Published 22 Aug 2025
Article by
3 min read
What is an Industrial Preventive Maintenance Checklist?
An industrial preventive maintenance checklist is a structured document that outlines routine inspections, servicing tasks, and safety checks needed to keep machinery, equipment, and facilities running smoothly. It helps maintenance teams perform regular upkeep, identify potential issues early, and prevent costly breakdowns, ensuring production stays efficient and downtime is minimized.
Importance
Equipment downtime is a considerable problem that the industrial sector experiences regularly. According to research conducted by Siemens, unplanned downtime costs the world’s 500 biggest companies 11% of their revenues due to production hours lost and costly repairs. While equipment downtime is inherently part of the production process, it is important to have effective maintenance strategies to keep equipment running properly.
Using an industrial preventive maintenance checklist is important because it helps ensure that all critical maintenance tasks are performed consistently and on schedule. This reduces unexpected equipment failures, extends the lifespan of machinery, improves workplace safety, and minimizes costly production downtime. By catching small issues before they become major problems, companies can maintain productivity and avoid expensive emergency repairs.
Key Components of an Industrial Preventive Maintenance Checklist
The elements present in an industrial preventive maintenance checklist may vary depending on the equipment components, but the essential components typically include:
Equipment Details: Include information like equipment name, identification number or code, location, and manufacturer to identify what is being serviced.
Visual and Physical Checks: List of specific maintenance tasks directed towards the physical condition of the machine. This typically includes checking for leaks, loose parts, and the general condition of the equipment.
Mechanical and Operational Checks: This component is designed to check the functions of a machine, especially if it has moving or revolving parts. Highlight areas to check for unusual noises, damaged cables, wear and tear, or other warning signs that may indicate potential hazards .
Safety Procedures: Include necessary safety precautions, lockout/tagout steps, and required personal protective equipment ( PPE ) to protect workers.
Documentation and Follow Up: To maintain transparency, it is recommended to include a section for documentation and any needed follow ups. This includes the general assessment of a machine’s condition and additional maintenance actions that may be required for further servicing.
Service record: Provide space to document the date, findings, actions taken, and signatures to maintain an accurate maintenance history.
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How to Use an Industrial Preventive Maintenance Checklist
In order to maximize the features of this kind of preventive maintenance checklist, it is important to know how to properly fill it out. Here is a simple step-by-step guide:
Provide the information needed in the title page. This usually requires the name of the company where the inspection is taking place, the location of the manufacturing facility, the kind of equipment to be checked, and the name of the technician.
Conduct the equipment check by answering the questions in the checklist. Go over the different sections such as visual checks, mechanical checks, compliance verification, and documentation requirements. It is crucial to provide accurate information to determine the condition of the equipment and identify any faults.
Attach any media annotations and include notes to describe any faults or issues observed during the inspection.
Complete the inspection with a sign-off .
Sample Industrial Preventive Maintenance Report
To give a better understanding of what a completed industrial preventive maintenance checklist looks like, here is a sample PDF report:
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