What is PPM?

Key Takeaways

• Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) involves regular maintenance to prevent equipment failures, akin to routine health check-ups.
• Benefits include cost reduction, maximised operations, minimised downtime, improved safety, and extended equipment lifespan.
• Common PPM mistakes include neglecting condition-based scheduling, failing to prioritise tasks, and undertraining staff.
• PJH Co in Bedford offers expert PPM services, ensuring comprehensive maintenance for reduced costs and improved business efficiency.

Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) is a crucial strategy for maintaining the equipment in your business. It not only helps in avoiding costly downtime but also ensures everything runs smoothly (and safely!)

In this article, we discuss everything you need to know about PPM. We discuss what it is, its benefits and how implementing effective PPM strategies can transform your business.

What is PPM?

PPM stands for Planned Preventive Maintenance and is an approach used by businesses and property managers to maintain the health and efficiency of their equipment. 

Instead of waiting for equipment to fail, PPM schedules regular, preventive measures to keep everything running smoothly. This proactive maintenance can range from simple cleaning and inspections to the replacement of parts before they break down.

Imagine your body as a complex system requiring regular check-ups and care to prevent illness. Just as you undergo routine health screenings to catch potential issues early, PPM involves scheduling regular inspections and maintenance tasks to prevent equipment failure.

And so, by adopting a PPM approach, your company can significantly reduce the risk of unexpected breakdowns — and prevent loss of business.

5 Benefits of PPM

• Reduction in costs

Implementing a PPM strategy can lead to significant cost savings over time. By identifying and addressing potential issues before they escalate into major problems, your business can avoid the high costs associated with emergency repairs, downtime and the replacement of equipment.

• Maximise operations

Regular maintenance ensures that equipment operates at peak performance. This not only boosts productivity but also reduces energy consumption and lowers operational costs. 

• Less downtime

Downtime can be incredibly costly for your business, not just in terms of repair costs but also due to lost productivity and revenue. PPM minimises the likelihood of unexpected breakdowns to ensure your business runs without interruption. 

• Improve safety

Safety should always be your number one priority. Regular maintenance helps identify and mitigate hazards before they cause accidents. 

• Improve equipment longevity

Regular maintenance can significantly extend the life of equipment. By catching and fixing small problems early, PPM helps prevent wear and tear from escalating. This not only saves money on premature replacements but also ensures you get the most from your investments.

Common Mistakes With Planned Preventative Maintenance

When implementing PPM, some organisations fall into common traps that can reduce the effectiveness of their PPM strategies. These missteps include:

• Neglecting to schedule maintenance tasks based on actual equipment use or condition
• Failing to prioritise tasks
• Overlooking the training of staff on the importance of maintenance
• Not leveraging technology to streamline the maintenance process

These oversights can lead to poor maintenance schedules, wasted resources and missed opportunities to prevent equipment failures.

It’s always best to use a PPM professional to keep everything running as expected.

PPM Vs Reactive Maintenance

There’s a real contrast between Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) and reactive maintenance. PPM is proactive, focusing on preventing problems before they occur. Reactive maintenance, on the other hand, deals with issues as they arise, which often leads to emergency repairs and downtime. 

The reactive approach can be more costly in the long run because of unexpected equipment failures, higher repair costs and the impact on productivity. PPM minimises these disruptions to reduce downtime and keep operations running smoothly.

Other Maintenance Strategies

Aside from PPM, there are several other maintenance strategies organisations might consider, including corrective, predictive and reliability-centred maintenance.

• Corrective maintenance

This is performed after a failure has occurred to restore an asset to its proper working condition.

• Predictive maintenance

This relies on condition-monitoring tools and techniques to identify potential equipment failures before they happen.

• Reliability-centred maintenance

This focuses on understanding the functions of assets and their potential failures to prioritise maintenance activities.

These strategies can be used alongside PPM for a comprehensive approach to maintenance that balances prevention, prediction and correction.

PPM Maintenance Checklist 

A PPM maintenance checklist is a crucial tool in ensuring that all necessary maintenance tasks are performed thoroughly and on schedule. This checklist typically includes:

• Regular inspections
• Cleaning
• Lubrication
• Parts replacement
• Performance testing

How PJH Co Can Help

We offer a wide range of services, from plumbing and heating to renewables and HVAC. This makes us well-positioned to assist businesses and property managers in implementing effective PPM strategies. 

Our experienced team of engineers and technicians can provide comprehensive maintenance services tailored to the specific needs of each business. Businesses can benefit from reduced maintenance costs, minimised downtime and improved safety, all of which contribute to a greater output.

With the right approach, Planned Preventative Maintenance can transform the way you manage your business operations.

Want to discuss further? Contact our team today.