Published: May 14, 2025  Updated: May 15, 2025

Planned Maintenance Percentage (PMP): What It Means for Your Operations

To have a better understanding of planned maintenance percentage (PMP), we should delve into the following:

⮚ What is Planned Maintenance Percentage?

⮚ Why a High PMP Matters.

⮚ Planned vs. Unplanned Maintenance: Key Differences.

⮚ How to Calculate PMP.

⮚ How to Improve Your Planned Maintenance Percentage.

⮚ Boost PMP with CMMS Software.

What is Planned Maintenance Percentage (PMP)?

Companies understand that maintenance constitutes an expense. Assets need repairs and preventive maintenance (PM).

To accomplish these, you need inventory and skilled technicians.

Therefore, companies always want the best efficiency and effectiveness for this expense. One of the measurements used to determine the efficiency of a department includes PMP.

The percentage represents the ratio of planned maintenance hours to total maintenance hours within a specific timeframe. In essence, it quantifies the extent to which a facility proactively addresses equipment repairs and PMs compared to reactive responses to breakdowns.

Why a High PMP Matters

Many companies, surprisingly, still run on a reactive mindset. This means they don't tend to assets until equipment breaks down or fails. While this may seem like a cost-cutting maneuver, it actually risks so many problems.

Increased Costs. Emergency purchases. Overtime. Replacement purchases. Loss of Production. Unplanned downtime means a delay in operations.

Safety. By not regularly checking machines and equipment, you risk accumulating problems that could impact the health of the worker and other employees.

Illinois Electric has more information on the problems of reactive maintenance.

Most companies have seen the benefit of preventive maintenance. This fits nicely with this PMP calculation. A high PMP offers numerous advantages.

• Significant reduction of unplanned downtime. For instance, in a manufacturing plant, unplanned equipment failures can disrupt assembly lines. You have missed production targets and customer dissatisfaction. By performing regular PMs, such as lubrication and component inspections on machinery, the likelihood of unexpected breakdowns substantially decreases.
• Extension of asset lifespan. PMs prevent premature wear and tear. You have a higher return on investment (ROI). Take the oil and gas industry, where harsh conditions impact equipment. A robust PM program can significantly extend the life of expensive drilling rigs and production facilities.
• Enhanced safety. Why? Because you identify and rectify hazardous conditions before accidents occur. Consider the healthcare sector, where medical equipment malfunctions can pose serious risks to patients. A high PMP ensures that equipment operates safely and reliably.
• Cost savings. While planned maintenance involves upfront expenses, it prevents much larger costs associated with emergency repairs and lost production.

Discover how streamlined maintenance processes can elevate production. Learn more.

Planned vs. Unplanned Maintenance: Key Differences

To have a more complete understanding of PMP, we should look at unplanned maintenance.

Planned Maintenance. This pretty much equals preventive measures. This proactive approach involves scheduled inspections, repairs, and replacements to prevent equipment failure.

Examples include oil changes, filter replacements, equipment calibration, and predictive maintenance tasks like vibration analysis.

You might schedule these activities as regular cycles throughout the year. Also, many companies use a planned shutdown for more thorough preventive tasks. A shutdown means you don't interrupt normal operations to conduct maintenance.

Reliable Plant shows you how to gain the most out of shutdowns.

Unplanned Maintenance. First, you must understand that you can't completely eliminate unplanned downtime.

Examples include emergency repairs, breakdowns, and troubleshooting due to component failures, electrical issues, or hydraulic leaks.

How to Calculate PMP

To obtain your percentage, you set a date range. Within that period, you divide your planned maintenance hours by total maintenance hours and multiply by 100.

For example, if a maintenance team logs 400 hours of planned maintenance and 500 total maintenance hours in a month, you have a PMP of 80%.

Typically, companies figure the PMP for weekly percentages, monthly, quarterly, and/or annually.

Industries with high-value equipment, such as manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation, often prioritize PMP. For instance, an automotive assembly plant might aim for a PMP of 90% to ensure minimal production disruptions caused by equipment failures.

Similarly, a hospital with critical medical devices might target a PMP of 95% to guarantee patient safety and uninterrupted care.

In the aviation industry, airlines strive for exceptionally high PMPs to comply with stringent safety regulations and maintain flight schedules.

How to Improve Your Planned Maintenance Percentage

Using this measurement and others, you can spot trends in problems. Perhaps winter brings on extreme conditions that impact your assets. If you experience low PMP, perhaps you adjust the preventive side of your department to handle those extremes during that stretch of weather.

Several strategies can help organizations increase their PMP.

• Comprehensive Maintenance Planning. Develop detailed maintenance schedules based on equipment history, manufacturer recommendations, performance data, and failure analysis. For example, a food processing plant can create a preventive maintenance schedule based on equipment usage, sanitation requirements, and regulatory compliance.
• Well-managed Work Orders. Here, I mean to establish a foundation of good communication. Create clear and concise work orders that outline tasks, required parts, estimated completion times, and necessary safety precautions. For instance, in a power generation facility, work orders for turbine inspections should specify the examination of specific components, the required tools, and safety protocols.
• Inventory Management. Remember that earlier, I mentioned that you need parts and supplies to conduct repairs and PMs. If you want a PM mindset, you have to prepare with an adequate stock of parts and other inventory. In the semiconductor industry, where production lines operate 24/7, you can see the importance of a well-stocked inventory of critical spare parts.
• Skill Development. Provide comprehensive training to maintenance staff to enhance their problem-solving, troubleshooting, and technical skills. A manufacturing plant can offer training on advanced diagnostic techniques and predictive maintenance technologies.
• Performance Monitoring. Track key performance indicators (KPIs). These include such as mean time between failures (MTBF), mean time to repair (MTTR), and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). Fleet managers use KPIs to assess the performance of maintenance programs and optimize resource allocation.
• Predictive Maintenance: Implement technologies like vibration analysis, infrared thermography, and oil analysis to predict equipment failures before they occur. You see this used in a paper mill. Vibration analysis detects bearing wear in paper machines.

Ready to revolutionize your maintenance department? Schedule a live demo today.

Boost PMP with CMMS Software

A CMMS helps to organize existing maintenance operations. Look at all you have with this powerful system.

• A complete record of your assets with all relevant information.
• Inventory organized by location and quantities.
• A list of preventive maintenance activities that you can easily turn into work orders.
• A great oversight over work order management. Create a standardized form and place it on the CMMS calendar.
• Reports such as KPIs and others related to inventory and the labor force.

By leveraging CMMS software, businesses can significantly improve their PMP and overall equipment reliability.

In the hospitality industry, hotels can use a CMMS to manage maintenance requests, track equipment inspections, and schedule preventive maintenance for HVAC systems, kitchens, and guest rooms.

Resources to Help Your Understand and Improve PMP

What can you gain by understanding planned maintenance percentages? You have a more complete oversight over operations and where to make improvements to efficiency.

Of course, planning doesn't take just an overnight effort. You should meet with your department, production personnel, and management to discuss options for the best plan for your company.

A definitive guide for planning and scheduling comes from Doc Palmer.

For a powerful and easy-to-use CMMS, look at Mapcon Technologies. Call 800-922-4336 to schedule a free demonstration of this superior software. Discuss how MAPCON can help you improve your PMP.