There are many reasons that so many facilities don't have preventive maintenance
programs in place. Most reasons for not having a PM program are about limited
time and money. You may have heard some of these reasons in your organization.
TOO BUSY FOR PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE
If your department is so swamped with emergency repairs that you can't find
time for PM, you desperately need to find time for PM. A good preventive maintenance
program will significantly reduce the break downs and other emergencies that
are keeping you so busy. A good way to start a PM program when you are over
extended is to identify the ten pieces of equipment that require the most man
hours in repairs and start with these ten things. Once properly maintained,
the emergency repairs on these top ten should slow down and they will no longer
be your top ten time wasters. Use the tiny bit of extra time you've saved in
repairs to these items to add the next top ten pieces of equipment to your
program.
In sort order, you will have a comprehensive program and will no longer be
chasing your tail.
NOT ENOUGH MAINTENANCE STAFF
This may be true. You may legitimately understaffed for the size and age of
your facility. However, failing to perform PM is not a good strategy for making
your small staff as effective as possible. Dealing with emergencies from neglected
equipment requires many more man hours than is required to perform proper maintenance.
These are hours you can't afford to waste.
CAN'T AFFORD TO HIRE SKILLED STAFF FOR SPECIALIZED TASKS
This is an idea that is common in many facilities. A familiar example of this
is when a roof has a leak. In-house maintenance staff are used to make roof
repairs even if they don't have the necessary knowledge and skills to do it
right. Slopping roof patch on the hole or separated seam stops the leak for
a few weeks. The result is that instead of spending the money for a proper
repair once, you end up spending money over and over again to repair the roof.
Include the cost of replacing ceiling tiles, car pets, and other things that
get wet inside the building and it's easy to see that saving money on skills
rarely saves anything.
DON'T NEED TO PM SOMETHING THAT'S ALREADY PAST ITS USEFUL SERVICE
LIFE
Whatever the equipment is, if you haven't already replaced it, you probably
are going to need to continue using it. If replacement equipment is already
ordered and scheduled for delivery in the next few days, then skip the PM.
Otherwise, continue to PM the equipment. PM on a brand new piece of equipment
doesn't make a lot of difference in the equipment's performance. PM on older
equipment makes a big difference. Failure is more likely as equipment ages.
With proper PM, its useful life might be extended beyond your expectations.
STARTING TO DO PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE
Creating an effective preventive maintenance program for your facility will
require time and dedication on the part of you and your maintenance staff.
Starting a PM program from scratch is a big project that will require time
spent in addition to your regular maintenance work. Doing this work can be
discouraging since the benefits of a good PM program take months to materialize.
If you can stay the course and successfully follow your PM program for the
first 3 months, the benefits will be dramatic, both in the long-term costs
of operating your property and in the way the maintenance department manages
its workload.
If you are bombarded with a constant barrage of emergencies preventing you
from finding the time to set up a PM program, you desperately need to find
the time to get your building under control. The work required to create a
new PM program will most likely fall on the maintenance manager's shoulders.
After the program is created and implemented, the extra work begins for the
maintenance mechanics or technicians. Maintenance department personnel will
essentially be doing two jobs during the first 3 months that a PM program is
in place. They will need to continue to do their usual maintenance repairs
and still find time to perform several preventive maintenance tasks each week.
There are as many variations on PM programs as there are facilities. Some
PM programs are good and some are not. The following 4 step process will help
you to develop a PM program that is effective and manageable. If you follow
these 4 steps, you will have a PM program that will improve the condition of
your facility, improve the experience of your building users, and improve the
way the maintenance department works every day.
The 4 steps are (1) determine your organization's goals with respect to PM,
(2) inventory your building's equipment and use your organization's goals to
decide which equipment to include in the program. (3) figure out what type
of preventive maintenance each piece of equipment needs and how often. (4)
put all of this information into a calendar that will be your preventive maintenance
schedule.
Step 1--Determining Your Organization's Goals
All organizations are different. Different organizations have different standards
and expectations from the facilities and maintenance department. Therefore,
not all PM programs will be the same.
The PM tasks that care for mechanical equipment will be fairly universal from
building to building. If the same model of boiler is installed in a hospital,
school, or hotel, the manufacturer's maintenance recommendations will be the
same. The same is true for nearly all mechanical equipment. The PM procedures
and schedules for mechanical equipment will be identical regardless of where
they are installed.
By contrast, let's consider those PM tasks which affect only the aesthetics
of a building, such as painting, wallpapering, buffing floors, and changing
stained or dirty ceiling tiles. The PM schedule for these tasks will vary widely
from facility to facility. This is because different facilities have different
standards concerning appearance. A warehousing and shipping facility will have
less emphasis on aesthetics than you would expect at a hotel. The PM schedule
for a warehouse might include painting the lobby every five years, while paint
in hotel guest rooms is touched up every three months. Each industry has its
own priorities that must be taken into consideration when setting up PM schedules.
A successful PM program for one industry will not work well in another.
Not only do PM schedules vary across industries but the expected service life
of carpets, wallpaper, and paint will also vary from industry to industry.
A slightly worn carpet may be perfectly acceptable for use in a factory break,
room but would have been thrown out years earlier if it were in the main lobby
of a financial investment firm. The rules of what is aesthetically acceptable
are hard to define.
Most organizations place higher priority on the appearance of public places
such as lobbies or building facades and place lower priorities on places only
used or seen by employees. Stock rooms are rarely as attractive as the adjoining
retail space. When setting up your PM program, you will need to consider the
usage of each space. All spaces do not require the same PM frequency since
all areas do not have the same standards for appearance.
In order to create an effective PM program, you will need to understand your
organization's goals with respect to its appearance. These goals are often
hard to define, rarely written down, and different managers will likely have
different opinions on the matter. If you do not feel confident that you have
clear direction in this area, ask. Ask those who have the authority to spend
the necessary money, to look at your building to determine if the present condition
is acceptable. If not, ask if they are willing to invest the resources to bring
the building up to standards.
