PM
How to audit a PM program: a 20-point checklist
A PM audit is a structured look at the tasks you already have. Use this list as a first pass. It is a checklist, not a scoring system with a passing grade, and it does not replace a facilitated review of a critical system.
Coverage and criticality
- Is there a current critical-asset list, and does the PM program cover it?
- Does each critical asset have an identified operating context?
- Are failure modes documented, even briefly, for those assets?
- Does every PM task map to at least one failure mode?
- Are there known bad actors with no task, or only a reactive job plan?
Intervals and evidence
- Is the interval written, or is it “whatever the CMMS default was”?
- Is the interval based on evidence, a vendor recommendation, or a stated P-F interval?
- Have intervals ever been reviewed after a failure or a change in duty?
- Are seasonal or utilization-based intervals used where calendar time is a poor proxy?
- Are failure-finding tasks (for hidden functions) identified as such?
Quality of the work
- Are job plans specific enough that two technicians would do the same thing?
- Are measurements recorded, or only a pass/fail check box?
- Are tolerances and alarm limits written down?
- Is there a link to permits, LOTO, and access that actually works on the floor?
- Are special tools and parts listed, and are the parts in stock?
Waste and governance
- What share of PMs are completed on time, and what is deferred without review?
- How many tasks have not found a defect in a long time — and is that a reason to extend, or a reason to suspect the task?
- Are duplicate or overlapping tasks on the same asset combined?
- Who is allowed to add a PM, and who reviews deletions?
- Is there a written path from a PM finding to a corrective work order?
A free PM Program Health Checklist is available on request. Deeper work is the audit toolkit or the PM audit service.