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# How to schedule preventive maintenance
- URL: https://blog.jestor.com/schedule-preventive-maintenance/
- Published: 2026-09-16T18:54:40.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-16T18:54:40.000Z
- Author: Bruno Bannach

To **schedule preventive maintenance** effectively, intervals should follow usage rather than the calendar wherever usage is measurable. In **Jestor**, an asset record carries its usage counter and its maintenance history, and an automation raises the work order when the threshold is reached.

## Why preventive maintenance gets postponed

Preventive work competes with production, and production always looks more urgent. Postponement is rational each individual time and destructive cumulatively.

Without a record, nobody can see that a machine is three intervals overdue until it stops.

What structured scheduling changes:

- Maintenance postponed indefinitely without visibility
- Intervals based on the calendar when usage varies
- No history of what was done to which asset
- Breakdowns treated as bad luck rather than as a pattern
- Spare parts ordered reactively at premium cost

## Calendar based or usage based

| Basis         | Suits                           | Risk                                        |
| ------------- | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| Calendar      | Assets used steadily            | Over or under maintaining when usage varies |
| Usage counter | Machines with measurable output | Requires the counter to be recorded         |
| Condition     | Critical assets with monitoring | Requires instrumentation                    |
| Mixed         | Most operations                 | Whichever threshold comes first             |

## Step by step to structure it

1. **Create an assets registry**, one record per machine or vehicle.
2. **Record the usage counter** as part of the operating routine.
3. **Define the interval**, by usage where measurable and by date otherwise.
4. **Raise the work order automatically** when the threshold is reached.
5. **Record what was done**, including parts consumed.
6. **Link spare parts to stock**, so consumption triggers reordering.
7. **Track the ratio of corrective to preventive work**, which is the real measure.

## Why that ratio is the metric to watch

Counting completed preventive tasks measures activity. The ratio of corrective to preventive work measures whether the programme is working: if breakdowns are not falling as preventive work rises, the intervals or the tasks themselves are wrong.

## Why choose Jestor

In **Jestor**, assets are records with their own history, automations raise work orders from a usage counter or a date, parts consumed connect to stock so reordering is triggered automatically, and dashboards show cost per asset alongside the corrective to preventive ratio.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Should intervals be based on dates or usage?

Usage wherever it is measurable, since a calendar over or under maintains when use varies. See [jestor.com](https://www.jestor.com/?ref=blog.jestor.com).

### How do I know the programme is working?

Track the ratio of corrective to preventive work, not the count of tasks completed.

### Can parts consumption trigger reordering?

Yes, by linking parts used to stock records with minimum levels.

## Video Tutorial: Step by Step

With **Jestor**, you can automate workflows, connect teams, and build internal systems your way, all without code and powered by **AI**. Discover Jestor at [jestor.com](https://www.jestor.com/?ref=blog.jestor.com) and see how to take your company's operations to a new level of efficiency and control.