extends their life and keeps people safe. This is better than waiting for a machine to break down.
Preventive vs. Predictive Maintenance
Why CMMS Is So Important for Preventive Maintenance
Three things that are almost impossible to scale using spreadsheets, emails, or paper logs are consistency, accountability, and trackability. That’s why the finest facility teams use connected systems like CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Systems).
A CMMS ensures that scheduled tasks are done, that compliance is recorded, and that teams stay on the same page, even when they are in different buildings, on different shifts, or working with different service providers. It’s the backbone that makes PM more than just a guess and gives you operational control.
Factech’s CMMS goes even further. It doesn’t simply plan chores; it also automates compliance, keeps track of maintenance KPIs in real time, and lets you see how all of your assets are doing throughout your whole portfolio. Factech helps you execute a leaner, data-driven preventive maintenance program on a large scale by giving you smarter PM triggers and consolidated analytics.
FAQs
Q: What is the main purpose of a Preventive Maintenance Plan?
The idea is to do regular, scheduled maintenance on assets while they are still working to keep them from breaking down unexpectedly and to make them last longer.
Q: What is the difference between Usage-Based Maintenance and Time-Based Maintenance?
Time-Based is based on the calendar (like every month), whereas Usage-Based is based on how much wear and tear has happened (like every 500 hours or 1,000 miles).
Q: When is Predictive Maintenance better than Preventive Maintenance?
Choose Predictive Maintenance for important, high-value assets where the expense of a sensor is worth it since it will save you money by preventing a major failure.
Q: What part does a CMMS play in a plan for maintenance?
A CMMS is a digital backbone that keeps track of technician accountability, automates scheduling, and keeps compliance logs that are available for an audit.
Q: What makes Risk-Based Maintenance vital for big buildings?
It helps teams focus their limited resources and manpower on the most important equipment, like cooling the data center, instead of less important things, like hallway lights.
