Issue link: https://construction.trimble.com/en/resources/i/1520106
21 Preventive Maintenance Planning & Scheduling This edition of the B2W Fleet Maintenance & Management Best Practices Series covers the issues shop managers should consider and the steps they should take in order to set up and execute Preventive Maintenance (PM) Programs that optimize a CMMS like B2W Maintain. Scope Preventive Maintenance is the backbone of a productive, profitable heavy civil construction company. As a matter of fact, keeping assets in the field running and maximizing utilization is, in large part, the shop manager's main focus, as well as a large piece of the profitability puzzle. The modern shop manager must analyze the fleet and the capabilities of mechanics and put the tools in place to maximize the capability to deliver. These are the key elements to think about to manage the Preventive Maintenance process: • How do I set up Preventive Maintenance? • How do I know when it's due? • What's my lead time? • What are my goals? • What do I need to report on? The Preventive Maintenance Undercarriage A world-class CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) must have the capability to automate the PM (Preventive Maintenance) process. This begins with a thorough understanding of your fleet, including things like equipment type, manufacturer, age and maintenance history. Understanding the capabilities of your business to bring the equipment into the shop, and the timing associated with that, is important as well. All of this data should be available to enter into the CMMS when setting up your Programs. Setting up Programs should not be done on a broad level. Look for trends in PM schedules across your fleet. Reviewing the PM schedules of your equipment and looking for trends or similar schedules can help you decide what equipment should be grouped together in a Program. For example, if most of your equipment follows the 250-hour, 500-hour, 750-hour, and 1,000-hour PM Schedule, then it may be easy to create Programs by types of equipment with these basic intervals. If your company has a diverse fleet, then you may want to think about creating Programs specific to the trends identified; each with its own set of Intervals. Some companies take it as far as creating a Program for each specific piece of equipment. Although this may take a lot of work, it may pay off in accuracy and adherence to the equipment maintenance schedules. John Kane is a product manager for B2W Software and has had a leadership role in the development of the company's specialized B2W Maintain element for equipment maintenance and repairs, including the incorporation of customer-requested features. John has more than 16 years of project management, program management, technical data analysis and troubleshooting and reporting experience. Product Manager, B2W Software JOHN KANE