Planned Preventative Maintenance: What is PPM?

A good understanding of Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) can save you a lot of stress, time and money. The goal of PPM is to stop problems before they happen, extend the life of valuable resources, and maximise asset performance.

In this article, we will explore PPM, its key components, and some real-world benefits of tackling issues before they become problems with an effective PPM strategy. We’ll also explain what you can do to keep your operations running smoothly and how we can help to support your strategy with reliable expertise.

What is PPM?

Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) is the process of scheduling regular inspections, services, and repairs for buildings and equipment to prevent unexpected failures. In industries like manufacturing, facilities management, and healthcare, where operational efficiency, safety, and compliance are essential, a proactive approach to maintenance is needed.

PPM is important to businesses for a number of reasons. It will help to ensure that you are working at full capacity for the maximum amount of time, as well as protecting your assets and ensuring compliance. If your business would be hurt by an extended period of downtime, then a robust PPM strategy is a must.

Many organisations rely on reactive maintenance, addressing issues when they become problems. This can often lead to higher costs and safety risks, plus operations often have to be shut down while reactive maintenance is carried out. PPM is all about preventing interruptions to your business operations, ensuring that you act before downtime is required.

Asset Management and PPM

Effective Planned Preventative Maintenance is a key component of wider asset management, the systematic process of developing, operating, maintaining, and upgrading physical assets cost-effectively. Asset management provides the strategic oversight needed to ensure that all resources, from machinery to infrastructure, are performing optimally over their lifecycle.

PPM supports this by providing the hands-on, tactical actions that maintain asset performance, reduce risk, and maximise return on investment. When aligned with a broader asset management plan, PPM ensures that maintenance activities are not just reactive or routine but strategically targeted based on asset value, criticality, and condition. Together, asset management and PPM create a framework for making smarter, data-driven decisions that extend asset life and improve operational resilience.

At Akehurst, we don’t just deliver maintenance, we support your full asset management strategy. Our expert team works with clients to assess, plan, and manage their assets over time, ensuring that every maintenance decision contributes to long-term performance, compliance, and value.

Key Components of PPM

PPM is made up of many different interconnected parts that are designed to keep systems running smoothly:

Regular Scheduled Inspections – Routine checks to spot potential issues early. This can include checking wiring, panels and other equipment to look for signs of wear or overheating before they cause failure.
Routine Servicing and Equipment Surveys – Servicing includes cleaning, testing, lubricating, and calibrating equipment to ensure it operates within safe limits. Surveys will track the condition of various assets to highlight potential future maintenance requirements.
Upgrading Systems – Technology will continue to improve, and your systems will need to improve at the same rate. Planning upgrades to ensure efficiency and compliance is a crucial element of any PPM strategy.
Ongoing Monitoring and Maintenance – Utilise maintenance software and sensors to track performance in real time. This will help you make data-driven decisions about what maintenance is required and detect any potential issues early.
Documentation and Record Keeping – By keeping records of your inspections, upgrades, and repairs, you will be able to make informed decisions in the future and be fully prepared for audits and inspections. The better your record-keeping, the better your PPM strategy will prove to be.

What are the benefits of PPM?

A good PPM strategy can benefit an organisation in many different ways. It can drastically reduce maintenance costs that arise when equipment suddenly breaks down. Reactive maintenance will always be more expensive and hurried than planned maintenance.

Also, suppose you wait until something breaks before you fix it. In that case, you will inevitably experience some downtime, potentially costing you more money in lost earnings. PPM helps prevent disruptions to productivity.

A report from IDS-INDATA estimates that Heavy Equipment Manufacturing downtime will cost the industry £50-60 billion across Europe in 2025, with each incident lasting around 5 hours at an average cost of £150,000 – £300,000 per hour.

PPM will also help preserve the lifespan of your equipment. With regular performance checks, you can ensure that your equipment is working at a high efficiency level, keeping your running costs down and reducing energy usage. PPM is essential from a sustainability point of view.

Developing a PPM Program

The good news is that creating a PPM strategy doesn’t have to be complicated. Below is a basic roadmap to get started:

Assessing Current Maintenance Practices

Consider what you already have in place – how often are your assets maintained, and where have you experienced failures in the past? This isn’t about assigning blame; it’s about ensuring issues don’t reoccur.

Setting Maintenance Goals

Once you know what mistakes have been made in the past, define a successful PPM program for your business. The goal could be to reduce breakdowns by 50% or extend the lifespan of the equipment by a certain number of years. Set an ambitious but attainable goal.

Developing a Maintenance Schedule

Put a plan in place – regular checks, servicing and upgrades. Consider the usage of the equipment (some may need more regular checks than others) and consider exploring software to help automate part of this process.

Training Maintenance Staff

The success of any company initiative usually depends on getting the team on board. Training your employees to spot early signs of wear is very important, but also make sure to explain the benefits of what they are doing.

Monitor KPIs

Once this is in place, you should track specific metrics, like uptime, failure rates and energy efficiency. This will allow you to measure your progress and reinforce how vital PPM is to your business.

PPM in Action – Real World Examples

PPM can take many different forms, but here are some common examples from various industries that we cover at Akehurst:

Upkeep of HVAC systems – ensure efficient temperature control and air quality
Electrical inspections and maintenance – identify issues with wiring, lighting and circuits before they cause problems
Testing fire alarms, smoke detectors and fire safety equipment – required by law, to keep the workplace safe
Boiler servicing, water heaters and plant room maintenance– check for leaks or potential safety hazards
Routine checks on industrial machinery – check to avoid mechanical faults and to protect the safety of the operators

Conclusion

Planned Preventative Maintenance is not just a box-ticking exercise; it’s how innovative businesses are run. PPM will help an organisation run more efficiently, cost-effectively, and with increased safety for its workers. Reducing downtime, extending the lifespan of equipment, and reducing wasted energy will make your business more profitable while also saving an awful lot of stress when things go wrong.

Whatever industry you work in, from manufacturing to healthcare and everything in between, PPM is a shrewd investment in the long-term operational success of your organisation. At Akehurst, we can help you build and maintain an effective PPM program through our comprehensive range of electrical, heating, air conditioning, and HVAC services. Get in touch today to discuss how we can help you achieve your preventative maintenance goals.