Maintenance

When a lift stops, a heating system fails or a machine is taken out of service, the cost is not limited to the repair. Your staff, customers and day-to-day operations may be affected too. Planned preventative maintenance (PPM) gives you a way to schedule checks and servicing before faults cause disruption, while keeping reactive repairs in the plan for problems that cannot be predicted.

If you maintain passenger or goods lifts, our guide to lift maintenance contracts explains what a service agreement should cover.

What should a PPM programme cover?

PPM is maintenance carried out before a failure, to help prevent deterioration or meet a particular duty. It can include scheduled inspections, servicing, testing and planned renewal work. It does not eliminate breakdowns, so your arrangements should also explain how staff report faults and how urgent repairs are handled. The UK government’s estate maintenance guidance distinguishes planned preventative work from reactive maintenance after unexpected failure; its examples concern school estates, but the distinction is useful when organising other premises too.

Start with an asset register: a record of the systems and equipment you are responsible for, where they are, and who maintains them. Include relevant building fabric and services as well as work equipment. For each item, record its condition, operational importance, maintenance history, applicable instructions and any inspection or examination requirements. A plain-English explanation of planned preventative maintenance can help you distinguish a scheduled task from an emergency response.

For work equipment, include safety in the plan, not just reliability. The HSE says PUWER requires work equipment to be maintained in a safe condition, with maintenance carried out safely; its maintenance guidance also highlights the need for competent workers and suitable planning. Consider how equipment will be isolated, whether work affects normal operations, and how employees and contractors will be kept clear of hazards.

How do you set priorities and choose an approach?

Not every asset needs the same attention or contract. Prioritise according to the risk of failure, the effect on safety and business operations, asset condition, and any specific legal duty. A critical system with a serious consequence of failure may justify more frequent checks or a quicker response arrangement than a non-essential item. Use manufacturer instructions and competent advice when setting task intervals; do not assume that a generic schedule suits every site.

You can manage tasks with in-house staff, appoint specialist contractors, or combine the two. Compare these options by checking the work included, visit frequency, response arrangements, exclusions, parts and repair charges, reporting, and responsibility for coordinating access. Ask what evidence you will receive after each visit and how defects are prioritised. A contract should make clear which tasks are routine servicing and which require a separate statutory inspection or examination.

Some assets need arrangements tailored to their own risks. For lifts, plan servicing and breakdown response separately from any legally required thorough examination; HSE explains the distinction and dutyholder responsibilities in its lifting equipment guidance. If you operate a lift, consider how users will raise an alarm and what happens if it stops between floors. For air conditioning and fire alarms, specify the systems and tasks in scope rather than relying on a vague promise to “maintain the building”. Your arrangements may need to reflect the particular needs of an air conditioning maintenance contract and a fire alarm maintenance contract.

How do you put the schedule into practice?

Turn the asset register into a calendar of tasks, with a named person responsible for arranging each one. Record the planned date, access requirements, likely operational disruption, contractor details and any safety controls needed. Tell staff how to report faults between visits, and make sure someone reviews incoming reports so problems are not left until the next scheduled service.

A spreadsheet may be adequate for a small, straightforward site if it is kept current and someone owns the process. As the asset list or number of users grows, PPM software may help you assign tasks, track due dates and store records. Evaluate it against the way your team actually works: consider mobile access, reminders, evidence storage, reporting and how easily information can be exported if you change systems.

Before maintenance starts, confirm the scope, site rules, access, isolation arrangements and who will communicate with affected staff. The HSE cautions that poorly planned maintenance can expose workers and others to serious risks, especially when equipment could start unexpectedly or the work takes place alongside normal operations. Make sure the person doing the work has the necessary competence and information for the task, and agree how unsafe defects will be reported and managed.

How can you tell whether the plan is working?

Review completed tasks against the schedule and investigate overdue work rather than simply moving it to a later date. Keep service sheets, inspection reports, defects, repairs and follow-up actions together with the asset record. If a defect is safety-critical, follow the relevant legal procedure and take the equipment out of use where required; a routine maintenance record alone does not establish that a separate examination duty has been met.

Look at patterns as well as individual visits. Repeated faults, rising repair needs, missed appointments or disruption during maintenance may indicate that an asset needs a different task, interval or replacement plan. Ask contractors for clear findings and recommendations, then decide who will approve and track the next action. Review the programme after significant changes to the building, equipment, use or operating conditions so that the schedule continues to match the site.