Did you know the difference between maintenance planning and scheduling?

In fact, many organizations think that the two are the same. Other organizations know the difference, but end up doing a lot of scheduling and very little planning.

Let’s figure out the difference by starting with short format definitions of planning and scheduling.

• Planning defines WHAT and HOW.

• Scheduling defines WHEN and WHO.

Is it the same process? Certainly not!

Planning should always be done before scheduling.

Planning is, for example, to get the right spare parts, materials, permits, tools, and skills defined.

Scheduling is deciding when and by whom the job is done.

Operations and maintenance need to work in a close partnership in order to achieve high scheduling performance since maintenance scheduling is highly dependent on production scheduling.