Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) is the single most important workflow in any CAFM system — and the most common source of avoidable risk when it's poorly configured. This guide walks through how to design, schedule and optimise PPM inside MRI Evolution so your FM team improves compliance, reduces reactive workload and gets clean, defensible reporting for clients and regulators.
Why PPM optimisation matters
A well-tuned PPM programme typically delivers a 20–30% reduction in reactive call-outs within 12 months, lower asset replacement spend and — most importantly — a clean audit trail when the regulator, insurer or client comes asking. Yet most MRI Evolution deployments we audit run PPM at 60–70% of their potential because of legacy frequencies, dirty asset data and unbalanced engineer loads.
Common red flag: if your PPM completion rate is above 95% but reactive jobs aren't falling, your schedules are probably too lenient — engineers are completing tasks that don't meaningfully prevent failure.
The five pillars of effective PPM in MRI Evolution
1. Clean asset data
PPM is only as good as the asset register beneath it. Every asset needs a unique ID, location, criticality rating and manufacturer/model — without these, schedules attach to the wrong things.
2. Right-sized frequencies
Audit every frequency against manufacturer guidance and statutory requirements. Strip out inherited daily checks that should be weekly, and uplift critical assets that are under-serviced.
3. Statutory ring-fencing
Tag statutory tasks distinctly in MRI Evolution. They must never be deferred, batched or auto-closed. Separate reports keep your compliance evidence clean.
4. Forecast & balance load
Use MRI Evolution's PPM forecast view to spot weeks where engineer labour hours are over-allocated. Smoothing the curve is the single biggest driver of completion rates.
5. Close the loop
Every completed PPM should feed asset condition back into the register — meter readings, fault notes, parts used. That data tunes the next round of frequencies.
Bonus: contractor PPM
If contractors deliver any PPM, they need to be on MRI Evolution too — not on a parallel spreadsheet. Otherwise compliance reporting is incomplete by definition.
A 90-day PPM optimisation plan
- Weeks 1–2Audit the asset register: completeness, duplicates, location accuracy, criticality ratings. Quantify the gap before changing schedules.
- Weeks 3–4Review every active PPM frequency against manufacturer guidance and statutory requirements. Flag tasks to remove, uplift or re-time.
- Weeks 5–6Tag statutory PPMs distinctly and build a separate compliance dashboard. This becomes your evidence-on-demand report.
- Weeks 7–9Rebalance forecast labour against engineer availability. Smooth peaks, eliminate impossible weeks, and re-issue the rolling schedule.
- Weeks 10–12Measure: PPM completion rate, statutory pass rate, reactive volume, average days-to-close. Lock in monthly review cadence.
Frequently asked questions
What is Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM)?›
PPM is a scheduled, proactive approach to maintaining assets — inspections, servicing and parts replacement carried out at defined intervals to prevent failure rather than respond to it. In a CAFM system like MRI Evolution, PPM is driven by asset records, frequency rules and engineer task lists.
How does MRI Evolution handle PPM scheduling?›
MRI Evolution attaches PPM schedules to individual assets or asset groups. Each schedule defines the task, the responsible engineer or contractor, the frequency (daily, weekly, monthly, statutory) and the SLA. The system auto-generates the work orders, and completion data flows back into compliance and reporting dashboards.
What's the difference between PPM and reactive maintenance?›
Reactive maintenance happens after a fault is reported. PPM happens on a schedule, before a fault occurs. A healthy FM operation typically targets a PPM-to-reactive ratio of around 70:30 — more PPM means fewer emergencies, lower cost and better compliance evidence.
How can we reduce missed PPMs in MRI Evolution?›
The most common causes are poor asset data, unrealistic frequencies copied from legacy systems, and engineer overload. Fix those first: clean the asset register, review frequency rules against manufacturer guidance and statutory requirements, and balance task volume against available labour hours. Then use MRI Evolution's overdue and forecast reports to spot drift early.
Is PPM the same as statutory compliance?›
Not quite — statutory compliance is a subset of PPM. Statutory tasks (fire alarms, emergency lighting, water hygiene, lifting equipment) are non-negotiable and legally required. Other PPM tasks are best-practice and asset-life driven. MRI Evolution should flag statutory tasks distinctly so compliance reporting is unambiguous.
Need help optimising your PPM programme?
Our consultants audit MRI Evolution deployments end-to-end — including PPM configuration, statutory compliance evidence and engineer load balancing. Independent advice, no reseller bias.
Request a PPM audit