CRL Maintenance Planning and Scheduling 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of a Weekly Maintenance Schedule (WMS)?
- To document all equipment failures that occurred in the previous week
- To assign specific work orders to specific crews and time slots for the coming week (Correct answer)
- To calculate the total maintenance budget for the month
- To track spare parts consumption across all departments
Correct answer: To assign specific work orders to specific crews and time slots for the coming week
The Weekly Maintenance Schedule assigns approved, planned work to specific crews, shifts, and time windows, converting the backlog into an actionable commitment for the coming week.
Question 2: In maintenance planning, what does 'kitting' refer to?
- Grouping multiple small assets into one maintenance category
- Pre-assembling all parts, materials, and tools for a job in a single container before the job starts (Correct answer)
- Reducing the number of work order types used in the CMMS
- Combining corrective and preventive tasks into a single work order
Correct answer: Pre-assembling all parts, materials, and tools for a job in a single container before the job starts
Kitting is the process of gathering and staging all required parts, consumables, and tools for a job prior to execution so technicians spend no time sourcing materials during the job.
Question 3: Which of the following is a key responsibility of a maintenance scheduler (as distinct from a planner)?
- Writing detailed job procedures for each task
- Identifying spare parts requirements for upcoming work
- Coordinating with operations to find equipment downtime windows for planned work (Correct answer)
- Updating equipment bill-of-materials records in the CMMS
Correct answer: Coordinating with operations to find equipment downtime windows for planned work
The scheduler's primary role is to negotiate access to equipment with operations and production, turning planned work into a committed schedule by matching resource availability with equipment availability.
Question 4: What is an appropriate target range for planned maintenance as a percentage of total maintenance hours in a world-class organization?
- 10–20%
- 30–40%
- 70–90% (Correct answer)
- 95–100%
Correct answer: 70–90%
World-class maintenance organizations typically achieve 70–90% planned maintenance, significantly reducing reactive emergency work and its associated higher costs and safety risks.
Question 5: A maintenance work order priority system should be based primarily on which factor?
- The age of the equipment needing repair
- The potential safety, environmental, and production impact of the failure or deficiency (Correct answer)
- The personal preference of the requesting supervisor
- The availability of spare parts in the storeroom
Correct answer: The potential safety, environmental, and production impact of the failure or deficiency
Priority should be assigned based on the risk consequences of not performing the work, considering safety, environmental compliance, and production or quality impact.
Question 6: What is the purpose of a 'planner-to-technician' ratio in maintenance organizations?
- To determine overtime pay rates for technicians
- To set the optimal number of planners needed to adequately prepare work for the craft workforce (Correct answer)
- To calculate the correct number of supervisors per maintenance department
- To establish training requirements for new maintenance employees
Correct answer: To set the optimal number of planners needed to adequately prepare work for the craft workforce
The planner-to-technician ratio (commonly 1 planner per 15–30 technicians) ensures there are enough planners to keep the craft workforce supplied with fully prepared job packages without becoming a bottleneck.
Question 7: Which CMMS feature is most directly used by a maintenance planner when developing a job plan?
- Financial reporting module for budget variance analysis
- Bill of Materials (BOM) linked to equipment records (Correct answer)
- Human Resources module for tracking employee certifications
- Customer relationship management module
Correct answer: Bill of Materials (BOM) linked to equipment records
The equipment Bill of Materials in the CMMS allows planners to quickly identify the correct parts, part numbers, and quantities needed for a job, reducing research time and errors.
CRL Maintenance Planning and Scheduling 2
What is the primary purpose of a Weekly Maintenance Schedule (WMS)?