Step 2--Inventory Capital Equipment and Decide What to PM
Before you can PM any piece of equipment, you will need to decide what equipment
to include in your preventive maintenance program.
Each building component and each piece of capital equipment in your building
will need to be considered to determine if it should be included.
Blueprints or construction documents for your facility will be a good resource
when developing your equipment list. The floor plans and mechanical drawing
pages will help you to locate equipment which may be hidden out of view during
your walk through. Air handlers, shut off valves, and lighting timers are often
hidden above suspended ceilings and other concealed spaces. A set of prints
will show you where to look for these items.
The blueprint's equipment schedules of HVAC equipment, electrical panels,
and plumbing fixtures will provide manufacturers, model numbers, voltages,
and lots of other important information about each piece of equipment. Since
equipment may have been added, removed, or replaced since initial construction,
a thorough walk-through of the facility will also be required to verify the
information found on blueprints.
Both mechanical equipment and building areas will need to be considered for
inclusion in your PM program. Section 11 discusses the actual PM procedures
and PM frequency for different types of mechanical equipment and will be a
useful resource to make sure no piece of equipment is overlooked. A walkthrough
and review of your buildings floor plans will ensure that all necessary building
equipment and areas are included.

FIG. 1. Some equipment is PMd for safety and not necessarily to extend
equipment life.
There are several reasons to include equipment in a PM program. As we've already
discussed, the most common reason to include equipment in the PM program is
to extend its service life, reduce breakdowns, and ultimately save money. There
are also other reasons to PM equipment. Some equipment must have regular service
or inspections performed to comply with government regulations. Examples of
this would be annual service to fire extinguishers, annual boiler inspections,
and monthly testing of emergency lighting.
Some PM tasks may be included because they affect public safety.
Safety inspections of playgrounds and inspections of asbestos containing building
materials do not extend equipment life and may not be required by regulations.
However, they should be included for safety and liability's sake. Section 11
has a section dedicated to items needing scheduled PM according to codes and
regulations.
The 80-20 rule says that 80% of the results come from 20% of the causes. The
80-20 rule seems to apply to a surprisingly large number of situations. For
most businesses, the top 20% of customers account for approximately 80% of
sales. Roughly 80% of income goes to 20% of the population. We tend to drive
on the same 20% of local roads, 80% of the time we spend in the car. Most of
us spend our free time with the closest 20% of our friends during 80% of our
social life.
The numbers may vary a little but the principal that 80% of results come from
only 20% of what we do also applies to PM. When selecting equipment to include
in your PM program, Roofing and HVAC equipment are the 20% of your building's
equipment that will result in 80% of your PM program's success. It is interesting
to note that roofing and HVAC systems account for about 17% (very close to
20%) of commercial building construction costs. Don't be surprised if you find
that 80% of your PM work is concentrated on this 20% of your building.
The equipment lists in Section 11 can be used as guides to help you decide
what to include in your PM program during your walkthrough and equipment inventory.
Equipment Data Sheets
During your walkthrough to identify the equipment in your building, you will
obviously need to write down what you find. It will be helpful to know not
only what type of equipment you have but some other information about the equipment.
This information will be used later to determine the frequency and actual PM
procedures for each piece of equipment. I prefer to write this information
on an equipment data sheet like the one in FIG. 2. The data collected should
include everything needed to research the manufacturer's maintenance instructions
including model numbers, serial numbers, dates of manufacture and the manufacturers'
addresses and phone numbers.

FIG. 2
If you choose to use an equipment data sheet, I would recommend collecting
some additional information. Write down data such as equipment operating voltage
and part numbers of those frequently needed items such as filters, drive belts,
or fuses. These data sheets then become a valuable resource in the future.
Keeping these sheets filed and accessible will make ordering replacement parts
easier. You will always have model and serial numbers at your fingertips and
will rarely need to make a trip to the roof to get a part number for a broken
drive belt.
By using equipment data sheets to record equipment information during your
initial inventory, you can be sure all necessary information is collected and
you have the information available in a standardized for mat. This will reduce
the need to re-walk the building for missed information and will help when
determining what PM tasks need to be done and in setting up your PM calendar
later in this Section. Even if you will be using a computer maintenance management
system (CMMS) to manage your preventive maintenance program, equipment data
sheets provide an easy to use format to transfer the information into the computer
later.
One more note about equipment data sheets: Many maintenance departments use
the back of these sheets as a permanent record of equipment repairs. Each time
a technician completes a repair, he should fill out the back of the equipment
data sheet for that piece of equipment. Having a complete repair history of
each and every piece of equipment in your building will be useful in future
troubleshooting, making repair vs. re place decisions, and in developing capital
budgets.
The equipment data sheet with the repair history should remain in an active
file as long as the equipment is in service. When a new piece of equipment
is installed, a new equipment data sheet is filled out and added to the file.
When an old piece of equipment is retired, its equipment data sheet is archived.
In many organizations, equipment data sheets have given way to computerized
equipment inventories. Many CMMS (computerized maintenance management system
or software) are capable of developing PM schedules for most types of equipment
and can also maintain a repair history on every piece of equipment in the inventory.
Whether you choose to set up a computerized PM system or a paper system, the
initial equipment inventories are done the same way.
Unique Identifier
Every piece of equipment in your PM program should be given a unique identification
number. It may seem logical to identify equipment by its location instead of
creating an equipment number but this approach has flaws. Primarily, some pieces
of equipment may be moved to other locations. PTACs, those through-the-wall
air-conditioning units often used in hotels, are often swapped from room to
room when a unit needs repairs. This means the PTAC in room 111 might not be
the same PTAC that was in room 111 the last time a repair was made. And when
equipment is retired and replaced, we need a way to distinguish the old equipment
from the new and start a new repair history.
