How to manage a maintenance plan in your company

Having an updated maintenance plan is essential. Evaluating the equipment and its wear and tear allows you to act proactively, avoiding improvised solutions. At Dokify we offer you the possibility to digitize a maintenance plan that includes all the functions of your equipment.  

What is preventive maintenance and why is it good for my company?

By definition, preventive maintenance is the maintenance of equipment or installations by carrying out inspections and cleaning to ensure their proper functioning and reliability. Preventive maintenance is performed on equipment in working condition.

The main objective of maintenance is to avoid or mitigate the consequences of equipment failures by preventing incidents before they occur. Preventive maintenance tasks may include actions such as changing worn parts, changing oils and lubricants, etc. Preventive maintenance should prevent equipment failures before they occur.

This maintenance is performed at predetermined intervals, or according to prescribed criteria, designed to reduce the probability of failure or degradation of equipment performance. In addition, one of the most important aspects is to keep a controlled and documented record of all maintenance and periodic reviews performed. This is essential for future inspections or audits.

Preventive maintenance procedures include the following:

• Periodic lubrications.
• Systematic equipment reviews.
• Calibration and calibration plans for instruments.
• Equipment inspection plans.
• Creation of equipment histories.
• Compliance with manufacturer's recommendations.

It is important to have a preventive maintenance management plan that will prevent us from wasting time and money.

How to draw up a preventive maintenance plan?

Drawing up a company's maintenance plan in a preventive manner is essential to ensure efficient operation and prolong the life of equipment. This plan helps prevent unexpected failures, reduces downtime and optimizes repair costs. By scheduling regular maintenance, we ensure that equipment operates in optimal condition, improving safety and productivity. It also allows for better resource and labor planning, facilitating compliance with regulations and quality standards. 

A well-structured preventive maintenance plan is an investment that contributes significantly to the long-term success and sustainability of the company.

At dokify we have found the key to solve the headaches of Maintenance Managers when they have audits and have to document all those revisions (electrical systems, maintenance, refrigeration, fire extinguishing, etc.) that are performed in different work centers and that, in most cases, are performed by external maintenance companies.

We have developed a solution for an efficient management of maintenance at work centers in compliance with current regulations, having all maintenance companies in one place and automatically compiling all the necessary documentation.

In addition, with dokify's QR Card you have real-time access control and registration of all operators who have performed maintenance and overhauls at your workplaces.

If we add to this the digital signature developed in dokify to sign maintenance work reports, the result is a simple, easy and intuitive preventive maintenance management software that every maintenance department would like to use.

The following are the basic strategies that a company's maintenance plan should include.

Define objectives and priorities

The first step in outlining an effective maintenance plan is to clearly define the company's objectives and priorities. Objectives may include minimizing downtime, extending the life of assets, ensuring employee safety, and complying with applicable regulations. 

Prioritization helps focus resources on the most critical areas, ensuring that essential equipment receives the attention it needs to keep operations running smoothly. By defining these objectives and priorities, it is possible to align the maintenance plan with the company's strategic goals, facilitating more effective and results-oriented management.

Create a list of assets and assign tasks

Once the objectives have been defined, it is essential to create a comprehensive list of all assets requiring maintenance. This list should include details such as the location, model, age and maintenance history of each asset. 

Assigning specific tasks to each piece of equipment ensures that all components receive proper attention. Using a computer-aided maintenance management system (CMMS) can be very helpful in organizing and tracking these tasks. Task assignments should be based on the manufacturer's recommendations and the experience of the maintenance staff, ensuring a systematic and consistent approach.

Take into account the difficulty of the tasks

It is crucial to assess the difficulty of maintenance tasks to ensure that resources and personnel are properly allocated. Complex tasks may require specialized technicians, specific tools or the intervention of outside vendors. On the other hand, simpler tasks can be performed by regular maintenance personnel. 

Assessing difficulty also helps to plan the time required to complete each task, avoiding overloading technicians and ensuring that maintenance is performed efficiently and safely. This assessment also identifies the need for additional training for personnel, continuously improving their skills and competencies.

Establishment of a budget and management of resources and technologies

Establishing an adequate budget is essential for effective implementation of the maintenance plan. This budget should cover all associated costs, including materials, labor, training and any necessary tools or technology. 

Efficient management of resources and technologies is equally important; using modern tools and maintenance management systems can optimize processes and reduce costs in the long term, and the budget must be flexible to adapt to unforeseen situations or emergencies. Good financial management ensures that resources are used optimally, supporting the sustainability and efficiency of the maintenance plan.

Define performance indicators

To evaluate the effectiveness of the maintenance plan, it is essential to define key performance indicators (KPIs). These indicators can include metrics such as mean time between failures (MTBF), mean time to repair (MTTR), equipment availability, and maintenance cost per unit of production. Defining clear and measurable KPIs allows you to monitor maintenance plan performance and make adjustments as needed. 

KPIs provide an objective view of the impact of maintenance on the overall operation of the company, facilitating decision making and the identification of areas for improvement.

Review of KPIs and implementation of improvements

Regular review of KPIs is crucial to the success of the maintenance plan. Analyzing these indicators makes it possible to identify trends, detect recurring problems and evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies implemented. Based on the results of this review, improvements can be implemented to optimize the maintenance plan, which may include updating procedures, adopting new technologies or reconfiguring tasks and responsibilities.
Implementing continuous improvements ensures that the maintenance plan is effective, adapting to changes in the company's operational and technological conditions. This practice not only improves equipment performance, but also contributes to the sustainable growth of the company.

Use a platform or software to create a maintenance plan for your company.

Using a platform to create an enterprise maintenance plan optimizes the management and tracking of tasks. These tools make it possible to centralize information on all assets, schedule preventive or corrective maintenance, and assign tasks efficiently. It also facilitates data collection for performance analysis and reporting. 

At Dokify we offer you a comprehensive CAE platform, which also allows you to develop a company's maintenance plan in an efficient way.