Preventive Maintenance KPIs Every Manager Should Track in Manufacturing

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If you run a manufacturing facility, you already know that what gets measured gets managed. But many maintenance teams still rely on instinct rather than data to understand how well their maintenance program is performing.

When a production line stops unexpectedly, it's easy to focus on getting it running again.

The bigger challenge is understanding why the breakdown happened and how to prevent it from happening again.

This is where Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) become valuable. They help maintenance

managers measure equipment performance, identify recurring problems, improve planning, and reduce costly downtime.

Whether you use preventive or predictive maintenance, tracking the right KPIs gives you a clear picture of how your maintenance team is performing.

Why Maintenance KPIs Matter?

Maintenance KPIs help you answer important questions, such as:

  • Are preventive maintenance tasks being completed on time?

  • Are technicians spending too much time on emergency repairs?

  • Which assets fail most often?

  • How quickly are breakdowns repaired?

  • Is equipment becoming more reliable over time?

Instead of making decisions based on assumptions, KPIs provide data that helps improve maintenance planning and asset performance.

Top KPIs To Track In A Manufacturing Facility

1. Preventive Maintenance Compliance (PMC)

Preventive Maintenance Compliance measures how many scheduled preventive maintenance tasks

are completed on time.

PMC (%) = (Completed PM Work Orders ÷ Scheduled PM Work Orders) × 100

If preventive maintenance is regularly delayed or missed, equipment becomes more likely to fail

unexpectedly. Low compliance usually results in more reactive maintenance and higher repair costs.

A high PMC indicates that maintenance schedules are realistic and that technicians have enough time to complete planned work. Many manufacturers aim for 90% or higher, although the right target

depends on your industry and equipment.

2. Planned Maintenance Percentage (PMP)

This KPI measures how much maintenance work is planned compared with emergency repairs.

PMP (%) = (Planned Maintenance Hours ÷ Total Maintenance Hours) × 100

Planned maintenance is generally less disruptive and easier to manage than emergency repairs.

As the percentage of planned work increases, maintenance teams can schedule labour, reduce downtime,

and improve equipment reliability.

If reactive work dominates your maintenance schedule, it may indicate that preventive maintenance

intervals need reviewing. Many maintenance teams aim for approximately 80% planned maintenance and 20% reactive

maintenance, although targets vary by industry.

3. Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)

MTBF measures the average amount of operating time between unexpected equipment failures.

MTBF = Total Operating Hours ÷ Number of Failures

A higher MTBF means equipment is becoming more reliable.

If MTBF starts decreasing, it could indicate:

  • ageing equipment

  • poor maintenance practices

  • incorrect preventive maintenance intervals

  • recurring component failures

Tracking MTBF over time helps determine whether maintenance improvements are having the desired

effect.


4. Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)

MTTR measures the average time needed to restore equipment after a failure.

MTTR = Total Repair Time ÷ Number of Repairs

A lower MTTR means technicians can diagnose and repair equipment quickly, reducing production

interruptions. A high MTTR may suggest problems such as:

  • difficult access to spare parts

  • poor documentation

  • slow approval processes

  • lack of technician training

  • unclear work instructions

Reducing MTTR helps improve equipment availability and production efficiency.

5. Equipment Downtime

Equipment downtime measures how much production time is lost because equipment isn't operating.

Downtime (%) = (Total Downtime Hours ÷ Planned Operating Hours) × 100

Downtime directly affects production output, delivery schedules, and operating costs.

By tracking downtime by machine, production line, or facility, managers can identify which assets

require additional maintenance or replacement.

Looking at downtime trends also helps measure whether preventive maintenance improvements are

reducing interruptions.

6. Maintenance Backlog

Maintenance backlog measures how much approved maintenance work is waiting to be completed.

A growing backlog often indicates that maintenance resources cannot keep up with demand.

Too little backlog may mean technicians aren't fully utilised, while an excessive backlog increases the

risk of equipment failures because important work keeps getting delayed.

Maintaining a manageable backlog helps teams prioritise work effectively.

7. Schedule Compliance

Schedule compliance measures how much planned maintenance work is completed according to the

weekly or monthly maintenance schedule.

A maintenance plan only delivers value if work is completed when scheduled. Poor schedule

compliance may indicate:

  • frequent emergency work

  • unrealistic planning

  • labour shortages

  • parts availability issues

Improving schedule compliance usually leads to better preventive maintenance performance.

Preventive Maintenance KPI Summary

KPI

Measures

Why it matters

Preventive Maintenance Compliance

Percentage of PM tasks completed on time

Improves preventive maintenance effectiveness

Planned Maintenance Percentage

Planned work versus reactive work

Reduces emergency repairs

Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)

Equipment reliability

Measures how often assets fail

Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)

Repair efficiency

Measures how quickly failures are resolved

Equipment Downtime

Lost production time

Identifies production losses

Maintenance Backlog

Outstanding maintenance work

Helps balance maintenance workload

Schedule Compliance

Planned work completed as scheduled

Improves maintenance planning

How Maintainly Helps Track Maintenance KPIs

Tracking maintenance KPIs manually using spreadsheets is time-consuming and often results in

incomplete or inaccurate data.

Maintainly automatically collects maintenance information as technicians complete their work.

  • Mobile maintenance: Technicians can scan QR codes, complete work orders, record meter readings, upload photos, and close jobs directly from their mobile devices.

  • Automatic reporting: Maintainly turns work order data into easy-to-read dashboards

  • that show maintenance trends, preventive maintenance completion, downtime, labor usage, and asset history.

  • Fast implementation: Because Maintainly is cloud-based, teams can get started quickly without lengthy software implementation projects or complex training.

Make Better Maintenance Decisions

The purpose of tracking KPIs isn't simply to collect numbers. It's to understand what's happening

across your maintenance operation and make better decisions.

By monitoring preventive maintenance compliance, downtime, equipment reliability, repair times, and

maintenance planning, manufacturing managers can improve asset performance, reduce unexpected

failures, and increase productivity.

Maintainly makes it easy to track these metrics automatically, giving your maintenance team the

information they need to keep production running smoothly.

Start your free Maintainly CMMS trial today and see how simple maintenance reporting can be.


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