The most common way facilities department identify equipment is with a two
part ID number. The first part of the number identifies the type of equipment,
such as A for air conditioner or F for fan. The second part is simply a unique
number that lets us identify each air conditioner from the others.
Commonly Used Equipment Identifiers
A-Air conditioner
B-Boilers
C-Compressors
E-Elevators
F-Fans
G-Grounds
K-Kitchen
L-Laundry
M-Motors
O-Other (misc.)
P-Pumps
R-Refrigeration
V-Valves
W-Electronic Equipment
X-Emergency Equipment
By no means are these identifiers set in stone and you will probably have
other equipment in your facility that need additional letters to be added.
You might even want to include more information in the ID numbering system.
In large facilities you might add a third component to identify which area
of a building the equipment is located in or a component that identifies specific
buildings. In a school district, you might use ID number CP-A04-SH for circulator
pump number 04 located in A-hall at the senior high school. With this type
of numbering system, everyone in the maintenance department can tell immediately
the type of equipment, what building it is in, and where it can be found in
the building.
The ID system is completely up to you but plan the system care fully. Your
ID system should include all the information you consider important. Your numbering
system must allow a unique identifier for each piece of equipment. If you work
in multiple buildings, you don't want a pump identified as P-02 in more than
one location. Some equipment will already have unique identifiers. For example,
electrical panels usually have unique ID numbers attached during construction
and boilers usually have unique registration numbers issued by the state.
Instead of doing a walkthrough twice, you can assign a unique equipment identification
number to each piece of equipment as you make your equipment inventory. A selection
of metal marking paint pens in several bright colors will let you easily write
the equipment identification number on each piece of equipment. Make the numbers
large, bright, and durable enough to be visible for the equipment's entire
service life.
Many organizations maintain asset inventories but only maintain an inventory
of equipment which exceeds a preset value, often $1,000 or $2,000. These inventories
are maintained for insurance, taxes, and asset control purposes, but not for
the purposes of preventive maintenance.
While our inventory usually will not include every lock set or window, it
should include each piece of equipment that will be part of our PM pro gram.
Circulating pumps, ventilation fans, and shut off valves are typically not
expensive items but should be inventoried for our purposes since they will
be listed on our PM schedule.

FIG. 3. Each piece of equipment should be marked with its own unique ID
number.
Not everything that will be included in your PM program needs its own equipment
ID number. For example, public rest rooms should be included in every PM program.
Every plumbing fixture and toilet partition in the rest room should be inspected
and repairs and adjustments made on a regular basis. Restroom PM will include
checking the operation of ventilation fans, lights, faucets, drains, and toilets.
You will also inspect wall, ceiling, and floor finishes, checking all fixtures
for leaks, and tightening any loose TP rollers, towel bars or robe hooks. Each
robe hook or faucet does not need a unique ID number nor do each of these small
items need to be included in our equipment inventory. To label and inventory
every paper towel dispenser would be too cumbersome and time consuming.
Just as a an air handler would be inventoried as one item instead of considering
the blower, air coil, filter rack, and cabinet separately; A restroom would
also be considered one item with all its components maintained together.
In the rest room example, the rest room does not need a unique ID number since
it probably already has one. We probably already call that restroom "the
third floor rest room" and can use that title on our PM schedule. Using
the room location as the identifier will work fine in this case because, unlike
other types of assets, it is unlikely that the third floor rest room will ever
be moved anywhere else. Of course this same logic ex tends to offices, lobbies,
guest rooms, classrooms, and lots of other building areas that need to be part
of a PM program but don't need to be inventoried.
The rules about what should be included separately and what should be grouped
together in a preventive maintenance program aren't always clear. Even if you're
considering all the equipment in one hotel room as a single item on your PM
schedule, you may still have specific pieces of equipment within the hotel
room that you want to inventory separately. For example, you may decide to
include hotel room 101 on your PM schedule so that everything in the room is
inspected and repairs made once a month. However, you may decide to separately
include the PTAC, refrigerator, and television in room 101 in your equipment
inventory. The fact that these items can be moved from room to room suggests
they should not be considered as part of room 101.
In a commercial kitchens, items such as doors, walls, floors, counters, and
lighting can be lumped together as "Kitchen PM," while larger, more
complex equipment in the kitchen such as ventilation fans, fire suppression
systems, and walk in freezers should be considered separately. In many cases
which items to include is a judgment call based on experience and you will
likely end up making some adjustments to your system after it is implemented.
No two PM systems are the same and that's fine because no two buildings, companies,
or maintenance departments are the same.
If you will be using a CMMS (computerized maintenance management system) to
manage your PM program, deciding what equipment to lump together and what to
consider individually becomes even more important. A typical CMMS will generate
paper work orders on the dates particular PM tasks are to be completed. A particular
school may have 20 classrooms in one wing with unit ventilators in each classroom.
If we are changing unit ventilator filters in that wing on the same evening
or even over a one week period, it would make the most sense to have one work
order generated for all of the units instead of having 20 separate work orders
to print, sign, and enter into the system as completed. On the other hand,
the same school may have 4 large chillers to make the chilled water for all
the unit ventilators in the school. Because a chiller failure is more critical
than a single unit ventilator failure and because the repair and re placement
costs for chillers is many times the same costs for a unit ventilator, each
chiller would probably be included separately in your CMMS.
Deciding if something needs to be inventoried for your PM pro gram is not
an exact science. Remember that things that are included as a group, such as
the fixtures in a bath room, do not need individual numbers. Equipment that
is included separately will need unique identification numbers.
Step 3--Scope and Frequency
Deciding what PM tasks to do and how often to do them.
By now, you should have decided exactly what pieces of equipment and building
components you are going to include in your PM program. We now need to decide
two things. The first is the exact procedures the PM technician will follow
when performing PM. This is the "scope of work." The second is how
often we will be doing each PM task, or the "frequency."
