Creating a PM Schedule: Full Schedule Form
The PM schedule form includes 18 steps, however you do not need to fill in all steps in order to create a schedule. We will go over every step here to show you what information can be included in each. See Creating a PM Schedule: Just the Basics for information on entering just the required and recommended steps to get your schedules entered quickly.
Watch the Video Tutorial:
How to Create a PM Schedule
- Click on the New Schedule tab at the top of your screen.
PM Schedule Steps
This is a required step. Enter a Title for this schedule. You want to be as specific as possible when naming your schedules. It’s a good idea to use the initials or abbreviation of the Location, the Classification or Type, and the frequency. Example: CHS-AHU-Quarterly. Click Next Step. *Note: Avoid using special characters, such as &, *, and @, in your PM Titles. However, it is acceptable to use spaces, dashes, and underscores.
This is a required step. You will need to select a classification based upon the type of inspection or work you want to perform. Your screen will automatically refresh to the next step.
The type further identifies what type of inspection or equipment you might need.
You can generally skip this step as you may not need to get this specific. This step can be used to enter a specific manufacturer for the equipment needing to be maintained. This will exclude any equipment with a different manufacturer or no manufacturer listed on the equipment form.
Select the Location where you need to perform the PM work. *Note: We recommend always selecting a single Location (rather than choosing All Locations) on every schedule for more effective reporting.
If you have a Building associated with the Location, you can choose the specific Building here.
If you are performing a "Non-Asset" inspecting like a safety inspection, you do not need to choose any equipment in this step. However, if you want to have the equipment displayed on the PM work order or you want to track cost or a history of work done for your equipment, you will need to select it here. *Note: The only equipment that will be listed here are the pieces that match the selections you have made in the previous 5 schedule steps. If you do not see the piece of equipment you are looking for, check those steps and the equipment for discrepancies.
- Put a check in the box next to the piece(s) of equipment that will be included in this schedule. You can add more than one piece of equipment to the schedule if needed. To select all of the equipment listed, click the Select ALL Equipment button above the list.
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You will also need to choose whether you would like to generate one work order for each piece of selected equipment or generate one work order for all of the selected equipment collectively.
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If you generate one work order for each piece of equipment, the system will create a work order for every piece of equipment you have selected on the schedule.
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If you generate one work order for ALL equipment collectively, the system will create only one work order with all of the selected equipment listed on it. *Note: If you generate one work order for ALL selected equipment collectively, you will not be able to track the PM costs of the individual pieces of equipment.
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- Click the Next Step button to save and move on to Step 8.
Templates are tools that can be used as data entry shortcuts to help you create schedules more quickly. Your account has been loaded with SchoolDude Starter Templates that can help you quickly create your schedules. Click on the red book to see if there is a template that you can use for your schedule. Keep clicking on the books in the tree to get down to the task list of the template.
If you see a template you would like to use for your schedule, click the Copy Selected Template button. You will notice that information, such as the list of tasks, will automatically fill in the appropriate schedule steps. You can go into those steps (marked with a red checkmark) and make additions or modifications to the information added from the template.
If you do not want to use any of the templates, click the Create My Own Schedule button.
Enter any procedures that need to occur prior to the work taking place. Click Next Step.
Enter all safety information and procedures that need to be followed when performing this work. Click Next Step.
If you copied a template, verify that the tasks are listed and make any necessary changes. If you did not copy a template, enter the tasks and any procedures associated with those tasks that need to be performed for this work. You can also click Attach File below the Special Task Procedures box to attach a document. *Note: If you attach a document, it is best practice to add a task that indicates the user needs to open the attachment. This way, it stands out to the user completing the tasks. Use the checkboxes to determine if you would like the Task List, Procedures, and Comments entered on the schedule to show on the printed PM work order.
Click Next Step to save.
Enter any tools needed to perform the work. Click Next Step.
Enter any parts that need to be purchased or taken from inventory every time this work is done. If yo u enter any information on this step, click the Submit button to add the purchase or inventory issue to the schedule.
Click Next Step.
Journal notes can be used to make notes to other staff members who may work on this equipment. It can also be used to setup an email reminder.
Click Next Step.
You can choose to go ahead and assign the PM work to a specific technician or you can choose to let the system automatically assign it based on the routing rules set up in MaintenanceDirect.
- If you assign the work to a technician, it will automatically generate as a "Pending" status in MaintenanceDirect assigned to that technician.
- If you let the system automatically route it, it will come into MaintenanceDirect as a "New Request" on the home page.
- You can also select the Craft, Budget, Project and Custom Category codes that will appear on the work orders from this schedule.
Click Next Step.
This is a required step. You must select how often you would like this schedule to generate a PM work order. We recommend Recurring Calendar Event. You can select Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly options:
- Daily - Select either Every (_) day(s) or Every weekday. Example: For work that needs to be done every day including weekends, enter Every (1) day.
- Weekly - Recur every (_) week(s) on (day(s) of the week). Example: For work that needs to take place every other Monday, enter Weekly - Recur every (2) weeks with a check mark in the box next to Monday.
- Monthly
- Day (_) of every (_) month(s). Example: For work that needs to take place on the 15th day of every month, enter Day (15) of every (1) month.
- The (first) (Monday) of every (_) month(s). Example: For work that needs to be done on the first weekday of every quarter, enter the (first) (weekday) of every (3) months.
- Yearly
- Every (January) (_) of every (_) year(s). Example: For work that needs to take place on October 15th of every year, enter Every (October) (15) of every (1) year(s).
- The (first) (day) of (January) of every (_) year(s). Example: For work that will be done on the first weekday in May every other year, enter The (first) (weekday) of (May) every (2) years.
For information about setting up a schedule based on Reading Frequency, click here.
In the Range of Recurrence field, enter the date you want the schedule to start generating PM work orders. If this is a temporary schedule, you can set an End Date to the right of the Range of Recurrence.
Click Next Step.
If you created an original schedule where you entered your own tasks and will need to use this schedule again for a different location, you will want to save it as a template. This template will then show under Step 7 for you to use in creating new schedules. *Note: If you copied a template in Step 8 and made no changes to the task list or other steps, then there is no need to save it as a new template. You can click on Step 19 to skip the template step.
To create a template:
- Select a Template Book where this template will live. You can select the default My Standard book or you can create your own Template Book. If you create your own, enter a generic and easy to understand title to help you find the template you need later on.
- Under the Template Title, enter a generic template title (such as AHU Quarterly or Exterior Lighting Inspection). *Note: We do not recommend including the Location information in the Template Title.
- Click Create Template Now. The next screen will confirm that your template has been created.
- Click Next Step to move to Step 18.
This is a required step and the final step to creating your schedule. This step shows the selections you made on the schedule. Make sure these selections are correct, and then click Setup Schedule Now. This schedule is now an active running schedule that will create PM work orders in your MaintenanceDirect account.