Essential tasks must be programmed effectively.

Few would argue that maintenance is not a problem. Practices do not eliminate problems, but only proper practice makes perfect maintenance. To master management of building services maintenance, there is no better teacher than experience. You must plan your maintenance system thoughtfully and try it out together with your professional knowledge. The system outlined in this article gives a systematic procedure in setting up a workable maintenance plan. The tedious management work and the inconvenience caused to a busy or new maintenance department will probably mean greater pressure of work for the maintenance engineer in the first year, but thereafter the pressure will be less than before and benefits of an organised system of maintenance will repay the effort of introducing it. It is essential that the paperwork be as simple as possible and very flexible in operation so that amendments can be made easily. Preparation of paperwork is by no means easy. It is highly likely that your schedules and programmes will have to be rewritten two or three times before arriving at the optimum plan. My management lecturer once told me: "Without a plan and a programme, you don't know whether you have done all the things that you need to do, and you will end up with many problems." Good planning gives you confidence, but take my advice--do not over plan. Too much paperwork can be just as bad if not worse than too little paper. Information will be of no use if it cannot be read, digested and used in practice.