Scope-or how will you PM each piece of equipment?
Some blower motors will need 20 drops of 20W oil added to bearings, others
require a high temperature grease, some utilize sealed bearings and need no
lubrication at all. The PM procedures for different types of equipment will
be very different. Even things that seem very similar may have very different
requirements. The only right way to perform PM is do follow the equipment manufacturer's
maintenance procedures.
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE TRUISM #4 -- The only right way to
perform PM is to follow the equipment manufacturer's maintenance procedures.
Even similar types of equipment will have different preventive maintenance
procedures. For example, two similar 1 hp circulating pumps may have different
types of bearings, different coupler designs, and different materials in their
rotating seals. The PM procedure that is right for one may cause damage to
the other. No one knows a piece of equipment better than the engineers that
designed, performance tested, manufactured, and ultimately warranty the equipment.
Get the owner's and service manuals for every piece of equipment in your facility.
Fortunately, with the explosion of information available on the internet, many
service manuals are now readily available on the web. Equipment manufacturers'
websites often have their service manuals available for download at no cost.
If you do download electronic copies of these manuals, consider printing a
paper copy for your service manual library. Everyone in the maintenance shop
should have easy access to these manuals.
Equipment manufacturers will sometimes provide equipment manuals with maintenance
instructions by fax, or by mail free of charge. Con tact all of the equipment
manufacturers on your equipment data sheets and order these manuals. Having
your own equipment library will not only help in setting up your PM procedures
but will also be a valuable repair resource as several will include troubleshooting
flowcharts and exploded parts diagrams.
Having the manufacturer's recommendations is important if you want preventive
maintenance to be effective and to produce the results that are possible by
doing it right. Preventive maintenance procedures can't be haphazard. Doing
the right things will increase equipment life and reduce breakdowns. Doing
the wrong thing may not. The wrong PM procedures can even reduce equipment
life and cause equipment failures.
Using the wrong viscosity of oil to lubricate bearings can wash grease out
of the bearing causing them to fail. Patching a roof with a sealant that is
incompatible with the roofing material can ruin the roof and void the warranty.
Several studies done in the manufacturing industry have shown that up to 50%
of equipment failures happened immediately after preventive maintenance was
performed indicating that improper PM likely contributed to the failure.
There will be times when the manufacturer of a piece of equipment is no longer
in business or when literature is not available for an older piece of equipment.
In these cases you will need to rely on best maintenance practices (BMP), experience,
and your own technical knowledge instead of manufacturer's instructions. Section
11, lists many different types of equipment and discusses in detail some general
PM guidelines for each that can be used if manufacture's literature is not
available. Some knowledge of lubrication theory (discussed in Section 5) and
experience with similar pieces of equipment will also be helpful in developing
procedures for those items which do not have manufacturer's instructions available.
CLAIR
In manufacturing and heavy industry, preventive maintenance mechanics use
the acronym CLAIR for clean, lubricate, adjust, inspect,
and repair to remember
the steps to follow when performing PM to a piece of equipment. The type of
lubricant, how the machine is adjusted, and other details will be different
for each piece of equipment but the CLAIR principle will remain the same.
With the manufactures' maintenance instructions in hand, let's re turn to
the equipment data sheet. You will notice the bottom of the sheet has a section
titled "maintenance requirements." The PM procedures for each piece
of equipment should also be added here as permanent instructions for your PM
technicians to follow when performing PM. If he has any questions about what
needs to be done during PM, he can open the file and refer to this sheet.
The staff performing PM should have easy access to the PM manuals. An employee
break room or central shop accessible to all maintenance is a good place to
locate a filing cabinet with an alphabetized set of these manuals. Many organizations
with successful PM programs have also attached a copy of the preventive maintenance
requirements for each piece of equipment right at the equipment. These can
be typed sheets inserted in plastic pockets adhered to the side of the equipment
or written on a card board tag attached with wire.
If you are using a CMMS to keep track of your PM schedule, the software will
most likely print work orders for PM tasks that include the specific requirements
for each piece of equipment. With a CMMS, the equipment data sheets and preventive
maintenance records will be replaced with electronic versions. When work orders
are printed for the various preventive maintenance tasks, specific PM instructions
detailing which type of lubricant, filter size, or inspection procedures should
be included on the work order being issued to the technician.
Frequency--or how often will you do PM to each piece of equipment?
Different equipment will need to be preventive maintenance on different schedules.
Roofs are typically inspected monthly. Back-up generators are typically tested
weekly but serviced annually. Circulating pumps may be greased monthly, quarterly,
or even semi-annually depending on their size and hours of use.
Once again, the only dependable source of information on PM frequency is the
equipment manufacturers. Equipment manufacturers will suggest how often each
maintenance task needs to be done. This information should be included on your
equipment data sheets for inclusion on your PM schedule.
For larger equipment under warranty, you should consider including an extensive
PM inspection right before the warranty expiration date.
Any problems found can be turned in for warranty repair. Large building items
such as roofs, window systems, rooftop air conditioners, automated HVAC controls,
chillers, cooling towers, emergency generators, or similar equipment should
have a qualified service company do a complete evaluation before the end of
the warranty. These dates should be included on your PM calendar, even if they
are years away so they aren't forgotten.
No one can be expected to remember all of the various tasks required on every
piece of equipment during PM. While the vast majority of PM tasks are very
simple, there are differences between equipment which will be hard to remember.
Your PM technicians will need to have the PM procedures for each piece of equipment
at their fingertips. If you are using a CMMS (computerized maintenance management
system) to automate PM work tickets, these procedures can be automatically
included on the work tickets. Another solution is to have a preventive maintenance
record binder available in the shop and require PM techs to sign this manual
on the proper page each time PM is completed. My favorite solution is to post
the PM procedures directly on each piece of machinery. This idea is often used
by vehicle manufacturers who often include several diagrams under the hood
that show lubrication points, fan belt routing, emissions system information
and other instructions for anyone performing maintenance.

