Preventive maintenance is the foundation of a reliable fleet, but it is also one of the first things to slip when a shop gets busy. The warning signs are usually visible in the data well before they show up as roadside breakdowns.
1. PMs are completed, but late
Completion rates can look healthy while intervals quietly stretch. Track on-time completion against the scheduled interval, not just whether the PM eventually happened.
2. Unscheduled repairs are rising as a share of work
When reactive work grows relative to planned work, technicians get pulled off PMs, which creates more reactive work. It is a cycle worth catching early.
3. Inspection findings are not turning into work orders
DVIRs and PM inspections only add value when defects are captured, prioritized and closed. Gaps between findings and completed repairs are a common blind spot.
4. The same units keep coming back
Repeat repairs on the same vehicles can point to rushed work, parts issues or a PM checklist that no longer fits the equipment or duty cycle.
5. Nobody is quite sure what the backlog is
If the backlog lives in people’s heads rather than in a report, it cannot be managed. Visibility is often the first and cheapest fix.
Spotting one or two of these is normal. Seeing several at once is a good reason to step back and review the program as a whole.