What’s an Acceptable Maintenance Backlog? (And How to Tackle It)

What Is a Maintenance Backlog? 

A maintenance backlog is a list of maintenance tasks, such as inspections, servicing and repairs, that have been approved but are not yet scheduled. For example, it can include deferred maintenance work that’s been postponed to stay within budget. 

The term “backlog” often has a negative connotation for those who define it as “overdue work,” but that’s not an entirely accurate interpretation. While it is true that systemic issues in an organization may be the cause of a consistently large maintenance backlog, it’s also a necessary tool used by teams to organize and prioritize maintenance activities. It gives managers a clear overview of when tasks need to be completed, and it also helps maintenance staff avoid idle time.

How Do You Calculate a Maintenance Backlog? 

Of course, a backlog that’s too long may indicate a problem with your maintenance operations. That’s why calculating a maintenance backlog can be an important maintenance metric to get insight into the following: 

• Staffing levels: If the backlog is overly long, it may indicate more team members are needed to complete backlog tasks in a timely fashion.
• Maintenance team efficiency: A too-long backlog can also reveal inefficiencies within your maintenance team or with your maintenance process. Poor planning, improper training of team members and inefficient task prioritization are all elements that can impact a team’s ability to complete tasks. 
• Equipment reliability: Too many tasks on a backlog may indicate a problem with the equipment. Either it’s not receiving the proper maintenance and experiencing more frequent breakdowns as a result, or maybe it’s experiencing equipment failure because it’s old and needs to be replaced.

So, how do you calculate a maintenance backlog? This key performance indicator (KPI) should be divvied up by time in hours or weeks (as opposed to number of tasks) using the following formula: 

Let’s look at this example: Your maintenance backlog has 50 tasks and you estimate it would take about 120 hours to complete them. You also have a staff of five technicians who work eight hours a day (not including lunches and breaks), so they’re available for 40 hours a day. The equation states that 120 hours / 40 hours = 3 backlog workdays. 

What’s an Acceptable Maintenance Backlog? 

Before discerning what an acceptable maintenance backlog is, you should know what goes into a backlog and what doesn’t. Tasks like already-completed jobs and low-priority work that’s realistically never going to be done should not included in a backlog. And as far as preventive maintenance goes, your backlog shouldn’t include scheduled preventive maintenance tasks that are more than a year out. 

The goal is to have a backlog that remains manageable. You should have work for everyone in your maintenance department without overwhelming them or causing operational delays. The number of work orders in your backlog will depend on the size of your organization, but Reliable Plant suggests having a “total backlog” of about four weeks, a “planning backlog” of about two to four weeks and a “ready-to-schedule” backlog of one to two weeks.

A backlog of this size should give a maintenance supervisor a rough idea of what’s in the backlog and allow them to recognize duplicate work immediately. It should provide managers with more flexibility in scheduling and prioritizing, ensuring that the most critical needs are addressed first. Tracking factors like backlog age, work order priority and available man-hours can help you assess whether your backlog is at an acceptable level.

How to Properly Manage Your Maintenance Backlog 

To properly manage your maintenance backlog, you’ll need to keep a task list that’s organized and prioritized. To do this, use the following tips: 

• Remove tasks: You’ll want to take out any tasks that have been on your backlog for 12 months or more unless you have a specific reason for keeping them there (for example, they need to be completed at a particular time or you must complete them when specific conditions are met).
• Take out low-priority tasks: We’re referring to the tasks that are realistically never going to get scheduled. Typically, these will be ones that don’t readily affect your assets or organization and are simply just weighing your backlog down. It could also include tasks that are simply no longer relevant due to changes in your company, assets or the maintenance plan itself.
• Check for duplicate tasks: Properly managing maintenance backlogs means having the knowledge of your staff’s workflow. You always want to check to make sure there’s no duplicate work being scheduled. If there is, that should be removed.
• Prioritize tasks: It’s important to prioritize the tasks in your backlog based on their impact on equipment reliability, performance and overall criticality for business operations. This ensures the most important tasks are always attended to first. 

Next, review all outstanding work orders that have been scheduled but not yet completed. Assess how many there are and estimate the time required to finish them. Work orders should be completed within four days, but ideally, maintenance teams should strive for only one to two days.

How to Reduce Your Maintenance Backlog 

For those maintenance teams that have an excessive maintenance backlog, here are some key ways to reduce your list of work orders for more effective backlog management:

• Identify crucial assets: Which assets require the most maintenance? Are they worth maintaining, or do they need to be replaced? If they have frequent maintenance demands, that may signal a need for total replacement. 
• Implement an effective maintenance strategy: Do you have an organized maintenance schedule that ensures efficiency and optimal performance, or is your team simply relying on a reactive maintenance strategy? If you’re facing the latter, create a a more proactive maintenance strategy that can decrease equipment downtime as well as reduce maintenance costs.
• Analyze staffing: Review your team’s work. Do you need additional training or do you need more team members to complete the tasks on your backlog? A properly trained and adequately staffed team is necessary to stay ahead of maintenance demands.
• Review parts inventory: Check to make sure all the parts you need for repairs and maintenance are available when you need them. If you don’t have a system for doing so, create one. This will reduce equipment downtime caused by waiting for parts to be delivered.

How a CMMS Can Help Tackle That Maintenance Backlog 

Using a computerized maintenance management system software (CMMS software) like Coast is invaluable when tackling the tasks on your maintenance backlog. It organizes work order assignments and streamlines preventive maintenance scheduling to ensure the most important tasks are attended to. It also tracks the progress of your work orders, allowing everyone involved to see task completion in real-time. 

This also enhances accountability since you can assign specific due dates to team members. Reminders and alerts are sent out when a specific task is due, ensuring everyone stays on top of their responsibilities, while reducing the chances of work orders piling up in the backlog.