Planned Preventive Maintenance Checklist

A planned preventive maintenance (PPM) checklist is the structured task list for a scheduled maintenance visit — what to check, service, and record for a given asset or building. Because PPM covers many assets on many intervals, checklists keep each visit consistent and ensure nothing required (including statutory tasks) is missed.

This article outlines what a PPM checklist programme should cover. Specific tasks and intervals must follow manufacturer instructions, statutory requirements, and competent advice for each asset.

Build it around the asset register

A PPM checklist programme starts from the asset register: every maintainable asset, its location, and its required tasks and intervals. Each asset effectively gets its own checklist tied to its schedule (monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.). General building checklists then cover fabric and common areas.

Header for each PPM visit

• Asset/system and reference.
• Location.
• Date, technician, interval (e.g. quarterly).
• Result and any follow-up required.

Example task areas by system

HVAC — filters checked/replaced, belts and bearings, refrigerant/leak checks (by qualified persons), coils cleaned, controls operating, ventilation effective.

Boilers / heating — servicing by a qualified engineer, pressures and temperatures, safety devices, flue checks, controls.

Electrical — distribution boards, emergency lighting tests, fixed wiring inspection at required intervals (by competent persons), thermographic checks where used.

Fire systems — alarm tests, extinguisher servicing, fire door checks, damper testing, emergency lighting — often statutory and recorded separately.

Water systems — temperature checks, tank inspections, legionella control tasks (by competent persons).

Lifts — servicing and statutory thorough examination (by competent persons).

Building fabric — roofs, gutters, external envelope, drainage, common areas.

Statutory tasks must be flagged

Some PPM tasks aren't optional — they're legally required (fire safety, lifting equipment, electrical, water hygiene, etc.) and often must be done by competent or qualified persons at defined intervals. A PPM checklist programme should clearly distinguish statutory tasks and ensure they're never missed, since failure carries legal as well as operational risk.

Capture results, not just ticks

A useful PPM checklist records the result — readings, condition, parts replaced, and any defects found — not just a tick. Issues found during PPM should generate corrective work orders tracked to completion. The completed checklist, with photos where helpful, becomes the maintenance record for that asset.

Schedule and don't miss intervals

The defining challenge of PPM is the calendar: many assets, many intervals, constant tasks falling due. The checklist programme only works if it's driven by a reliable schedule that flags what's due and records completion, so nothing — especially statutory tasks — slips.

Capturing it digitally

A digital maintenance tool ties each checklist to its asset and schedule, flags due tasks, presents the checklist on a device, captures results and photos on site, raises corrective work for defects, and maintains the auditable per-asset history — making a real PPM programme manageable and demonstrable.

Key takeaways

A PPM checklist programme is built on the asset register, with a task list and interval for each asset across HVAC, heating, electrical, fire, water, lifts, and fabric. Flag statutory tasks so they're never missed, capture results (not just ticks) with defects raised as corrective work, and drive everything from a reliable schedule. Record each completed visit as the asset's maintenance history.