Maintenance Strategy Quick-Start Checklist · Equipment Uptime Systems
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Maintenance Strategy
Maintenance Strategy Quick-Start Checklist
A one-page assessment to identify where your maintenance program has the most room to improve — and what to do about it first.
Assessment
Checklist + Scoring
20–30 min
Part 1 of 3
Program Health Assessment
For each item below, check the box only if the answer is genuinely yes — not "we're working on it" or "mostly." A partial yes counts as a no for scoring purposes. Be honest: this tool is only useful if the score reflects reality.
Asset Inventory & Documentation
01We have a complete list of all maintainable assets in our facility.Includes asset ID, location, manufacturer, model, and installation date. Not just major equipment — all equipment with maintenance requirements.
02Each asset has at least one documented PM task assigned to it.A task exists in the CMMS or on paper. "We grease it when we think of it" does not count.
03PM task instructions are specific enough that a new technician could execute them correctly.Tasks include the procedure, tools needed, safety requirements, and acceptance criteria — not just "inspect motor."
04Task frequencies are based on OEM recommendations or actual failure history — not gut feel.You can explain why each PM interval is set where it is.
Scheduling & Execution
05PM compliance is tracked — we know our completion rate month over month.You have a number. Even an imperfect one. "We try to get everything done" is not a rate.
06PM completion rate has been above 80% for at least the past three months.Consistent execution, not occasional bursts of catching up before an audit.
07When a PM is deferred, it is rescheduled within two weeks — not silently dropped.Deferrals are tracked. Deferred PMs get a new due date, not just a "completed" stamp months later.
08Technicians receive their PM assignments with enough lead time to gather parts and tools before the due date.Work orders are issued at least 3 days in advance for routine PMs.
Failure Tracking & Root Cause
09Every unplanned failure is logged in the CMMS with a description of the failure mode.Not just "motor down" — the actual finding. "Motor failed due to bearing seizure from lubrication gap."
10We can identify our top five repeat failures over the past 12 months.You've looked at the data and can name them. Not a guess — actual counts from work order history.
11At least one repeat failure has had a documented root cause analysis in the past six months.A written 5-Why, fishbone, or equivalent. Even a half-page write-up counts.
12When a root cause is identified, a corrective action is assigned to a specific person with a due date.Not a general intention — an owner, an action, and a deadline.
Technician Ownership & Execution Quality
13Each technician has a defined set of assets they are primarily responsible for.Ownership is assigned, not assumed. Technicians know which equipment is "theirs" to watch and escalate on.
14Technicians document findings — not just task completion — on PM work orders."Found belt tension at 120 Hz (spec: 90–110 Hz), adjusted to 100 Hz" vs. "PM complete."
15Technicians are trained on the PM tasks they are assigned to perform.New task = training or sign-off before solo execution. Not just "figure it out."
Spare Parts & Materials
16Critical spare parts are identified and stocked for the highest-impact equipment.You know which failure would cause the longest downtime and have at least a minimum stock of the key parts for those assets.
17Parts are labeled and stored so a technician can find them without asking someone.A new technician can locate a part number in the storeroom in under 5 minutes.
18When a part is used for an emergency repair, the storeroom is replenished within 48 hours.Consumption triggers a reorder or procurement request — it doesn't wait until the next audit.
CMMS & Data
19Completed work orders include labor time, parts used, and failure description — not just a completion date.Your work order data is good enough to calculate cost per asset and mean time between failures.
20A manager or planner reviews maintenance KPIs at least monthly and uses them to make program adjustments.Data is reviewed and acted on — not just collected. At minimum: compliance rate, reactive vs. planned ratio, and top repeat failures.
___/20
Your Score
Count the number of checked boxes above. Record your score here, then use Part 2 to interpret it.
Part 2 of 3
Scoring Interpretation
Find your score range below. The description tells you what the score typically means in practice. The immediate priority is the one thing most likely to produce measurable improvement in the next 60 days — not the most sophisticated thing, the most leveraged thing.
Score
Band
What It Means
Immediate Priority
0–7
Reactive
The program is in firefighting mode. Most work is unplanned. Documentation is minimal. Failure drives all activity. The team is working hard but has little control over what happens next.
Get a complete asset list into a CMMS or spreadsheet. You cannot manage what you cannot see. Start with your top ten highest-impact assets and document one PM task per asset.
8–13
Developing
Some PM structure exists but execution is inconsistent. Tasks are defined but completion is uneven. Failures are getting logged but root cause analysis is rare. The program works when someone pushes it.
Focus on PM compliance rate. Pick 10 high-priority assets, confirm their PM schedules are reasonable and visible to technicians, and track completion weekly for 30 days. Consistency beats sophistication at this stage.
14–17
Functional
A solid foundation is in place. PMs are running at a reasonable rate, documentation is decent, and the team has ownership of their work. Reactive work is declining. The biggest gap is usually in failure analysis and continuous improvement.
Start formal root cause analysis on your top repeat failure. One thorough RCA that produces a real corrective action is worth more than ten informal conversations. Use the results to adjust your PM task list.
18–20
Optimized
The program is performing well and the fundamentals are solid. Reactive work is a small fraction of total labor. Documentation supports real data analysis. The focus shifts to optimization — reducing over-maintenance, improving PM task quality, and predictive approaches.
Audit your PM task list for over-maintained and under-maintained assets. A program this mature often has tasks being run too frequently on non-critical assets (cost without benefit) or insufficient coverage on high-consequence equipment.
Note on Mixed Scores
If your score is in the Functional range but you answered "no" to most of the Failure Tracking questions, that's your real gap — not the overall band. A program can have excellent scheduling and still be blind to why failures happen. Look at which sections had the most unchecked boxes, not just the total.
Part 3 of 3
Top 3 Priority Worksheet
Use the score above to identify the three issues that, if addressed, would have the greatest impact on your program. For each one, write down a specific first step — not a goal, an action. Something that can be done or assigned this week.
1
Highest Priority Issue
2
Second Priority Issue
3
Third Priority Issue
How to Use This Worksheet
Share this with your team after completing it individually. Compare scores and discuss where assessments differ — disagreements often reveal where the program is most opaque. If two people rate the same checklist item differently, one of them is right for a reason worth understanding.
Ready to Build the Full System?
Preventive Maintenance Playbook
This checklist identifies where your program has gaps. The Preventive Maintenance Playbook gives you the complete system to close them: PM task templates for 40+ equipment types, implementation sequencing, CMMS setup guides, technician training frameworks, and a full KPI tracking structure — everything to take a reactive program to fully planned. $99.