Course Overview

Maintenance planners are among the most valuable resources within a maintenance organisation, serving as the dedicated link between current operations and future maintenance requirements. When planning functions are overlooked or diverted into reactive activities, organisations often experience increased downtime, reduced wrench time, higher maintenance costs, and lower equipment reliability. Effective maintenance planning and scheduling are therefore essential for achieving operational excellence and maximising asset performance.

The Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Best Practice programme by TransforMentors Academy equips participants with the practical knowledge and structured methodologies needed to develop efficient maintenance planning and scheduling processes. The course covers the principles of work management, maintenance planning, scheduling techniques, resource allocation, backlog management, shutdown planning, and performance measurement to improve plant productivity and equipment availability.

Through practical exercises, real-world case studies, and interactive discussions, participants will learn how to plan maintenance work effectively, optimise the use of labour and materials, improve maintenance coordination, and implement best practices that support proactive maintenance management. The programme also explores advanced planning and scheduling techniques that help reduce maintenance costs and increase operational efficiency.

Agenda

Day — 1 Modern Maintenance Management Practice in Perspective

• Understanding the role of maintenance within the overall business process
• Exploring the characteristics of current maintenance management practices
• Examining opportunities for improving maintenance performance and business value
• Understanding the evolution of maintenance management and industry best practices
• Comparing reactive and proactive maintenance approaches and their impact on asset performance
• Exploring the principles and benefits of world-class maintenance management
• Exercise: Assess your organisation’s maintenance practices and identify opportunities for improvement

Day — 2 Maintenance Policies and Logistics Planning

• Understanding equipment classification and identification for effective maintenance management
• Exploring document identification and classification systems to support maintenance activities
• Reviewing maintenance management policies and their role in improving asset performance
• Applying maintenance work prioritisation methods to optimise resource allocation and plant reliability
• Understanding the principles of maintenance logistics planning for efficient material and spare parts management
• Integrating maintenance policies and logistics practices to support proactive maintenance programmes
• Exercise: Develop a maintenance prioritisation and logistics plan for a critical plant asset

Day — 3 Failure Management Programme Development

• Understanding Failure Modes, Effects, and Consequences Analysis (FMEA) and its role in asset reliability
• Exploring failure management policies for effective maintenance and asset performance
• Applying Reliability-Centred Maintenance (RCM) principles to develop failure management strategies
• Understanding the implementation of failure management policies in operational environments
• Developing corrective maintenance plans to minimise downtime and prevent recurring failures
• Identifying logistics and resource requirements to support effective failure management programmes
• Exercise: Develop a failure management plan for a critical asset using FMEA and RCM principles

Day — 4 Work Scheduling and Control

• Understanding the development of an effective weekly master maintenance schedule
• Determining resource availability to support planned maintenance activities
• Identifying equipment outage requirements for safe and efficient maintenance execution
• Managing the forward maintenance workload (backlog) to optimise planning and scheduling
• Implementing and monitoring the weekly master schedule to improve maintenance performance
• Applying scheduling and control practices to enhance equipment reliability and resource utilisation
• Exercise: Develop and implement a weekly master schedule for a maintenance work programme

Day — 5 Performance Measurement, Management Reporting, and Analysis

• Understanding the role of information and control in effective maintenance management
• Exploring information requirements across different management levels
• Developing and applying key performance indicators (KPIs) for maintenance activities
• Measuring workload performance to improve planning and resource utilisation
• Evaluating planning performance indicators to enhance maintenance effectiveness
• Applying effectiveness and cost performance indicators to support asset reliability and cost control
• Using management reports to monitor performance and drive continuous improvement
• Exercise: Design a maintenance performance dashboard using key workload, planning, effectiveness, and cost indicators
• Key takeaways and course evaluation

Learning Outcomes

By attending the Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Best Practice course, you will be able to:

• Understand the fundamental principles of effective maintenance management and its role in business performance
• Apply structured procedures for planning, scheduling, and controlling maintenance workflows
• Develop practical maintenance plans that improve equipment reliability and resource utilisation
• Implement effective maintenance scheduling techniques to maximise productivity and asset availability
• Monitor maintenance performance through measurement, reporting, and continuous improvement processes
• Recognise the role of proactive failure management in reducing downtime and maintenance costs
• Understand how reliability improvements enhance plant output, safety, environmental performance, and cost efficiency
• Apply maintenance planning and scheduling best practices to improve work quality and asset reliability
• Create and manage forward work backlogs to support effective planning and resource allocation
• Use key performance indicators (KPIs) and management reports to evaluate maintenance performance, optimise resources, and drive continuous improvement

Who Should Attend

The Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Best Practice course is ideal for professionals responsible for improving maintenance performance, equipment reliability, and plant availability. It is especially beneficial for:

• Plant Directors and Senior Plant Managers
• Maintenance Managers, Supervisors, and Coordinators
• Operations Managers and Supervisors
• Maintenance Planners and Schedulers
• Reliability and Asset Management Engineers
• Materials and Storeroom Managers
• Maintenance and Engineering Professionals involved in plant reliability and asset performance
• Anyone responsible for maintenance planning, scheduling, and equipment availability across industries such as:
  • Oil & Gas
  • Petrochemicals and Chemicals
  • Energy, Power, and Utilities
  • Aerospace
  • Food and Beverage
  • Manufacturing
  • Steel
  • Mining and Minerals
  • Transportation