Will the amount of deferred maintenance increase or decrease in the future?

In a general, global sense, the signs seem to show that deferred maintenance will probably decrease in the future.

One of these signs is the fact that more organizations are recognizing the need for proper maintenance practices. For example, voters across the nation are backing more funding for much needed repairs on schools, raising billions of dollars for the task.

This increased awareness shows that company leadership might be more receptive to the idea of funding long-postponed maintenance tasks, making it more likely that deferred maintenance will decrease as maintenance managers and directors take the initiative.

Another sign is technology is evolving to the point where it will be easier to diagnose problems before they develop. Predictive maintenance with IoT technology makes it easier to monitor assets and prevent more costly wear. Since expensive tasks become less common, there’s less of a chance that the company will run out of budget.

As more maintenance departments adopt IoT technology and implement it into their processes, they should see a drop in deferred maintenance tasks.

Additional technology can also help in terms of organizing maintenance procedures. A great deal of time is wasted due to poor planning, and new software (such as CMMS programs) is helping to remedy that. Better maintenance planning from effective use of these programs means more assigned maintenance tasks are completed in a timely manner and fewer are deferred due to time constraints.

In addition, CMMS software can be used to better plan preventive maintenance tasks. As the program tracks data, it better informs maintenance decisions, allowing planners to prioritize tasks that will have the greatest impact on preventing failures and excessive wear. This not only frees up budget by streamlining PM tasks, but it can also reduce the incidence of expensive repair work that might be put off.

Now, as far as whether deferred maintenance will decrease in your organization specifically, that’s really up to you. By using new technologies to streamline your maintenance processes and prevent expensive CM tasks, you should see a decrease in deferred maintenance.