18 maintenance management terms, from backlog to PCM

Maintenance management is fundamental to ensuring fleet operation and safety, because vehicles are what make everything happen in transport and keeping them in good condition supports the operating routine.

For this reason, it is a prominent department in transport: it organizes inspections, services, records, parts and priorities so the fleet runs with less unexpected downtime.

Today, we have brought together the main maintenance management terms for you to learn:

• Predictive maintenance;
• Corrective maintenance;
• Preventive maintenance;
• Inventory control;
• Damage;
• Backlog;
• Shop floor;
• CMMS;
• Reliability;
• Criticality;
• Depreciation;
• Diagnosis;
• Availability;
• Durability;
• Operational efficiency;
• Asset management;
• Work order;
• PCM.

Predictive maintenance

This maintenance model uses operating data and asset condition monitoring to estimate when a failure is more likely to happen. Rather than waiting for a breakdown or following only a fixed interval, the team looks for warning signs before the issue stops the vehicle.

Predictive maintenance is usually less common in fleets that do not yet have mature data practices, because it depends on more advanced processes and technologies. When applied well, early identification allows the team to take corrective action before the failure worsens.

Corrective maintenance

Corrective maintenance is intervention to correct an issue after a part, system or vehicle has a failure. It may be an immediate correction when downtime demands a fast response, or an intervention planned for a later date.

In this type, repairs are performed after the failure is identified, and the vehicle may remain stopped in the parking area or workshop until the service is completed.

This brings a high cost, whether from the corrective service, possible loss of vehicle availability or the need to reorganize operations to meet the demand that vehicle would have served if it were not stopped.

Preventive maintenance

Preventive maintenance follows a schedule created from asset history, performance metrics and inspection records. In a fleet, these records usually come from checklists completed by people in the operation, such as drivers and those responsible for inspection.

With the daily checklist responses and the schedule defined by maintenance, the vehicle undergoes scheduled services, such as regular inspections, lubrication and part replacement, to reduce the chance of a failure appearing during operation.

Inventory control

Inventory control uses a spreadsheet or software to identify and count new and used parts stored and ready for use in trucks.

In many types of systems, it is also possible to request quotes and buy parts directly through them.

Damage

Damage is any failure, physical harm, wear or deterioration in parts belonging to the vehicle that interferes with its proper operation.

During inspection, damage should be clearly recorded so the workshop understands what was found, assesses severity and assigns the correct service to mechanics.

Backlog

“Backlog”, translated into Portuguese as “acúmulo”, can be defined as an accumulation. In maintenance management, it is the amount of work accumulated within a given period, adding planned, completed and pending services.

This makes it possible to identify required hours, compare them with available team hours and understand whether the workshop is managing to process work orders.

When backlog grows unchecked, management loses visibility of priorities. Maintenance and asset management tools can support the organization of orders, deadlines, parts and requests, reducing rework and human error.

Shop floor

The place where employees, machines and vehicles used in company activities are located.

In a fleet context, it is the space where the operating routine actually happens: yard, workshop, loading docks, refueling and other areas where drivers, mechanics and supervisors work with assets daily.

CMMS

CMMS stands for “Computerized Maintenance Management System”, known in Portuguese as “Sistema de Manutenção Computadorizado”.

It is responsible for managing and storing maintenance operating data, allowing queries, activity documentation, report generation and workflow improvement.

A CMMS can also support routines such as work orders, spare parts control, team schedules, repair history and responses to maintenance requests.

Reliability

Reliability is one of the most widely used maintenance indicators. It concerns the ability of a vehicle or machine to function properly within a given period of use.

In other words, it helps identify how long the vehicle can be relied on to run in good condition. In maintenance terms, reliability relates to the probability that an item will keep functioning beyond a given time.

Criticality

Criticality is a type of measure to determine how useful a vehicle is to the operation's functioning. In other words, how critical it is if it stops working.

A highly critical vehicle usually requires more planning attention, because its unavailability affects deadlines, routes, productivity and service. Criticality therefore helps set priorities when several work orders are open at the same time.

Depreciation

This is the measure used to calculate the value a vehicle loses after acquisition. If it does not undergo maintenance management routines, its purchase value falls substantially.

But by keeping it in good condition and fully operational, depreciation does not have as great an impact, and a good resale value can still be achieved.

In practice, organized maintenance helps preserve history, evidence of care and operating condition, factors that matter when the company assesses whether to keep or replace an asset.

Diagnosis

Like a medical diagnosis, it is the result of identifying a possible cause of vehicle failure. After assessing the incident and checking all possibilities, the mechanic produces a diagnosis of the issue, its cause and the necessary solution.

A good diagnosis depends on complete information: the account of the person who identified the damage, maintenance history, inspection records, parts involved and tests performed by the workshop.

Availability

Availability determines when the vehicle is available for use and can perform without issues. This aspect considers the vehicle's own reliability and maintenance needs.

The better maintenance plans downtime, parts and labor, the greater fleet predictability tends to be. The operation then knows which vehicles are released, which are in the workshop and which depend on a decision before returning to the road.

Durability

This determines the useful life a vehicle or asset has in the operation. Generally, heavy fleet vehicles last 5 to 10 years; tires, 3 to 5; and so on.

To understand durability, it is also necessary to carry out inspections and keep close track of this data.

Keeping track of it helps distinguish expected wear from recurring failures. With it, maintenance can assess whether it is worth repairing, replacing, strengthening inspections or reviewing how a particular asset is being used.

Operational efficiency

Smoothness in day-to-day work operations, resulting from the use of techniques that help optimize services, such as technology.

In fleet maintenance, operational efficiency appears when the team reduces waiting, finds information quickly, prioritizes what is most urgent and prevents the same issue from recurring because it was not recorded or kept track of.

Asset management

These are good organizational practices aimed at extracting value from company assets, enabling each to achieve the desired performance and ensuring resources are applied in the short, medium and long term.

In maintenance, asset management means looking at the life cycle of vehicles, components and equipment. The goal is to improve the quality and use of these assets over time, increase productive time and reduce operating costs.

Work order

A work order (WO) is a document that formalizes and provides instructions for a service to be performed.

It is usually used in scheduled maintenance and includes assignment of a responsible professional, a task list and other requirements and specifications.

When used well, a WO helps organize, communicate and keep track of maintenance work within the company. It brings together task details and guides the process to complete the service, including what needs to be done, by whom and at what priority.

PCM

PCM is the Portuguese acronym for Planejamento e Controle de Manutenção (maintenance planning and control), which literally means having organization in the company's maintenance department, applying techniques that make it more segmented and faster.

This avoids vehicle downtime and missed delivery deadlines.

PCM connects information from checklists, work orders, inventory, workshop schedules and operational priorities. With this control, maintenance stops acting only when an issue appears and starts planning resources, deadlines and responsibilities better.

Want to understand more about maintenance management in transport operations? Then keep reading this Maintenance Management Guide.