{"id":14213,"date":"2023-09-05T12:27:38","date_gmt":"2023-09-05T18:27:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/?page_id=14213"},"modified":"2025-05-29T21:55:58","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T03:55:58","slug":"deferred-maintenance","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/learn\/definitions\/deferred-maintenance\/","title":{"rendered":"Deferred Maintenance"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Deferred Maintenance<\/h1>

Everything you ever needed to know about deferred maintenance.<\/h2><\/header>Free CMMS Buyer's Guide<\/span><\/a>\n
\n \n <\/span>Last updated on May 29, 2025<\/span>\n <\/span>\n bBrinton<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n\n [\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8aK1oGC5SIM” align=”right” el_class=”video-shadow”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row kd_background_image_position=”vc_row-bg-position-top” css=”.vc_custom_1687442797424{margin-top: 40px !important;}” el_class=”limble-page-blog-width”][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

What is deferred maintenance?<\/h2>\n

Deferred maintenance is <\/span>postponing maintenance work to a later date due to the lack of necessary resources.<\/b><\/p>\n

\"What<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether it is an unexpected issue or a routine preventive maintenance task, if a company does not have sufficient resources to perform the task, it will have to wait.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Contrary to popular belief, deferred maintenance can be a useful strategy in any maintenance program. It just depends on how a company utilizes it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If used strategically, deferred maintenance can help businesses prioritize maintenance tasks, helping their team achieve more.\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row kd_background_image_position=”vc_row-bg-position-top” css=”.vc_custom_1687442797424{margin-top: 40px !important;}” el_class=”limble-page-blog-width”][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Table of Contents<\/span><\/h2>\n

Examples of deferred maintenance<\/span><\/a>
\nWhat is maintenance backlog?<\/a>
\nCommon causes of deferred maintenance<\/a>
\nCost and consequences of a poorly managed deferred maintenance backlog<\/a>
\nGood versus bad deferred maintenance<\/a>
\nConsistency is key<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row kd_background_image_position=”vc_row-bg-position-top” css=”.vc_custom_1687440273251{margin-top: 40px !important;}” el_class=”limble-page-blog-width”][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Examples of deferred maintenance<\/h2>\n

Deferred maintenance is used in a wide variety of industries and maintenance applications. Let\u2019s look at a few examples.<\/span><\/p>\n

Deferred maintenance in real estate<\/span><\/h3>\n

Deferred maintenance in the real estate sector can have real financial impacts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Selling a home that has been neglected becomes a challenge, negatively impacting the home\u2019s value and the seller\u2019s ability to close on it. <\/span><\/p>\n

Deferred maintenance in production manufacturing<\/span><\/h3>\n

In production manufacturing, deferred maintenance can have serious impacts on entire production lines. A machine operator error can halt production altogether, resulting in current work and preventative maintenance tasks that team members have to put on pause.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As downtime and financial losses accumulate, it becomes an all-hands-on-deck situation for a maintenance team until the breakdown is resolved.<\/span><\/p>\n

All other pending preventive maintenance tasks become a lower priority and are therefore added to the backlog. <\/span><\/p>\n

Deferred maintenance in facilities<\/span><\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s say a facility has a scheduled preventive maintenance reminder to change all the HVAC filters in a 10-story building every three months. While they have ordered the necessary filters, they did not all arrive on time for the maintenance team to complete the change as scheduled. Therefore, replacing the remaining filters gets added to the deferred maintenance backlog.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=”middle” kd_background_image_position=”vc_row-bg-position-bottom” kd_top_separator_style=”skew-left” kd_top_separator_height=”separator-height-small” kd_bottom_separator_style=”skew-left” kd_bottom_separator_height=”separator-height-small” kd_top_separator=”true” kd_bottom_separator=”true” css=”.vc_custom_1699569118047{margin-bottom: 40px !important;padding-top: 120px !important;padding-right: 40px !important;padding-bottom: 50px !important;padding-left: 40px !important;background: #dde4e8 url(https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cta-laired-hex-4.webp?id=9077) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;border-radius: 0px !important;}” css_tablet_landscape=”.vc_custom_1699569118048{padding-bottom: 80px !important;}” css_tablet_portrait=”.vc_custom_1699569118048{padding-bottom: 80px !important;}” css_mobile=”.vc_custom_1699569118049{padding-bottom: 80px !important;}” el_class=”limble-page-blog-width”][vc_column][vc_row_inner kd_background_image_position=”vc_row-bg-position-top”][vc_column_inner]

Checklist for Creating a Preventive Maintenance Plan<\/h2>

Following a consistent Preventive Maintenance Plan can make life easier. Use this checklist to create your own!<\/h6><\/header>[\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner content_placement=”top” kd_background_image_position=”vc_row-bg-position-top”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1631866454223{padding-right: 50px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}” offset=”vc_col-lg-6 vc_col-md-12 vc_col-xs-12″ css_tablet_landscape=”.vc_custom_1631866454223{padding-right: 0px !important;}” css_tablet_portrait=”.vc_custom_1631866454223{padding-right: 0px !important;}” css_mobile=”.vc_custom_1631866454224{padding-right: 15px !important;}”][vc_raw_html]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[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image source=”external_link” alignment=”center” css_animation=”fadeIn” custom_src=”https:\/\/3975608.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net\/hubfs\/3975608\/Content%20Downloads\/PM%20Checklist%20mockup.png”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row kd_background_image_position=”vc_row-bg-position-top” css=”.vc_custom_1687440273251{margin-top: 40px !important;}” el_class=”limble-page-blog-width”][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

What is a maintenance backlog?<\/h2>\n

A <\/span>maintenance backlog<\/span><\/a> is the list of tasks and work orders postponed to a later date due to the emergence of higher-priority work and a lack of maintenance resources.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of the tasks in the backlog end up being preventive maintenance tasks.\u00a0 They are not urgent when scheduled, but they are essential to the safety and functionality of the equipment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Preventive maintenance tasks are not optional, but other priorities can easily supersede them for a team with slim resources. And if the backlog grows too big, it can be challenging to catch up.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row kd_background_image_position=”vc_row-bg-position-top” css=”.vc_custom_1687440273251{margin-top: 40px !important;}” el_class=”limble-page-blog-width”][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Common causes of deferred maintenance<\/h2>\n

All organizations face challenges unique to their situation. However, there are some common issues that lead to heavy maintenance backlogs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lack of a maintenance program or strategy<\/span><\/h3>\n

One of the main reasons a maintenance task may get pushed onto the backlog is because more urgent priorities get in the way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If your organization relies too heavily on <\/span>reactive<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>corrective maintenance<\/span><\/a>, this becomes the norm. It is easy to get caught in the loop of constantly evaluating priorities in order to address the most urgent need and end up deferring the rest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Save some trouble by implementing a <\/span>preventive maintenance plan<\/span><\/a> or a <\/span>predictive maintenance program<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Poor inventory management<\/span><\/h3>\n

Whether a company has a proactive maintenance program in place or not, they must ensure they have the tools and parts on hand to complete maintenance work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It is difficult to strike a balance between having enough resources on hand and not wasting money on unnecessary parts. Implementing an <\/span>efficient spare parts management<\/span><\/a> process can help mitigate this issue and prevent maintenance backlogs from growing too unmanageable.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lack of needed skills<\/span><\/h3>\n

If maintenance technicians don\u2019t have the skills they need to complete their work, it will lead to inefficiencies or repetitive work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ensure they have the right tools to do their job by providing:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n