A preventive maintenance checklist is the list a technician works through for one piece of equipment at one interval. The schedule says when; the checklist says what to check on the day. Below is a checklist for five common plant assets, grouped by how often each task is done. The tasks come from the task library behind our preventive maintenance schedule generator.
Use it as a starting point and adapt it to the maker’s manual and your site safety procedures.
Daily preventive maintenance checklist
- Air compressor (screw): Check oil level, discharge pressure and temperature
- Air compressor (screw): Drain condensate from receiver and separators (if not automatic)
- Centrifugal pump: Check for leaks at seal, gland and flanges
- Centrifugal pump: Check for unusual noise, vibration and bearing temperature
- Electric motor (LT induction): Check for abnormal noise, vibration and overheating
- Air handling unit (AHU): Check supply air temperature, differential pressure of filters and for abnormal noise
- Belt conveyor: Walk the line each shift: belt tracking, spillage, abnormal noise, hot idlers and pull-cord or emergency stop access
Weekly preventive maintenance checklist
- Air compressor (screw): Clean or check intake air filter
- Centrifugal pump: Check suction and discharge pressure against normal range
- Electric motor (LT induction): Clean motor body and cooling fan cover
- Air handling unit (AHU): Check filter differential pressure; clean pre-filters
- Belt conveyor: Spin idlers by hand and mark seized or noisy rollers; check scraper blade contact
- Belt conveyor: Check belt tracking at head, tail and mid-points; adjust training idlers
Monthly preventive maintenance checklist
- Air compressor (screw): Check belts and couplings; check for air leaks
- Centrifugal pump: Lubricate bearings as per OEM schedule
- Centrifugal pump: Measure vibration and record trend
- Electric motor (LT induction): Measure running current and compare with nameplate
- Air handling unit (AHU): Check belts, pulleys and fan bearings; grease motor and fan bearings
- Air handling unit (AHU): Check dampers, actuators and condensate drain pan and trap
- Belt conveyor: Check head and tail pulley lagging and bearings; check gearbox oil level
- Belt conveyor: Grease bearings and take-up as per the lubrication plan; check take-up tension and travel
- Belt conveyor: Test pull-cord emergency stops, belt-sway (misalignment) switches and the zero-speed switch
Quarterly preventive maintenance checklist
- Air compressor (screw): Clean cooler fins
- Centrifugal pump: Check coupling alignment and coupling condition
- Electric motor (LT induction): Grease bearings as per OEM schedule
- Air handling unit (AHU): Clean cooling coil and check coil leaks; replace pre-filters
- Belt conveyor: Check splices, belt cover wear and edge damage; check skirting rubber
Half-yearly preventive maintenance checklist
- Air compressor (screw): Replace oil filter and air filter element
- Centrifugal pump: Inspect and tighten foundation bolts
- Electric motor (LT induction): Check terminal box connections and earthing
- Air handling unit (AHU): Replace secondary (bag or panel) filters; check VFD and fan balance
- Belt conveyor: Check coupling alignment and brake; vibration and temperature of drive
Annual preventive maintenance checklist
- Air compressor (screw): Replace oil and separator element; check safety valve
- Centrifugal pump: Overhaul: inspect impeller, wear rings, shaft sleeve and bearings
- Electric motor (LT induction): Measure insulation resistance (IR test) and record trend
- Air handling unit (AHU): Deep clean the unit and coils; check insulation, door seals, motor insulation and controls calibration
- Belt conveyor: Replace worn idlers, scrapers and lagging as needed; oil sampling of gearbox; check structure and frame
How to make a checklist work
- One checklist per asset type and interval, so a technician does not have to read the whole schedule.
- Each line has a clear pass or fail result and a place for a reading.
- Safety steps come first: isolation, lockout and PPE.
- A failed line creates a corrective job, rather than a note in the margin.
- The completed checklist is stored with the asset, with the name of the person and the date.
On paper, this is hard to enforce. In preventive maintenance software the checklist is attached to the task, completed on a phone, and a failed item can open a work order. See how that works in practice.
Checklists by industry
| Industry | What the schedule focuses on | Go to |
|---|---|---|
| Automotive components | Presses, CNC machines, robots and paint-shop utilities, where a line stoppage stops the customer’s line too. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for automotive components |
| Chemicals | Reactors, pumps, heat exchangers and relief valves, where inspection ties into process safety. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for chemicals |
| Electronics | Cleanroom air handling, SMT lines and power quality for sensitive equipment. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for electronics |
| FMCG | High-speed filling and packing lines, where many small stoppages add up. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for fmcg |
| Food processing | Hygiene-critical equipment, boilers and refrigeration, with records for food-safety audits. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for food processing |
| Dairy | Pasteurisers, ammonia refrigeration and cleaning-in-place systems, with calibration at critical control points. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for dairy |
| Packaging and printing | Printing, converting and packing machines and the compressed air they depend on. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for packaging and printing |
| Paper and pulp | Paper machine drives, dryers, boilers and the effluent plant. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for paper and pulp |
| Pharmaceutical | Validated equipment, calibration and cleanroom air handling, with audit-ready records. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for pharmaceutical |
| API and bulk drugs | Reactors, centrifuges and dryers, planned around production campaigns. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for api and bulk drugs |
| Plastics and polymers | Injection moulding machines, chillers, hydraulics and moulds. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for plastics and polymers |
| Tyre and rubber | Mixers, extruders and curing presses, with moulds and bladders tracked as consumables. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for tyre and rubber |
| Power plants | Boilers, turbines and auxiliaries, with statutory inspections. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for power plants |
| Renewable energy | Inverters, trackers and turbines across remote sites. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for renewable energy |
| Textile | Hundreds of similar looms and frames, plus compressors, humidification and boilers. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for textile |
| Steel and metals | Cranes, furnaces, mill stands and hydraulics working in heat and load. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for steel and metals |
| Cement | Kiln, mills and fans, and a shutdown list built from real data. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for cement |
| Mining | Fleet services by engine hours, crushers and conveyors in remote sites. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for mining |
| Oil and gas | Rotating equipment, inspection of pressure equipment and safety-critical tests. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for oil and gas |
| Sugar and distilleries | Season rounds, the off-season overhaul, boilers and cogeneration. | Maintenance software · Preventive maintenance schedule for sugar and distilleries |
For how to set the intervals and build the full plan, read the guide to the preventive maintenance schedule.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a preventive maintenance schedule and a PM checklist?
The schedule says which task is due on which asset and when. The checklist lists the steps and checks to carry out when the task is done.
How long should a daily checklist take?
A daily check on one machine should take only a few minutes. In our library, daily checks are estimated at 3 to 15 minutes per task.
Should operators or technicians do the daily checks?
Many plants give simple daily checks, such as levels, leaks and noises, to operators, and keep measured or technical checks for technicians. What matters is that each check has an owner.
Do I need different checklists for each machine?
You need one per asset type and interval. Machines of the same type can share a checklist.
