Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM)

Planned preventative maintenance (PPM) is a scheduled, proactive approach to asset and facilities management in which equipment, systems, or infrastructure are inspected, serviced, and repaired at regular intervals, rather than waiting for a breakdown to occur.

 

Typical activities include lubrication, calibration, filter replacement, cleaning, testing, and component wear checks, all carried out according to a predetermined schedule based on manufacturer recommendations, usage patterns, or regulatory requirements.

 

The core aim is to catch small issues before they escalate into costly failures, extending the operational lifespan of assets, reducing unplanned downtime, and improving safety and reliability.

 

By contrast with reactive or "run-to-failure" maintenance, PPM shifts spending and effort toward predictable, budgeted intervals, which tends to lower long-term repair costs and improve overall efficiency, even though it requires more upfront planning, documentation, and resource allocation.