Industry

When production equipment, lifting gear or site systems need attention, an industrial maintenance contract can make responsibilities and planned work clearer. The right arrangement depends on your assets, operating risks and in-house skills, not simply the number of visits included. Use the points below to define the work, distinguish routine servicing from statutory examinations, compare contract models and check that the arrangement is delivering useful records and timely repairs.

What should an industrial maintenance contract cover?

Start with an asset register: list the machines, lifting equipment, site systems and measurement equipment that need attention. Record each asset’s location, condition, operating pattern, manufacturer guidance, known faults and the consequences of failure. This helps you avoid a vague scope such as “maintain all machinery” and gives providers a consistent basis for pricing.

Set out the work you expect for each asset: planned servicing, condition checks, breakdown response, repairs, replacement parts, record-keeping and reporting. State what is excluded, such as major overhauls, consumables or work requiring specialist access. Define how the contractor must notify you of safety-critical defects, who can authorise extra work and how equipment is returned to service.

PUWER requires employers to keep work equipment in an efficient state, efficient working order and good repair. The HSE’s guidance on maintaining work equipment explains the maintenance duty; a contract can help deliver the work, but it does not transfer your responsibility as the employer. Where a maintenance log exists for machinery, it must be kept up to date.

Which checks need to be kept separate?

A maintenance visit is not automatically a statutory examination. Under PUWER, inspection needs depend on the equipment, its use and the risks identified; the HSE advises that inspection arrangements should follow a risk assessment. For a closer look at the distinction and what to document, see how to plan a PUWER inspection.

Lifting equipment has additional duties under LOLER. Thorough examination is a systematic examination of safety-critical parts by a competent person, followed by a written report. The HSE explains that the usual intervals are six months for lifting accessories and equipment used to lift people, and 12 months for other lifting equipment, unless a competent person has drawn up an examination scheme with different intervals. Routine servicing does not replace this examination. Set out who arranges it and tracks defects, and learn what to expect from a LOLER thorough examination.

Include site-specific assets rather than treating all equipment alike. For example, warehouse racking may need inspection arrangements informed by its condition and use; define how damage is reported, isolated and followed up in your racking inspection plan. For machine tools, the scope may need to cover lubrication, alignment, wear and manufacturer-recommended servicing, alongside any repairs. Clarify the tasks and records expected for machine tool maintenance.

If your operation relies on coordinate measuring machines (CMMs), specify whether the contract includes servicing, calibration or inspection, since these are not interchangeable tasks. Describe the equipment, required outputs and any applicable measurement needs when arranging CMM inspection services.

Which contract model fits your site?

A planned service contract can suit assets with predictable maintenance needs and established service routines. A reactive arrangement may fit equipment with occasional faults, but check what response arrangements are actually included and how emergency work is charged. A hybrid contract combines scheduled visits for critical assets with separately priced breakdown work or specialist examinations.

Compare proposals against the same asset list and scope. Ask each provider to explain:

• Which assets and tasks are included, and which are excluded.
• Whether labour, parts, travel and out-of-hours work are priced separately.
• How faults are prioritised, reported and escalated.
• What service records, inspection reports and recommendations you will receive.
• How subcontractors, access arrangements and safe working on your site will be managed.
• How changes to the asset list or scope affect charges.

Avoid comparing prices until you have checked that the proposals cover equivalent work. A low scheduled fee may not include parts or breakdown attendance; a broader price may include tasks your team can already perform. Request a clear schedule of rates and approval process for work outside the agreed scope.

How do you put the contract into practice?

Before work starts, agree the asset register, visit schedule, site induction and access requirements. Identify who on your team can authorise repairs and how production or facilities staff will report defects. For work that could affect safe operation, agree how equipment is isolated, handed over and confirmed fit for use before it returns to service.

Set practical service levels that match operational risk. These might cover acknowledgement of a fault, attendance arrangements, communication during a repair and delivery of records. Define the terms precisely: an “urgent response” is not useful unless both sides know what counts as urgent, when the clock starts and what happens if the stated response cannot be met.

Decide how records will be stored and reviewed. Keep service reports, current maintenance logs, parts information, defect notices and examination reports accessible to the people responsible for the equipment. Ensure the contractor knows how to contact the dutyholder promptly when a fault could make continued use unsafe.

How can you tell whether the contract is working?

Review performance at agreed intervals using evidence, not just the number of visits completed. Check whether scheduled work was done on time, repeat faults are being investigated, defects are closed out, and records arrive in a usable form. Track unplanned downtime and repair costs against your own baseline, taking care to compare like periods and account for changes in production or equipment use.

Use review meetings to resolve recurring problems and update the asset list when equipment is added, moved, modified or retired. If the contractor’s scope no longer reflects the risks or operating pattern, agree a written change rather than relying on informal assumptions. For lifting equipment, verify that examination reports identify defects and due dates, and that any required action is assigned and completed.

At renewal, compare actual work and outcomes with the contract’s scope, exclusions and charges. A useful arrangement makes it clear who does what, provides records you can act on and helps you plan maintenance around the real needs of your site.