Maintenance
Preventive maintenance
Scheduled inspection and service intended to reduce failures, preserve safety, and extend the useful life of building systems.
Glossary
Maintenance
Preventive maintenance is planned work performed before a known failure: inspecting roofs, servicing HVAC equipment, testing life-safety devices as required, cleaning drainage, checking leaks, or exercising shutoffs. The schedule should follow the asset, manufacturer, climate, property condition, and applicable rules.
A useful program links each task to an asset, location, frequency or trigger, instructions, qualified person, access requirements, completion evidence, defects found, and follow-up work. Marking a recurring task complete without evidence does not reduce risk.
Example: an annual HVAC visit can record filter condition, measurements, photographs, technician notes, and the next due date. A discovered electrical defect becomes a separate prioritized work order rather than disappearing inside the inspection.
Risk-based schedule
Prioritize life safety, water intrusion, combustion and electrical systems, accessibility, critical utilities, and assets whose failure causes cascading damage. Adjust frequency from observed condition and service history rather than copying one generic calendar.
Close the loop
A completed visit should update asset history and create owned follow-up items. Track overdue tasks, repeat defects, emergency calls, cost, downtime, and warranty implications to decide whether service, repair, or replacement is appropriate.