FIG. 4. The front of this tag is signed each time PM is performed. PM instructions
are printed on the back side.
A typed set of preventive maintenance procedures can be inserted into a protective
plastic sleeve adhered to the side of the equipment or a laminated hang tag
can be hung from a convenient location on the equipment. These instruction
sheets or hangtags also provide a convenient place for maintenance personnel
to sign and date each time PM is performed.
PM schedules based on hours of operation
Most manufacturers' maintenance recommendations will state a time interval
for maintenance to be performed. The time interval could be every week, every
month, or each quarter. There are some kinds of equipment, such as lawnmowers,
emergency generators, and vehicles which need servicing after a certain number
of hours of operation rather than after a specific amount of time. The best
approach for adding these non time-based PM tasks to your time based calendar
is to estimate on what date the equipment will reach the required operating
time and schedule hour meter inspections before the expected service date.
By reviewing past maintenance records, it should be fairly easy to estimate
how many hours of operation are clocked on each day, week, or month. The actual
task of checking the hour meter reading should be placed on the calendar before
maintenance is anticipated. The written work order to perform the task should
be considered "open" until the work actually needs to be done. By
generating a work order early, we can be sure that the equipment will be checked
and that PM won't be skipped. This is one area where CMMS can really shine.
Many computerized programs can keep track of how often these types of maintenance
are being performed and anticipate the next required PM.
Alternatively, an "inspection" PM task can be placed on the calendar
weekly or monthly to take a meter reading. Once the hour meter or odometer
reaches the next PM reading, a work order should be generated to do the actual
PM work. The hour readings should be written down at each inspection and will
become part of your PM documentation.
As a reminder to your personnel doing the PM, placing a "Next PM Due" sticker
on equipment will help. It's easy to forget if the last PM on a riding mower
was at 400 hours or 450 hours. When you have your car's oil changed at a service
center, they place a clear plastic sticker in the up per left corner of your
windshield which tells you when your next oil change should be done. For equipment
such as lawnmowers, service vehicles, construction equipment, or any equipment
with a regular operator, a "next PM due" sticker or other type of
tag will remind the operator to have maintenance completed.
Not all pieces of equipment come with hour meters installed. If you need to
track the hours of operation on any type of equipment, it is a simple procedure
to install an hour meter. Most catalogs of industrial equipment will have a
variety of electrical hour meters available which can be wired into any piece
of electrically operated equipment to tally hours whenever the equipment is
running. Hour meters or counters can also be ordered which operate mechanically
for those unusual types of equipment which do not run on electricity. When
no hour meter is present, it's usually not difficult to estimate the number
of hours something is operated every day and figure out when the next PM will
be needed.
Choosing a CMMS
Computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) can help to automate the
work of the maintenance department. CMMS can receive maintenance requests directly
from building users, generate work orders, keep track of parts inventory, schedule
PM work, keep records of work completed, keep records of maintenance and repair
costs, labor hours, and parts used. Because CMMS software can do so much, choosing
a CMMS can be a daunting task. Unless you've worked with CMMS before, you probably
don't even know what questions to ask or what features you will want to have
when looking for a CMMS.
Do I really need a CMMS?
The first question to ask is if you need to computerize. If you have a good
paper based system that works for you, upgrading to a CMMS might just add unnecessary
complexity. Most organizations that have CMMS only use a few of the available
features. Job cost tracking, parts inventory, and other features of the software
are not used by many organizations that only use the software for work orders
and scheduled PM.
Having a CMMS will require time each week in front of the computer printing
work orders, closing completed work orders, and checking the status of outstanding
work. While a CMMS can better keep track of the work that needs doing, it won't
necessarily reduce the hours spent man aging the work.
Setting up a CMMS will take time. Depending on how many features you plan
to utilize, initial set up can take dozens of hours or more. To generate corrective
maintenance or PM work orders, the CMMS will first need to know about the equipment
in your buildings. That means some one will have to enter information about
the equipment in your buildings.
The more specific you want to be, the more time will need to be spent entering
data.
Web based or installed?
Web based software is accessed over the internet using a web browser. All
data are stored in the vendor's computer somewhere in cyberspace.
You can access and use the software from any computer on the internet but
all of the software and records are kept on the vendor's computer across the
internet.
The advantage of web based solutions is that if your computer crashes, your
data are safe. If the software has problems, it's not your problem.
All software issues, upgrades, and maintenance are handled somewhere else
by someone else and you don't have to worry about them. The disadvantage of
web based software is that they can be slower to use. Even with fast internet
connections, you will have to wait for data to be sent across the internet
every time you do anything. The wait might only be a second or less but if
you are entering 500 pieces of equipment into the computer or marking 50 work
orders as complete, the seconds can add up.
The other option is to purchase software that is installed onto your office
computer. The disadvantage of software installed on your computer is that you
will have to do some troubleshooting whenever some thing doesn't work. There's
also the possibility of losing your data. If you choose an installed solution,
be sure to become religious about regularly backing up your files.
What does it Cost?
Web based software usually has an annual or monthly fee associated with its
use. Installed software may have a one time purchase cost and an annual fee
for tech support.
You should be aware that some companies make their software avail able as
different modules. Specific modules need to be purchased depending on what
you want to use the software to do. Maintenance work orders may be included
in the base software but setting up a PM schedule, keeping a parts inventory,
or tracking job costs may require additional modules at additional cost.
Who can enter work requests?
Some CMMS allow anyone to enter work requests via a web page.
Some only allow those who have been granted access and a password to enter
work requests. You will need to decide if you want every person in your facility
to be able to enter a work request or if you want all work re quests filtered
through a supervisor or other individual. Another option is to do continue
to do what you are probably doing now and accept work request via telephone
and enter them into the computer yourself.
