Top Maintenance KPIs Every Asset-Driven Organization Should Track

In asset-driven organizations, maintenance is no longer just about fixing what’s broken. Today, high-performing teams rely on maintenance performance indicators to make smarter decisions, reduce costs, and improve asset reliability.

Whether you manage facilities, manufacturing equipment, or field assets, tracking the right maintenance KPI metrics helps you move from reactive firefighting to proactive, data-driven maintenance.

In this guide, we’ll break down the key performance indicators in maintenance that every organization should track, explain why they matter, and show how a modern CMMS like Tekmon makes KPI tracking simple and actionable—even for beginners.

Why Maintenance Performance Indicators Matter for Modern Maintenance Teams

Maintenance teams generate a massive amount of data every day—work orders, labor hours, spare parts usage, downtime events, and asset history. Without structure, that data stays unused.

That’s where maintenance key performance indicators come in.

Tracking the right KPIs allows organizations to:

• Improve equipment reliability and uptime

• Control maintenance costs

• Optimize workforce productivity

• Extend asset lifespan

• Support continuous improvement initiatives

More importantly, KPIs for maintenance provide visibility. They help managers answer critical questions like:

• Are we fixing issues fast enough?

• Are preventive tasks actually reducing breakdowns?

• Where are we overspending on maintenance?

Choosing the Right Maintenance KPI for Your Organization

Not all KPIs are equally valuable. Tracking too many metrics can overwhelm teams and dilute focus.

A good maintenance KPI should be:

• Actionable – It leads to clear decisions or improvements

• Measurable – Based on reliable, consistent data

• Relevant – Aligned with business and maintenance goals

• Easy to track – Automatically captured through your CMMS

With Tekmon CMMS, maintenance teams can build custom dashboards and reports, ensuring they track only the KPIs that truly matter.

1. Planned Maintenance Percentage (PMP) – A Core Maintenance Performance Indicator

Planned Maintenance Percentage (PMP) measures how much maintenance work is planned versus reactive.

Why this maintenance KPI matters

A low PMP indicates frequent breakdowns and emergency repairs—often costly and disruptive.

Formula:
Planned Work Orders ÷ Total Work Orders × 100

Best practices

• Aim for 70–85% planned maintenance

• Increase preventive maintenance schedules

• Reduce unplanned corrective tasks

How Tekmon helps

Tekmon’s Preventive Maintenance module allows teams to:

• Create custom preventive plans

• Automate reminders and notifications

• Track time and costs per task

• Visualize schedules in real-time calendars

2. Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) – Reliability-Focused Maintenance Key Performance Indicator

MTBF measures the average time an asset operates before failure.

Why MTBF is a key performance indicator in maintenance

It directly reflects asset reliability. Higher MTBF means fewer breakdowns and better maintenance effectiveness.

Formula:
Total Operating Time ÷ Number of Failures

Actionable insights

• Identify weak or aging assets

• Improve preventive strategies

• Support asset replacement decisions

Tekmon advantage

With Asset Management and IoT connectivity, Tekmon tracks:

• Asset history

• Failure events

• Usage data

• Predictive analytics for early warning signs

3. Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) – Essential KPI for Maintenance Efficiency

MTTR measures how quickly teams restore equipment after failure.

Why MTTR matters

Long repair times increase downtime, production loss, and operational risk.

Formula:
Total Repair Time ÷ Number of Repairs

Ways to improve MTTR

• Use standardized maintenance checklists

• Ensure spare parts availability

• Improve technician coordination

How Tekmon supports MTTR improvement

Τekmon enables teams to:

• Assign and prioritize work orders instantly

• Monitor scheduled work hours to balance team capacity before issues escalate

• Proactively adjust staffing when shifts are overloaded

• Provide technicians with instant access to photos, manuals, and documentation

• Enable mobile, offline-first execution for uninterrupted field response

4. Equipment Downtime – A High-Impact Maintenance KPI

Downtime tracks the total time assets are unavailable due to failures or maintenance activities.

Why downtime is one of the most critical maintenance performance indicators

Unplanned downtime directly affects:

• Production output

• Customer satisfaction

• Revenue

• Safety

Downtime tracking best practices

• Separate planned vs. unplanned downtime

• Analyze downtime by asset and root cause

• Link downtime events to corrective actions

Tekmon analytics in action

Tekmon’s Analytics module provides:

• Downtime tracking dashboards

• Root cause analysis reports

• Predictive insights to prevent future failures

5. Preventive Maintenance Compliance – Preventive-Focused Maintenance KPI

Preventive Maintenance (PM) Compliance measures how many scheduled PM tasks are completed on time.

Why PM compliance matters

Skipping preventive maintenance leads to:

• More failures

• Higher repair costs

• Reduced asset lifespan

Formula:
Completed PM Tasks ÷ Scheduled PM Tasks × 100

Recommended target

• 90% or higher compliance rate

Tekmon makes PM compliance easy

With Tekmon, teams can:

• Automate PM schedules

• Receive real-time notifications

• Collaborate actively across teams

• Track completion rates instantly

6. Maintenance Cost per Asset – Financial KPI for Maintenance Teams

This maintenance KPI tracks how much is spent maintaining each asset.

Why cost tracking is essential

It helps teams:

• Identify high-cost assets

• Optimize repair vs. replace decisions

• Improve budget forecasting

Cost components to track

• Labor

• Spare parts

• External services

• Downtime costs

Tekmon cost visibility

Tekmon provides:

• Real-time cost tracking

• Budget monitoring

• Asset-level cost history

• Predictive maintenance cost forecasting based on historical failure data

• Data-driven recommendations on repair vs. replacement decisions

• Inventory cost integration

7. Work Order Backlog – Operational Maintenance Performance Indicator

Work order backlog measures the volume of pending maintenance work.

