| In every industry, maintenance and repairs are essential to keeping equipment, infrastructure, and systems running smoothly. While the core goal is always to reduce downtime and avoid failures, the approach varies widely depending on the facility. A hospital, for instance, has different maintenance needs than a warehouse or office building. Still, the outcome is the same: safe, efficient operations. When maintenance and repairs are done proactively, they help avoid costly disruptions, ensure compliance, and extend the life of assets—making them a smart investment for any facility.. |  |
Understanding Facility Maintenance and Repairs
Understanding repairs maintenance is important for effective facility management. So before we get into the details, let’s define the difference between repair and maintenance:
- Repair: Actions taken to restore functionality after equipment failure. Repairs are reactive measures that address problems after they occur.
- Maintenance: Activities performed to preserve functionality and prevent failures. Maintenance is proactive work that extends asset lifespan and prevents unplanned downtime.
Why They Matter
Both repairs and maintenance are crucial to keeping facilities operational, safe, and cost-efficient. Proactive maintenance reduces the likelihood of breakdowns, helps maintain compliance with safety regulations, and often lowers long-term costs. Meanwhile, timely repairs prevent minor issues from turning into major disruptions.
Neglecting either function can lead to increased operational risk, safety hazards for employees or occupants, regulatory fines, and a poor reputation. In many cases, unplanned downtime caused by equipment failure can cost thousands per hour—not to mention the potential impact on customer satisfaction or public trust.
Common Types of Facilities
Different types of facilities have unique maintenance and repair needs:
- Commercial buildings (e.g., offices, retail spaces): Focus on HVAC, lighting, elevators, and life-safety systems.
- Industrial facilities (e.g., factories, warehouses): Emphasize equipment calibration, production lines, and energy systems.
- Healthcare facilities: Require strict compliance for medical equipment, air quality, and sanitation systems.
- Educational institutions: Often include a mix of infrastructure needs—from classrooms to laboratories and recreational areas.
- Public infrastructure (e.g., transportation hubs, utilities): Involves large-scale systems that are critical to public safety and services.
- Residential buildings and rental properties: Maintenance plays a key role in ensuring health and safety standards are met and is closely tied to tenants’ rights regarding repairs and maintenance.
Understanding your facility’s specific requirements is the first step toward building an effective maintenance and repair strategy.
Types of Maintenance Strategies
There’s no single way to approach maintenance—what matters is finding the right mix based on your facility’s size, purpose, and critical systems. Below are the main types of maintenance strategies, each with its own role in keeping operations safe and efficient.
Preventive Maintenance (PM)
Preventive maintenance involves scheduled inspections, servicing, and part replacements to avoid equipment failure before it happens. It’s one of the most widely used approaches and applies across industries.
- Examples: Routine HVAC filter changes, fire alarm testing, and generator load tests.
- Benefits: Reduces unexpected breakdowns, extends asset life, improves safety.
Predictive Maintenance
Predictive maintenance takes things a step further by using data—like vibration analysis or temperature readings—to detect signs of wear or potential failure. This strategy relies on sensors, monitoring software, and analytics to act only when needed.
- Examples: Monitoring motor performance for irregularities using thermal imaging to spot electrical faults.
- Benefits: Reduces maintenance frequency, avoids unnecessary part changes, minimizes downtime.
Corrective Maintenance
Corrective maintenance refers to repairs made after a fault has occurred. It’s a reactive approach that addresses issues once they’re already impacting operations.
- Examples: Fixing a leaking pipe, replacing a burnt-out motor, restoring power after an outage.
- Risks: This can result in longer downtime, higher repair costs, and safety risks if overused.
Routine vs. Emergency Repairs
Even within repair work, it’s important to distinguish between routine and emergency responses:
- Routine repairs are scheduled fixes that don’t pose immediate threats (e.g., tightening loose handrails or patching a minor roof leak).
- Emergency repairs address urgent issues that affect safety or operations, like power outages, major leaks, or failed life-safety systems.
Having the right systems in place to handle both types—quick response teams, stocked parts, and clear escalation procedures—is key to maintaining continuity and safety.
Safety and Compliance Considerations
Maintenance and repairs aren’t just about keeping things running—they’re central to protecting people and meeting legal obligations. Poor maintenance practices can create real hazards, while strong systems help ensure safety, compliance, and peace of mind.
