Planned maintenance: what it is and how to use it in fleets

Planned maintenance is one of the management models that makes it possible to have greater visibility and control over services performed on vehicles in your operation.

Planning is a time to assess the frequency of fleet services and inspections, setting an appropriate schedule and preventing unexpected vehicle breakdowns. 

See below:

• What planned maintenance is;
• The purpose of the planned maintenance pillar;
• Types of planned maintenance;
• Difference between planned and unplanned maintenance;
• Why planned maintenance is important for fleets;
• How to plan maintenance.

What is planned maintenance?

Planned maintenance, or “PM,” is a fleet maintenance management practice that contributes to reducing costs and increasing vehicle durability through well-structured vehicle inspection and maintenance service plans.

It is also one of the pillars of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM):

1. Autonomous maintenance.
2. Planned maintenance.
3. Focused improvements.
4. Education and training.
5. Quality maintenance.
6. Initial control.
7. Administrative TPM.
8. TPM Safety, Hygiene and Environment.

What is the purpose of the planned maintenance pillar?

Each pillar has its own objectives, and planned maintenance aims to keep track of vehicle performance, assess which vehicles need more frequent inspections, and determine the inspection and service schedule in order to reduce failures, breakdowns and fleet maintenance costs.

In addition, eliminating unscheduled maintenance is one purpose of the maintenance plan.

Types of planned maintenance

• Preventive Maintenance: Follows an inspection and service schedule based on vehicle age or mileage.
• Predictive Maintenance: Monitors vehicle performance through technologies and analyzes items such as vehicle vibration and temperature.
• Corrective Maintenance: When signs of an issue are noticed in preventive and predictive routines, corrective maintenance can be planned and scheduled. It generally takes place when there is a failure that does not impair vehicle operation.

What is the difference between planned and unplanned maintenance?

Planned maintenance has routines for inspections and control of vehicle condition and performance, making it possible to predict the best time to perform a service and always identify the source of an issue more easily.

When planned, it also has resources that allow data to be recorded to generate maintenance reports and make more concrete decisions.

In unplanned maintenance (or unscheduled maintenance), the issue has already occurred and caused vehicle downtime, so the vehicle goes straight to corrective maintenance. The worst part of this maintenance is that the cause of the issue will not always be identified.

When the engine fails, for example, there are several possible reasons: fluid leaks, adulterated fuel, overheating, spark plug issues, etc. If inspections are performed correctly, these minor repairs can be carried out before the engine fails.

However, if the engine fails before the issue is identified, the service will be more labor-intensive and time-consuming, because a bigger issue will be fixed and all causes will have to be investigated.

Why is planned maintenance so important in transport operations?

The impacts of maintenance management that is planned are varied. They include:

Reduces fleet corrective maintenance

Although some corrective maintenance can be planned and scheduled in advance, that is not usually the case most of the time. 

Having a planned routine to keep track of signs of failure is essential for corrections to be all expected and scheduled, reducing vehicle breakdowns.

Improves maintenance cost control

If everything goes according to an initially defined plan, budgets stay within expectations. This also makes them easier to control, because there are fewer requests and approvals to handle.

Improves the quality of transport operations

If all maintenance is planned, it means vehicles rarely spend a long time idle in the garage or workshop, and also undergo fewer services that could affect their performance on a route.

This increases fleet performance and the quality of the operations performed.

Increases driver safety

With planned maintenance and responsible driving, vehicle operating conditions are preserved, preventing early breakdowns and also helping reduce road accidents.

Increases vehicle and tire durability

Constant inspections that identify when a service may be needed help preserve vehicle components better and ensure the vehicle has an extended useful life. 

Likewise, a vehicle's tires are affected by maintenance services. A lack of wheel alignment, for example, causes irregular tire wear, which reduces their useful life and prevents retreading.

How do you plan maintenance?

A maintenance plan for the fleet should basically include three essential items:

1 – Equipment assessment

Understand the most common failures, its average maintenance cost, whether its CPMV is good and what its maintenance history is.

This information helps analyze the vehicle and identify the best inspection and service planning for it, as well as the most suitable type of maintenance.

2 – Identifying failures in the routine

When identifying vehicles undergoing a lot of unplanned maintenance, you should understand which tasks and activities need to be included in employees' routines so that the vehicle receives proper maintenance.

3 – Defining maintenance indicators

Measuring your actions is important to know what works and what needs new processes. Some examples of vehicle maintenance indicators include: number of minor failures, MTBF, MTTR, CPMV and reliability, among others.

To better understand what you need to apply planned maintenance to your fleet, see our free download: Maintenance Management Manual (in Portuguese).