Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) Surveys
Planned preventative maintenance (PPM) surveys are a popular way of proactively maintaining a property, by extensively planning for all maintenance works over the coming years.
Planning ahead with a PPM survey
A PPM survey involves a detailed inspection, followed by a PPM schedule detailing the expected works required to the building over a period of years (usually between five and ten).
The survey will also include budget costs, allowing you to budget for upcoming maintenance works.
Preventative or reactive maintenance?
By producing a PPM schedule for your property, you can budget for works in advance and avoid unforeseen and extensive costs by waiting for elements of the building to fail.
Whilst we cannot predict the future, we can advise you on the anticipated lifespan of building elements, their current condition and the costs involved in keeping them well-maintained.
Areas We Cover
Practical Surveying are based in Bristol and provide planned preventative maintenance surveys across the South West, South Wales, London and further afield.
We regularly work in Bath, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Chippenham, Exeter, Gloucester, Somerset and Swindon.
We can also support commercial property owners, occupiers and portfolio managers further afield where ongoing maintenance planning or condition assessment is required.
Planned Preventative Maintenance FAQs
Planned preventative maintenance is a proactive approach to looking after a property by identifying likely maintenance needs before problems become urgent or expensive.
Rather than waiting for parts of the building to fail, a planned approach helps property owners, occupiers and managers understand what work may be needed, when it is likely to be needed and what it may cost.
A PPM survey is a detailed inspection of a building, carried out to assess its current condition and identify likely maintenance requirements over the coming years.
Following the inspection, a PPM schedule is prepared to set out anticipated works, priorities and budget costs. This helps you plan maintenance more effectively and reduce the risk of unexpected repair costs.
A PPM schedule is a planned maintenance document that sets out expected works to a building over a future period, usually several years.
It can include details of the building elements reviewed, their current condition, anticipated lifespan, likely maintenance requirements and budget costs. In practice, “PPM works” usually refers to the maintenance works identified within this planned schedule.
A PPM survey includes a detailed inspection of the property, followed by a schedule of anticipated maintenance works.
The schedule will usually identify the expected works required, likely priorities and budget costs. This gives you a clearer view of upcoming maintenance needs and helps you plan spending over time.
A PPM schedule usually plans maintenance over a period of several years. For many properties, this is commonly between five and ten years, depending on the building, its condition and the level of planning required.
This longer-term view helps you understand which elements may need attention soon and which costs may arise later.
A planned preventative maintenance survey can be useful for commercial property owners, occupiers, landlords, managing agents and anyone responsible for maintaining a building or property portfolio.
It is particularly useful where future maintenance costs need to be planned in advance, rather than dealt with reactively when building elements fail.
Planned maintenance helps you identify likely repair needs before they become urgent. This can make it easier to budget, prioritise work and avoid unexpected disruption.
Reactive maintenance often means waiting until something fails before acting, which can lead to more extensive costs, operational disruption and less control over repair planning.