Timely maintenance of production equipment is critical in manufacturing facilities. Indeed, falling too far behind is akin to falling down. If corrective and preventive maintenance are not performed in a timely manner, it can lead to equipment failure, which in turn can result in unplanned downtime, late product delivery, a dent in your reputation and even a hit to your bottom line.
Nevertheless, backlogs happen. In many circumstances, manageable backlogs are normal and actually can be a sign of efficient use of manpower. But if issues such as demanding production deadlines or staffing shortages are pushing important maintenance to the back burner, it’s time for a strategic intervention. Fortunately, there are a number of steps that manufacturers can take to better manage their backlogs.
What is a maintenance backlog?
A maintenance backlog is the total amount of outstanding maintenance work that the maintenance team has on its plate, whether in progress, planned or scheduled. However, the term is also used to refer to a measurement of the time that will be needed to complete that existing workload.
Often measured in man-hours or weeks, maintenance backlogs serve as a workload indicator. Each maintenance activity — whether it’s inspection, lubrication or calibration — contributes to backlog accumulation when not completed on time.
Importantly, a backlog is not always negative. Some backlog is expected, but prolonged or excessive deferred maintenance may signal resource misallocation.
A maintenance backlog includes:
- Planned, scheduled, and in-progress maintenance tasks
- Measured in man-hours or weeks
- A sign of efficient labor use — but only up to a point
Calculating a maintenance backlog
Backlog management starts with understanding the size of the problem. To calculate it:
Backlog (in weeks) = Total maintenance hours / Weekly available labor hours
For example, if planned, scheduled and in-progress tasks are projected to take 240 man-hours and you have three technicians performing 40 hours of maintenance on those tasks each week (for a total of 120 hours each week), your backlog is two weeks. Under the same scenario with five technicians working 40 hours each (and thus able to complete 200 hours of work each week), your backlog is 1.2 weeks.
A healthy maintenance backlog typically ranges from two to four weeks for preventive maintenance. Less than two weeks may indicate overstaffing; more than four weeks suggests growing risk. Notably, a backlog is not inherently bad. If there were no work planned, scheduled or needed — and thus no backlog — technicians would be sitting idle, an inefficient use of your labor capital. Most organizations aim to balance planned maintenance with reactive needs, ensuring resources are not constantly diverted to emergency fixes.
Steps for reducing your maintenance backlog
If your backlog has grown to an unmanageable size or maintenance department inefficiencies need to be addressed, a more proactive approach is needed. Follow these steps to put a better maintenance backlog management strategy in place:
- Prioritize your backlog: Efficient maintenance backlog management begins with prioritization. Technicians should focus on critical tasks — particularly those tied to safety, compliance or production-critical equipment. Differentiate between corrective maintenance, which is an immediate response to equipment failure, and preventive maintenance, which is scheduled to avoid future breakdowns. When resources are limited, it’s essential to weigh the urgency of corrective maintenance against the long-term value of preventive maintenance strategies. Risk matrix tools and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) help assess the impact and likelihood of failure, enabling smarter prioritization.
- Determine critical work and order of completion: Understanding that backlog management is important is easy. The actual management of it takes hard work — and on an ongoing basis. Start by ranking tasks that need to be completed, with critical work at the top of the list because low-risk assets can be backlogged for a longer period of time. It’s worth noting that if you are taking advantage of valuable sensor technology, the data it produces can alert you as to which machinery is on the verge of failure and which is experiencing no issues whatsoever. This type of information enables you to target a preferred order of completion. Know, too, that backlogs are ever-changing. New issues may arise that change the completion order, depending on their importance in relation to maintenance tasks that are already part of the backlog. Predictive maintenance technologies enhance prioritization; tools like thermal imaging, vibration analysis and real-time sensor monitoring can indicate machinery close to failure. A real-world example: A motor with increasing vibration trends may take precedence over a routine belt inspection. These tools help re-rank maintenance tasks dynamically as new data emerges, supporting efficient backlog management.
- Assess your resources: Performing maintenance tasks means utilizing manpower, specific skills, new or spare parts, technology or some combination of those. With prioritized tasks in hand, audit your available resources. Use a skills matrix to match technician certifications and experience to task complexity. Key resources to evaluate include available labor hours, skills and certifications (technician training), spare parts inventory and access to automation tools (e.g., CMMS, IIoT dashboards). If gaps exist, consider short-term contract support or overtime options to avoid ballooning the maintenance backlog.
- Strategize and plan for risks/challenges: Since the best-laid plans can go awry, determining alternative solutions is necessary, as well. Needed parts may be on back order, forcing a change in the order of tasks on your list. Similarly, an urgent production request from a key client might prompt a decision to further delay maintenance on a specific machine, prompting a reset of priorities. Breakdowns that require immediate attention, bringing scheduled work to a halt, can throw the entire existing work order into chaos. A good strategy is to expect the unexpected and develop a Plan B and even a Plan C.
- Ensure worker safety: This is perhaps stating the obvious, but under no circumstances should worker safety be compromised due to pressure to reduce the backlog.
- Track work orders: Directing your resources efficiently and prioritizing work on a given day requires real-time information on the status of work orders, which makes tracking orders essential. A computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) can help automate the work order process and also help with preventive maintenance planning and record keeping. With a CMMS, information about equipment is literally at your fingertips. Helpful CMMS features include automated work order creation and tracking, preventive maintenance calendars, mobile access for field techs and historical equipment data logs. A robust maintenance management software supports efficient maintenance operations, improves compliance and reduces reliance on reactive maintenance.
The consequences of poor backlog management
Managing a backlog of maintenance tasks is a balancing act. Tasks that need immediate attention can tax your resources, but a preventive maintenance backlog cannot be ignored for too long without resulting in equipment failure. A large backlog that stretches resources conceivably could also lead to a loss of confidence in the maintenance department, prompting equipment operators to submit “emergency” work orders when there’s no true emergency — just to get a priority spot on the worklist.
On the other hand, if a backlog is too small, it might be an indication that you are paying too many technicians (because they are easily keeping up).
When to get help with your maintenance backlog
Managing a growing maintenance backlog internally can stretch teams thin, compromise safety and delay critical repairs. When internal resources are no longer enough to catch up or stay ahead, bringing in external support becomes a strategic move — not a last resort.
Some signs suggest it’s time to bring in outside expertise:
- Repeated missed PM tasks
- Backlog consistently exceeds 3–4 weeks
- Skilled labor shortages or technician turnover
Outside partners can provide flexible labor, CMMS implementation support or asset performance consulting. They also offer fresh perspectives and scalable processes that help internal teams recover control and prevent backlog from recurring.
Successfully managing a backlog of maintenance tasks can prevent shutdowns and optimize a manufacturer’s use of resources. ATS has a wide range of solutions to address your industrial maintenance needs. Contact us to learn more.