Can PM procedures be printed on work orders?
It is a nice feature for the PM technician to have the complete work procedure
printed each time a work order that is generated.
Does the software have a library of PM procedures?
Having a library of generic PM templates available can be a real time saver
when setting up a PM schedule. If your software already knows the generic PM
tasks for most types of equipment, it can save you hours of writing procedures.
Just remember that generic procedures can't take the place of the manufacturer's
maintenance recommendations.
Can you enter parts used, labor hours, meter readings, etc.?
What data will the CMMS let you store and manage for use later? Will work
orders be generated automatically?
Can PM work orders be generated automatically based on a PM schedule? This
is a pretty basic function of most CMMS but make sure it's included in your
package.
How can work orders be delivered to technicians?
Some software only allows work orders to be printed and then hand delivered
to technicians. Some will send work orders to a technician's PDA, laptop computer,
or cell phone. If you have maintenance staff at several sites, can work orders
be sent via fax or email? Can the automatically generated PM work orders be
sent automatically to the proper location or will you have to sort through
a stack of work orders each morning and decide where they should go?
Can you create your own identification number system for equipment?
Having a numbering system for equipment that makes sense to you will make
using the system much easier in the future. If you can tell the type of equipment,
location, and other info from the equipment ID number, a lot of time can be
saved not having to cross reference ID numbers to equipment. Some CMMS generate
equipment ID numbers automatically and won't let you use your own numbering
system.
How long has the vendor been in business?
Stability of your CMMS vendor is very important. The last thing you want is
to spend months setting up a system that you have to abandon five or ten years
later because you can no longer get software support.
A short review
So far we've covered a lot of information about what needs to be done to create
an effective PM program. The reason for collecting all the above data and making
the abovementioned decisions is to be able to create a calendar of preventive
maintenance tasks that need to be done. Let's quickly review what we've covered
before we move onto creating the PM schedule:
1. We've considered our organization's goals and standards with respect to
the appearance of our building and used that knowledge to decide how often
we need to perform PM on the aesthetic items in our building such as offices,
lobbies, guest rooms, classrooms, corridors, and on items such as carpets,
wallpaper, and painting.
2. We've taken an inventory of all of the capital equipment in our facility
and filled out an equipment data sheet (or entered the data in our CMMS program)
for each item. We've also given each piece of equipment a unique identification
number which we have placed directly on the piece of equipment.
3. We've contacted the equipment manufacturers and ordered equipment manuals
for all of the equipment in our equipment inventory.
We will be following the manufacturer's maintenance procedures and recommended
maintenance schedule when performing PM. If we can't find manufacturer's literature
for a piece of equipment, we will follow Best maintenance Practice (BMP) and
experience in creating PM procedures. BMPs for several different types of equipment
will be discussed later in this guide.
Up until now, all we've been doing is collecting data-data about the equipment
(and building components) we have in the building and data about what PM procedures
and frequencies will keep that equipment in its best condition. If you've made
it this far, you've put in a lot of hours.
You've spent a lot of time walking your building, writing down serial numbers,
marking equipment, filling out forms or typing data into your CMMS, ordering
equipment manuals either online or by phone, and get ting all of your data
in order for the next step. The good news is all of your hard work is about
to pay off.
Step 4--Making A PM Calendar
Now that you've done all the hard work, it's time to put all of the in formation
you have collected into a useful format. Your preventive maintenance calendar
will include every piece of equipment and part of your building (such as offices
and rest rooms) that you have decided should be included in your PM program.
There are an enormous variety of PM calendars or PM schedules in use and there
is no one right way to set up a PM calendar. All facilities are different and
your PM calendars should look a little different.
Some organizations write the different PM tasks on an old fashioned paper
wall calendar. So, if circulator pump #7 needs oiling every 3 months, then "oil
circulator pump #7" is written on the calendar on the sixth day of March,
June, September, and December. For smaller facilities, this is a perfectly
fine way to set up a PM calendar. This is exactly the way I created my first
PM calendar as chief engineer for a small hotel property 20 years ago.
Writing down all of the tasks to be performed can be tedious but once it's
done, the same calendar can be used year after year. If you prefer the paper
calendar, there are inexpensive computer programs which can make some very
nice paper calendars and can automatically plug recur ring events into the
calendar. These are perfect for making simple paper PM calendars.
One advantage of the simple paper calendar is that it can be hung on the shop
wall for everyone to see. There's no excuse for anyone to be sit ting in the
shop reading the paper if there's still PM to do. It's right there on the wall
or shop door where it can't be missed.
Other maintenance departments use a computer spreadsheet to keep track of
PM tasks and create a sort of perpetual calendar of maintenance tasks. One
advantage of this method is the spreadsheet's ability to perform calculations
can be used to calculate labor hours or job costs. Of course, setting up such
a complex spreadsheet requires a lot of computer knowledge and experience with
spreadsheet programs. Using spreadsheet software to manage PM programs can
work well for small to medium organizations but has largely given way to the
more user friendly and powerful computerized maintenance management systems
(CMMS) available today.
Many maintenance departments today rely on computerized maintenance management
systems (CMMS) to manage their PM programs. A good CMMS software package will
automatically generate work requests for routine repairs as well as generate
and maintain a PM calendar. Setting up a CMMS system requires entering equipment
data into the computer including the PM frequencies of different PM tasks.
The computer can then generate a perpetual calendar with these data and can
automatically print paper work orders on the date the work is scheduled. Preventive
maintenance procedures for each piece of equipment can also be automatically
included on the printed work orders.
After completing the PM tasks or other routine repairs, technicians can turn
their labor hour and parts cost information into the maintenance office where
a work order clerk enters this information into the CMMS. In today's wireless
world, technicians can even retrieve their work orders and return labor and
parts data through hand-held PDAs, laptop computers or cell phones.
