Preventive Maintenance

Scheduled, planned maintenance carried out on equipment or assets before failure occurs - designed to reduce downtime, extend asset life, and maintain compliance with inspection requirements.

Quick Reference

Types

Time-based (fixed interval) and condition-based (trigger-based)

Purpose

Prevent failures, reduce downtime, maintain compliance, extend asset life

Compliance link

Many PM tasks are legally required (LOLER, gas safety, electrical testing)

Cost impact

PM typically costs 3-4x less than reactive repairs and unplanned downtime

Records required

Maintenance logs and inspection certificates needed for compliance audits

What is a Preventive Maintenance?

Preventive maintenance (PM) is any planned maintenance activity carried out before an asset or piece of equipment fails. The goal is to prevent breakdowns, maintain performance, extend asset life, and - crucially in regulated sectors - maintain compliance with statutory inspection and certification requirements.

There are two main types of preventive maintenance: time-based (scheduled at fixed intervals, regardless of condition - e.g., annual boiler service) and condition-based (triggered when monitoring indicates the asset is approaching a threshold - e.g., when oil pressure drops below a set level). Most compliance-driven maintenance is time-based, with intervals set by regulation, manufacturer guidance, or insurance requirements.

In regulated sectors (construction, healthcare, facilities management, manufacturing), preventive maintenance often overlaps with statutory inspection requirements. A gas boiler must be serviced annually. Lifting equipment requires LOLER inspection. Fire suppression systems need annual testing. Falling behind on PM in these cases is not just an operational issue - it is a legal and safety issue.

What Happens If It's Missed?

Missing preventive maintenance has cascading effects: immediate equipment failure risk; potential legal non-compliance (if the missed PM is a statutory requirement); voided insurance (some policies require evidence of regular maintenance); and in regulated environments, regulatory action. In healthcare, facilities without current maintenance records for medical equipment and building systems face CQC scrutiny. In construction, uninspected plant can result in HSE prohibition notices.

How Operations Teams Manage This

Facilities and operations teams manage PM schedules through a CMMS (Computerised Maintenance Management System) or, more commonly in smaller businesses, spreadsheets. The challenge is that assets have different maintenance intervals, some tasks are more critical than others, and responsibility is often spread across different team members or contractors. Tracking systems that send alerts in advance of due dates - whether for a 10-asset facilities management operation or a portfolio of 200 pieces of plant - prevent the "out of sight, out of mind" failures that generate emergency callouts and compliance gaps.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between preventive and reactive maintenance?

Preventive maintenance is planned and carried out before failure. Reactive maintenance (also called corrective or breakdown maintenance) responds to failures after they occur. Research consistently shows that preventive maintenance is more cost-effective: reactive maintenance typically costs 3-4 times more per job when factoring in emergency callouts, downtime, and secondary damage. For compliance purposes, reactive maintenance cannot substitute for statutory inspection requirements.

How often should preventive maintenance be carried out?

It depends on the asset. Statutory requirements set minimum intervals for certain equipment: gas appliances annually, LOLER inspection every 6-12 months, electrical systems every 1-5 years depending on type. For non-statutory maintenance, intervals are set based on manufacturer recommendations, risk assessment, and operating environment. High-use or safety-critical equipment may require more frequent maintenance than manufacturer minimum recommendations.

What documentation is needed for preventive maintenance?

At minimum: a record of what was done, when, by whom, and the outcome. For statutory maintenance (gas safety, LOLER, electrical testing), the inspecting engineer produces a specific certificate or report that must be retained. Insurers and regulators may require maintenance logs going back 3-5 years. Digital maintenance records are increasingly expected - paper records are difficult to produce at short notice during an audit.