How to Build a NABH-Ready Preventive Maintenance Program from Scratch

What NABH Expects from a PPM Program

NABH covers equipment and utility maintenance under its Facility Management and Safety (FMS) standards. The exact wording changes between editions, so always work from the current NABH standards document. In practice, assessors look for the same things every time:

• A written plan for maintaining medical equipment and facility utilities
• A current inventory of all equipment covered by the plan
• Scheduled preventive maintenance and calibration, with defined frequencies
• Evidence that the scheduled work was actually done, on time
• A breakdown process — how failures are reported, fixed and recorded
• Trained staff and clear responsibility for each type of equipment
• Review and improvement — proof that management looks at the data and acts on it

Step 1 — Write the Maintenance Policy

Start with a short, clear policy approved by hospital management. It should state:

• Which equipment and utilities the program covers
• Who owns the program (for example, the Biomedical Head and the Facility / Engineering Head)
• How PPM frequencies are decided (manufacturer guidance, risk, usage and history)
• How work is scheduled, done, recorded and reviewed
• What happens when equipment fails PPM or breaks down
• How in-house work and AMC/CMC vendor work are both tracked

Keep it practical. Assessors prefer a five-page policy that is followed over a fifty-page manual that nobody reads.

Step 2 — Build a Complete Equipment Inventory

You cannot maintain what you have not listed. Walk every department and record each item with:

• Asset ID, name, make, model and serial number
• Department and exact location
• Purchase date, warranty end date and AMC/CMC status
• Service manual reference and manufacturer PPM frequency

Tag every asset with a QR code so engineers can scan it to open its record. Hospitals doing this for the first time often find 15–20% more equipment than their old registers showed. For more on this, see our guide to hospital asset tracking.

Step 3 — Rank Equipment by Risk

Not all equipment needs the same attention. Give each item a risk tier based on what happens if it fails:

The tier decides how often PPM happens, how deep the checklist goes and how fast breakdowns must be fixed. Our guide to biomedical devices preventive maintenance explains risk scoring for clinical devices in more detail.

Step 4 — Set PPM Frequencies (with Tables)

Start from the manufacturer's recommendation, then adjust for risk tier, usage and failure history. The tables below show typical starting frequencies. Always confirm against the manufacturer's manual, statutory requirements and your hospital policy.

Biomedical Equipment

Facility & Utility Systems

In SnapFacility, these frequencies are set once per equipment type. Every new asset of that type then gets its PPM calendar automatically.

Step 5 — Assign Roles and Responsibilities

Step 6 — Standardise Checklists and Records

Every PPM visit should follow a standard checklist for that equipment type and produce the same record every time:

• Asset ID, date, time and name of the person doing the work
• Each checklist item with its result — including measured values, not just "OK"
• Parts replaced and calibration done, with certificate attached
• Overall result: pass, fail, or pass with remarks
• Next PPM due date
• Sign-off by the engineer and, where needed, the department

Any failed PPM should automatically create a corrective work order, so nothing is left open. See how this works in our article on digital work order management.

Step 7 — Monitor, Review and Improve

Review the program every month and report to management every quarter. Track at least:

When an asset keeps failing, shorten its PPM interval or review whether it should be replaced. Record these decisions — assessors like to see that data leads to action.

Digital vs Paper PPM Documentation

Paper can work for a very small facility, but it rarely survives scale or staff changes. For a deeper look, read digital checklists vs paper registers.

Audit-Day Readiness Checklist

Before your NABH assessment, confirm that you can show, within minutes:

• ✅ The approved maintenance policy
• ✅ The complete equipment and utility inventory
• ✅ The PPM schedule for the current year
• ✅ PPM completion records for any asset the assessor picks
• ✅ Valid calibration certificates for measuring equipment
• ✅ Breakdown logs with response and repair times
• ✅ AMC/CMC contracts and vendor service reports
• ✅ Staff training records
• ✅ Monthly KPI reviews and actions taken

Our full NABH compliance checklist for facility teams covers the wider set of facility criteria.

Frequently Asked Questions