Meeting Safety Regulations
Every facility must comply with health and safety standards, many of which are directly tied to maintenance. In the U.S., for example, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) outlines requirements for equipment upkeep, electrical systems, emergency exits, and more. Failing to maintain these properly can lead to fines, shutdowns, or worse—injuries.
- Examples: Fire alarms and extinguishers must be inspected regularly; emergency lighting and exits must function correctly; elevators and lifts must be serviced per regulation.
Regular, documented maintenance is often required to demonstrate compliance during inspections or audits.
Protecting Staff and Occupants
Well-maintained facilities reduce the risk of accidents—from slips and falls due to leaks to electrical hazards caused by outdated wiring. Maintenance also plays a key role in environmental health, like ensuring good air quality through clean HVAC systems or keeping water systems safe from contamination.
A single overlooked task can lead to injuries, lawsuits, or service interruptions. For example, a faulty emergency generator in a hospital can quickly turn into a life-threatening situation during a power outage.
Real-World Risk: Deferred Maintenance
It’s not uncommon for facilities to delay non-urgent repairs or maintenance due to budget constraints. But this “deferred maintenance” can quietly build up into major risks. Think: corroded pipes that burst, worn-out brakes on service lifts, or blocked fire exits.
In the long run, skipping maintenance to save money can actually cost far more—both financially and in human impact.
Creating an Effective Maintenance Plan
An effective maintenance plan starts with understanding what you’re working with. That means taking a full inventory of all systems, equipment, and infrastructure—everything from boilers and elevators to fire alarms and HVAC units. Without this baseline, it’s impossible to prioritize or plan work properly.
Next comes scheduling and tracking. This is where many facilities benefit from using a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS). These platforms help plan routine tasks, monitor work orders, and keep maintenance histories in one place. They also help ensure nothing slips through the cracks, especially in large or multi-site operations.
But a plan is only as good as the people carrying it out. Defining clear roles and responsibilities for maintenance staff is essential. Everyone involved—from in-house technicians to third-party contractors—should understand the standards, procedures, and safety expectations for their work. For complex systems or high-risk environments, certified professionals may be required by law or best practice.
Budgeting is another critical piece. Maintenance and repairs should have a dedicated, realistic budget—not just for routine upkeep but also for unexpected fixes and capital replacements. Waiting until something breaks to request funding often results in higher costs and greater disruption.
Finally, an effective plan isn’t static. It should be reviewed regularly to account for equipment aging, usage patterns, new regulations, or lessons learned from past failures. In short: plan, track, train, fund, and adjust. That’s how facilities stay ahead of issues and avoid being caught off guard.
How We Support Efficient, Safe Facility Operations
At eWorkOrders, we understand that effective maintenance and repairs are at the heart of safe, efficient facility operations. That’s why we’ve built a powerful, easy-to-use CMMS platform designed to help you stay ahead of issues, reduce downtime, and make smarter maintenance decisions.
Here’s how we support your success:
- Streamlined Work Order Management: Our system makes it easy to create, assign, and track work orders in real-time—so nothing falls through the cracks, and your team can respond quickly and consistently.
- Preventive and Predictive Maintenance Tools: We help you shift from reactive fixes to proactive strategies. Schedule routine tasks, monitor asset health, and reduce unexpected breakdowns with tools designed to extend equipment lifespan and improve safety.
- Access Anywhere with Mobile Functionality: Your technicians don’t need to be tied to a desk. With our mobile-friendly system, they can manage tasks, update work orders, and access asset information from the field—boosting productivity and response times.
With eWorkOrders, you’re not just managing maintenance—you’re building a smarter, safer facility. Let us help you turn maintenance into a competitive advantage. Book a demo today.
FAQs
What is an example of maintenance and repair?
An example of maintenance is changing the air filters in an HVAC system to prevent performance issues. An example of repair is fixing a broken motor after it stops working.
What are repair and maintenance supplies?
Repair and maintenance supplies are materials and tools used to perform upkeep or fix equipment, such as lubricants, filters, gaskets, hand tools, and replacement parts. These are typically consumed in the process and are not considered capital assets.
What are the four types of maintenance?
The four main types of maintenance are preventive, predictive, corrective, and routine. Each serves a different role, from avoiding breakdowns to responding when something goes wrong.
What goes under repairs and maintenance?
Repairs and maintenance include all work and related costs needed to keep assets in working condition, such as servicing equipment, fixing systems, or replacing worn-out components. These activities do not significantly extend the asset’s life or value, so they are usually expensed rather than capitalized.
