Planned Preventative Maintenance (sometimes called preventive maintenance), or PPM for short, is a term that you may be familiar with. But if you’re not, don’t worry; Accurate Mechanical Services, who are specialists in this type of maintenance, have created this short guide for you.
Definition of PPM
Planned Preventative Maintenance is any form of maintenance on a piece of equipment, or building fabric, that’s scheduled and conducted on a regular basis. With this type of scheduled maintenance, equipment inspections, testing and services are carried out regularly by specially-trained technicians.
PPM is carried out to prevent commercial equipment from breaking down unexpectedly, as well as ensuring it’s operating efficiently and safely. It’s also carried out to ensure your equipment stays compliant with regulations such as Gas Safe or FGAS, which is incredibly important.
The types of equipment which organisations regularly rely on PPM for are as follows (though not limited to):
- Air conditioning systems
- Ventilation systems
- Refrigeration units
- Heating equipment and boilers
What’s Involved with PPM?
Preventative maintenance engineers like Accurate Mechanical Services, when called upon, will carry out some of the following tasks as part of a rolling preventative maintenance plan.
- Testing connections and repairing as necessary
- Checking the thermostat(s)
- Cleaning filters and replacing them if required
- Checking for any leaks in the air conditioning unit, HVAC or ventilation system
- Fitting parts (manufacturer-approved) to ensure the equipment is within warranty
- Replacement parts ordered quickly with a trusted network of suppliers and manufacturers
- Providing impartial, ongoing advice on the condition of your commercial unit, highlighting any signs of future potential problems or faults
Benefits of Planned Preventative Maintenance
Preventative maintenance on commercial equipment, whether air conditioning systems or boilers, can either be time-based or condition-based. Time-based maintenance involves carrying out services on a regular basis, whereas condition-based maintenance involves PPM based on certain indicators. These indicators could be anything from signs that equipment is deteriorating to signs of weaker performance.
Ultimately, organisations who request regular PPM plans from trained, accredited gas safety engineers like Accurate Mechanical Services are better off than resorting to ad-hoc emergency repairs.
Here are some of the advantages of having regular maintenance carried out:
(1) Improved equipment lifespan
The primary purpose of PPM maintenance is to enhance your equipment’s productivity. Ensuring it’s running smoothly for a long period of time is preferable than having to prematurely replace a faulty boiler, air conditioning or ventilation system.
(2) Decreased downtime
When commercial ventilation and air conditioning units are working at its optimum efficiency, having been examined by specially-trained technicians, it’s likely to experience far less downtime in the long run.
(3) Reduction in overheads
Preventive maintenance plans help organisations to reduce their expenditure on replacement equipment, as well as energy supply costs. Highly-efficient working equipment often results in companies getting better value for money.
(4) Improved safety in workplace
When your air conditioning and ventilation systems are in good working order, it’s significantly beneficial to workplace productivity and safety. Equipment that is in poor condition substantially affects people while they are at work, and if they are adversely affected by a sub-par unit, it can have a long-term impact on their (and others’) safety.
(5) Stops small problems manifesting into larger ones
Regular PPM from specially-trained technicians helps to reduce smaller problems, and by extension, a multitude of smaller issues accumulating to create larger ones. This is because teams like Accurate Mechanical Services can spot equipment failures and parts in need of repair during their routine checks.
Benefits of Planned Preventative Maintenance
Investing in a Planned Preventative Maintenance plan gives you all of the benefits above, and Accurate Mechanical Services can offer well-scheduled, efficient and bespoke PPM to your organisation.
Our PPM services support businesses throughout the UK, which, combined with our commercial heating services, specialist air conditioning repair and mechanical contracting services, have helped us build excellent, long-term relationships with our customers.
For any information about how we can help you with your PPM needs, please contact Accurate Mechanical Services today.