Why backlog matters

A growing backlog can indicate:

• Staffing shortages

• Poor planning

• Inefficient workflows

Best practices

• Prioritize critical assets

• Balance workload across teams

• Monitor backlog trends, not just totals

Tekmon workflow benefits

Tekmon simplifies work order management by enabling:

• Priority-based assignment

• Real-time progress tracking

• Mobile-friendly updates

Maintenance KPI Examples: Turning Metrics into Action

Tracking KPIs is only valuable if teams act on them. Here are real-world maintenance KPI examples:

• Low MTBF → Improve preventive maintenance plans

• High MTTR → Standardize checklists and improve spare parts access

• Rising maintenance costs → Identify inefficient assets

• Low PM compliance → Automate schedules and reminders

Tekmon’s customizable dashboards help teams visualize trends and take immediate action.

Common Mistakes When Using Maintenance KPIs (and How to Avoid Them)

Tracking key performance indicators in maintenance can dramatically improve asset performance—but only if they’re used correctly. Many organizations struggle not because they lack data, but because they misuse or misinterpret their maintenance performance indicators.

Below are the most common mistakes maintenance teams make—and how to fix them.

1. Tracking Too Many Maintenance KPIs at Once

One of the biggest mistakes is trying to track everything. While there are dozens of maintenance KPI examples, not all are relevant to every organization.

Why this is a problem:

• Teams lose focus

• Reports become overwhelming

• Decision-making slows down

How to avoid it:

• Start with 5–8 core KPIs

• Focus on reliability, cost, and efficiency

• Add more KPIs only when teams are comfortable

Tekmon’s customizable dashboards help teams highlight only the KPIs that matter most.

2. Using KPIs Without Clear Goals

A maintenance KPI without a target is just a number.

Example:
Tracking MTTR without defining what “good” looks like provides no direction.

Best practice:

• Set realistic benchmarks

• Compare trends month over month

• Align KPIs with business goals (uptime, cost reduction, safety)

With Tekmon, maintenance managers can visualize trends and spot improvement opportunities instantly.

3. Focusing Only on Lagging Indicators

Many maintenance key performance indicators look backward—such as downtime or maintenance cost per asset.

Why this is risky:

• Problems are identified too late

• Teams stay reactive

Solution:
Balance lagging KPIs with leading indicators like:

• Preventive maintenance compliance

• Planned maintenance percentage

• Work order backlog trends

Tekmon’s preventive maintenance and analytics tools make this balance easy to achieve.

4. Poor Data Quality Undermining KPIs

Even the best KPI for maintenance is useless if the data is inaccurate or incomplete.

Common causes:

• Skipped work order updates

• Inconsistent checklists

• Manual data entry errors

How Tekmon helps:

• Standardized digital checklists

• Mobile-friendly data capture

• Automated time, cost, and parts tracking

5. Not Turning KPI Insights Into Action

KPIs should drive decisions—not just reports.

Best approach:

• Review KPIs regularly

• Assign actions based on results

• Use KPIs to support continuous improvement

With Tekmon, KPI insights flow directly into work orders, preventive plans, and asset strategies.

How a CMMS Simplifies Key Performance Indicators in Maintenance

Manual KPI tracking using spreadsheets is time-consuming and error-prone. A modern CMMS automates data collection and reporting.

Why Tekmon CMMS stands out

Tekmon CMMS is designed for every maintenance team:

• Easy-to-use, top-rated interface

• Offline-capable mobile app

• Drag-and-drop customization

• Powerful analytics and KPI dashboards

With Tekmon, teams can:

• Track downtime, costs, and asset lifetime

• Build custom KPI reports

• Monitor utilization indexes

• Leverage predictive analytics

Maintenance Checklists: Supporting KPI Accuracy

Accurate KPIs rely on consistent execution. Tekmon provides customizable, pre-built maintenance checklists, including:

• Equipment inspections

• Failure analysis (FRACAS, FMEA, RCA)

• Asset downtime reports

• HVAC and facility inspections

• Spare parts management

These checklists ensure reliable data input, improving KPI accuracy.

Integrations That Strengthen Maintenance KPI Reporting

Tekmon’s open architecture allows seamless integration with:

• SAP

• Microsoft Dynamics 365

• PowerBI

• Oracle NetSuite

• Active Directory

These integrations enhance maintenance performance indicators by combining operational and business data.

Launch KPI Tracking in Days, Not Months

Implementing KPI tracking doesn’t have to be complex.

Tekmon’s onboarding team supports:

• Platform setup

• Data migration

• User training

• KPI report creation

• Dynamic dashboard design

This allows teams to focus on results, not software configuration.

Final Thoughts: Building a KPI-Driven Maintenance Culture

Tracking the right maintenance performance indicators helps maintenance teams improve reliability, control costs, and increase asset uptime—but only when those KPIs are used correctly. As highlighted throughout this guide, and in the section on common KPI mistakes, success comes from focusing on the right metrics, setting clear goals, and ensuring accurate data.

By selecting a practical set of key performance indicators in maintenance and applying real-world maintenance KPI examples — and avoiding common pitfalls like tracking too many KPIs or relying only on lagging data—teams can turn insights into real operational improvements. A modern CMMS makes this process far easier by automating data collection and providing clear, actionable reporting.

With Tekmon CMMS, organizations can confidently track their maintenance KPIs, act on reliable data, and build a proactive, performance-driven maintenance strategy that delivers long-term results.