CMMS systems offer another advantage to maintenance departments just starting
a PM program. Because the PM work orders are generated automatically right
along with the corrective maintenance work orders, they become a part of the
regular weekly work stream. Introducing something new can be difficult. If
a couple of additional work orders are added to the work stream and are handled
exactly the way other work orders are already being handled, the introduction
of the additional work is much easier to swallow.
No matter what type of calendar you choose, creating your calendar is simply
a matter of taking the data you have collected and entering them, one item
at a time, either into your computer or onto a paper calendar.
When putting your PM schedule to paper, try to place similar types of work,
and work happening in similar locations together. Changing air filters in unit
ventilators mounted above the ceiling requires getting out a box of filters
and carrying a ladder. If you schedule all of the unit ventilators to be maintained
at the same time, the whole box can be carried or rolled on a cart from room
to room and the ladder only needs to be gotten from the storage shed once.
However, if you schedule each unit ventilator on different days, it will require
several trips to the shed to get the ladder and several trips to the storage
room where filters are kept. Similarly, by scheduling roof top air conditioners
to be inspected on the same date as the roof inspection, trips to the roof
can be reduced.
In a larger organization with several buildings at different addresses, it
makes the most sense to perform all PM at one location at the same time and
have your PM tech work at that location for as many days as it takes to complete
the PM. Having PM techs drive from building to building several times a day
is simply not efficient. One of the underlying reasons to perform PM is to
improve your department's efficiency.
Scheduling by the week vs. by the day
I have a small piece of advice which comes from my own personal experience.
I prefer to set up PM calendars by the week instead of by the date. If a particular
task is assigned for Wednesday and you have a water line to your cooling tower
break underground on Wednesday, obviously no PM is going to get done. This
means you have to try to catch up on Thursday or Friday. I don't like having
to catch up. I don't want a PM pro gram to put us behind. The purpose of PM
is to get ahead of the work. So I schedule all work for a particular week and
I don't care what day the PM gets done during that week. We try to complete
the PM in the early part of the week, so we aren't behind if an emergency happens
but as long as it's completed during the week it was assigned, that's fine
with me.
I've never seen a CMMS program that will let you assign work by the week.
So when using a CMMS, I assign all work for Mondays and consider any work completed
within five days of its assigned date to be on time. Maintenance departments
are unpredictable. Scheduling by the week lets us recover when something unpredictable
happens.
Other things on my PM Calendar
I also include recurring tasks on my PM Calendar which may not exactly fall
into the category of PM. I include all of the required regulatory inspections
that need to be completed either in-house or by outside contractors. This includes
fire alarm inspections and tests, boiler inspections, elevator inspections,
fire suppression system inspections, health inspections, and others. By putting
these on my calendar I am reminded to call my local fire department if an inspector
doesn't show up by the expiration date on the last inspection certificate.
If I didn't keep all of these items on my calendar, some inspections would
be missed and I would be out of compliance. Since there are often multiple
agencies whose authority overlaps, a missed inspection by one agency can be
cited as a violation by another.
I also include all sorts of things that come up each year that I need to remember
to do. I include starting our irrigation sprinkler systems up in April, ordering
parking lot de-icing chemicals in October, and writing bid specifications for
landscaping contracts in January. These items show up at the proper times as
work orders and are automatically printed as assigned to me instead of to one
of my technicians. These aren't true PM items but I like to keep my life simple
and prefer keeping one calendar in stead of having to keep several.
Getting your hands dirty--The first few month of actually doing PM
Calendars start on January 1 st and end on December 31st. Your calendar will
probably do the same. However, the odds are 365 to 1 against your PM program
actually starting on January 1st. That's fine. You can start your PM program
any time, you'll be starting somewhere in the middle of your PM calendar. That's
okay. Just start where you are. Don't be concerned about yesterday's PM tasks
or the tasks that didn't get completed from last week. Those tasks will show
up on the calendar again at the proper time. You are not behind, don't try
to catch up. Just do today's work today. Slow, steady, and consistent wins
the PM race.
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE TRUISM #5--You are not behind, don't try to
catch up
When you first start performing the actual PM tasks on your calendar, it will
be overwhelming. The first time performing any new task takes longer than it
should and is more work than it should be. The first time through your PM program
will be difficult, especially with all the work you still have to do from years
of not having an effective PM program.
GETTING SUPPORT FROM UPPER MANAGEMENT
Hopefully, you have been keeping upper management informed of your work and
of your intentions to develop an effective PM program for your facility. Hopefully
they have been receptive and understand the benefits of such a program. Now
that you have inventoried all of the facilities' equipment and put everything
in a schedule, it is time to start the real work.
You will need the support of upper management to make PM successful.
The first 3 months will be critical to the success of a new preventive maintenance
program. The bulk of the assets in your facility will be on a weekly, monthly,
or quarterly PM schedule and will be serviced at least once during these first
3 months. For a new PM program to be successful, you must be able to dedicate
the staff, money, and hours necessary to keep on schedule during this crucial
time. The PM program must be a priority of the maintenance department and the
organization as a whole.
Upper management sets the goals and priorities for the organization and their
support will be an essential part of any preventive maintenance program's success.
Support from the top for your new program will en sure funding is available
for the additional work which needs to be done.
This support will also give the maintenance manager the authority to temporarily
put other non-emergency projects on hold allowing resources to be directed
toward the new program.
Businesses will support programs, if they are good for the bottom line. Management
support can be gained by showing the small investment of time and money will
not only pay for itself, but will also have an excellent return on investment.
Hopefully, upper management was involved and supportive before you started
the work of setting up the pro gram. If you haven't already pitched your idea
in detail, you should do so before you and your staff start the actual work
of PM.
Your proposal to upper management should include:
1. Some brief details of what an effective preventive maintenance pro gram
will include in your building. Don't spend time on technical aspects of each
task, such as how a bearing will be greased. Simply state that there are 14
circulating pumps over 1 Hp that will need to be greased quarterly. Your list
of PM tasks should include all of the equipment and building components that
will be included in your PM program.
2. The anticipated initial costs in materials and labor to implement a PM
program. These can be estimated after you know the man hours required for each
labor task. Details of different PM tasks can be found in Section 11.
3. The benefits of implementing a PM program. A good PM program will increase
the life of capital equipment, reduce the costs of repairs, save energy, improve
the experience of occupants, and reduce the number of breakdowns and other
emergencies.
4. The anticipated cost savings and return on investment of a good PM program
as discussed in Section 2.
After you have the support of upper management, be sure to keep those who
have offered support up to date on the success of your program.
Short weekly reports, either in person or written, on the current status of
the new PM program will keep the program active in their minds and improve
your chances of continued support. If you fail to remind them regularly of
your program and its small baby steps toward success, it will be forgotten
and other priorities will quickly take over.
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE TRUISM #6 -- If you fail to remind
management of your PM program and its baby steps toward success, it will be
quickly forgotten and other priorities will take over.
Keep in mind, most businesses already have a backlog of money making opportunities.
There are always lots of investment opportunities avail able. It can be a hard
sell to convince them that PM is the best investment to make right now.
DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT
The final part of your PM program will be the documentation. There are several
good reasons to keep records of the PM work that you do. Let's look at a few
of these reasons.
As a reference
Your records will serve as a reference in the future. When making replace
vs. repair decisions or trying to diagnose an equipment failure, a good equipment
history will be invaluable. A good history of equipment maintenance and repairs
will be useful for budgeting and can help a technician in troubleshooting future
problems. Whatever form of documentation you choose to use, make sure to include
the general condition of equipment with each inspection. Although two people
may judge condition differently, having a history of overall condition can
provide information about how equipment is aging.
As a CYA
We've all heard the term CYA which stands for "Cover Your Ass… ets" or
something like that. There will be times when a manufacturer or installing
contractor will balk at making a major warranty repair by claiming the failure
happened as a lack of proper maintenance. Since the manufacturer is seen as
the authority, when it's your word against theirs you probably won't win. Having
clear documentation of exactly what and when PM was done becomes priceless.
As a CYCoA
Similar to CYA, CYCoA stands for "Cover Your Company's Ass…ets." In
this litigious society where so many people want financial compensation for
everything imaginable, your PM records may protect your company from liability.
There is always a risk of liability for trips and falls, indoor air quality
issues, or injury due to faulty equipment. These are facility-specific things
which your department has direct control over. Being able to show evidence
that you have been diligent in your duty to maintain your buildings in the
best possible condition can dismiss claims of negligence.
Regulatory Compliance
Your fire inspector will want to see documentation of annual fire sprinkler
inspections, smoke detector testing, monthly emergency light and exit light
tests, fire drills, and fire alarm tests. Your facility may be required to
have annual boiler inspections, weekly or monthly emergency generator tests,
annual water quality testing, annual elevator inspections, annual tests of
backflow prevention devices, annual inspections of boiler smoke stack particulate
matter, and many other inspections. Each department or agency that shows up
on your doorstep to do an inspection will ask to see some sort of documentation
of inspections and maintenance being done. A listing of the most common PM
tasks and inspections required by government regulations is included in Section
11.
If you are using a CMMS program to manage your PM program, recordkeeping will
be automated. Each time a PM work order is marked as "completed" in
the computer, a permanent record of the event will be recorded electronically.
Most CMMS also provide fields where you can enter things such as meter readings,
parts used, labor hours, and notes.
One of the biggest advantages of CMMS software is its ability to search these
records and print all sorts of reports about your PM program.
If a paper work PM system is more your speed, many maintenance departments
maintain their PM records in 3 ring binders divided into types of equipment.
Typically a 3-ring binder will be divided into sections such as "A/C filter
changes," "circulator pumps," "generator tests," "guest
room PM," and "roof top ventilators." Each section would have
blank PM forms that can be filled out every time a PM task is completed.
These PM forms will need to be created by you and customized for your building.
For simple tasks such as changing air filters or testing the operation of emergency
lights, the form can be as simple as a page of equipment numbers and locations
with a space for the technician to initial and date when the work is completed.
For something a bit more involved such as performing PM on a diesel powered
emergency generator, the form might consist of several locations to record
hour meter readings, oil pressure, coolant temperatures, fuel gauge readings,
amp draw and voltages for each phase, and any other information a mechanic
performing the work should check. A thorough form helps to assure that no step
is missed. Some examples of PM forms are included in the appendix.
SUMMARY
• Determining goals. The first thing we did in this Section was establish
our facilities goals with regard to aesthetic standards. Aesthetic issues such
as carpet care and painting will vary more from facility to facility than mechanical
issues.
• Inventory capital equipment. Using blueprints and walking through the building,
we developed an inventory of the equipment that needs to be included in our
PM program. The information collected has been entered on equipment data sheets
or into your CMMS pro gram. Each piece of equipment has also been given a unique
identification number.
• Scope and frequency-using manufacturer's PM requirements, we have established
the scope (work to be done) and frequency (how often it is to be done) for
all of the equipment in our equipment inventory.
• CLAIR (clean, lubricate, adjust, inspect, repair) is an industry acronym
to help the PM tech to remember the steps to performing PM properly.
• Setting up the calendar. Taking the equipment we have collected, we have
created a PM schedule which includes all of the items needing preventive maintenance.
Our calendar might be on paper, on a computer spreadsheet, or generated by
our CMMS software. In any case, the same calendar will be used repeatedly again
since all PM tasks are recurring at regular intervals. Finally we've setup
a system to keep records of the preventive maintenance that we're doing.
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