Working as a facilities maintenance technician means servicing a wide range of systems – HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and more – using different facilities maintenance strategies. To keep buildings safe, efficient, and compliant, it’s critical to understand the main types of maintenance, when to use them, and how training can prepare your team to execute each approach effectively.
Here’s an overview of the five most common types of maintenance, and why effective training is essential for technicians to carry them out successfully.
The 5 Types of Facilities Maintenance
1. Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance focuses on catching and fixing issues before they cause downtime. This typically involves scheduled inspections and proactive part replacements. Done right, preventive maintenance reduces breakdowns, boosts system reliability, and extends equipment lifespan.
The catch: Even the best PM plan is only as strong as the people executing it. In fact, studies show that up to 80% of equipment failures are tied to human factors like skipped steps or misdiagnosed issues. That’s why training is the foundation of effective PM. Technicians must be confident performing tasks like rooftop unit inspections, breaker panel checks, or plumbing system flushes.
2. Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM)
Instead of following a calendar schedule, condition-based maintenance relies on monitoring equipment performance. Techs track indicators like vibration, temperature, or oil quality to determine when intervention is needed.
CBM helps reduce unnecessary maintenance and ensures resources are used where they’ll have the most impact. But success depends on technicians’ ability to interpret real-world data and spot early warning signs, skills that must be practiced and reinforced through hands-on training.
3. Predictive Maintenance (PdM)
Predictive maintenance takes CBM one step further by using sensors and real-time monitoring software to anticipate failures before they occur. This strategy is data-intensive and requires technicians who can not only read dashboards but also apply diagnostic and troubleshooting skills.
Interplay’s simulation-based training gives techs the chance to practice predictive maintenance scenarios in a safe, virtual environment, so they build the muscle memory needed to respond quickly and correctly when alarms trigger in the field.
4. Corrective Maintenance
Corrective maintenance happens when a technician identifies a problem during another task, like spotting a failing motor during a scheduled HVAC inspection. Scheduling corrective work before the issue escalates helps reduce emergencies and improve safety.
With the right training, technicians are better equipped to diagnose and prioritize corrective actions, preventing costly downtime while keeping teams and residents safe.
5. Predetermined Maintenance
Predetermined maintenance follows the manufacturer’s recommendations for service intervals and part replacement. While helpful as a baseline, relying only on OEM guidelines can result in unnecessary costs (replacing parts too early) or unexpected failures (since not all wear patterns fit averages).
That’s why predetermined maintenance should always be paired with technician training in inspection, troubleshooting, and documentation to catch what a manual can’t predict.
Why Training is Critical to Every Maintenance Strategy
At the end of the day, even the best maintenance plan can fail without skilled technicians behind it. The costs are real. Unplanned downtime can reach $260,000 per hour, and companies without effective preventive maintenance strategies risk unnecessary expenses and safety hazards. On the other hand, organizations that invest in both preventive maintenance and the training to support it see a 32% reduction in downtime and up to 18% lower maintenance costs. The takeaway: training isn’t just about knowledge, it’s about protecting uptime, safety, and the bottom line.
That’s where Interplay Learning comes in. We help facilities teams build the workforce readiness needed to make preventive maintenance programs stick. Our approach goes beyond one-off courses by combining assessments, structured learning pathways, and hands-on practice with tools that support technicians in the field every day.
With Interplay, your team gets:
- Immersive, simulation-based training that builds true muscle memory for inspections, diagnostics, and repairs, without the risk of field mistakes
- Assessments to establish a baseline, uncover gaps, and target preventive maintenance training where it’s needed most
- Skills-Based Learning Pathways that provide structured journeys across HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and safety
- Mobile Access so techs can train anytime, reference procedures in the moment, and reinforce skills without disrupting productivity
How One Team Turned Training into ROI
Hilltop Property Services, which manages 28 diverse facilities, faced a familiar challenge: inconsistent skills, heavy reliance on vendors, and limited career pathways for technicians. By adopting Interplay’s training as the foundation of a standardized Job Proficiency Standards program, they reshaped both performance and culture.
Within the first year, Hilltop’s team:
- Cut external vendor costs by 25% by handling more complex HVAC and electrical repairs in-house
- Reduced outsourced services by 30%, freeing up budget for higher-value priorities
- Increased proactive maintenance work orders by 150%, lowering downtime and emergency calls
- Promoted 50% of engineers within 12 months, thanks to clear pathways tied to training and skill validation
The outcome was more than cost savings, it was a shift toward a self-reliant, motivated workforce that consistently delivers safer, more reliable facility operations
Ready to turn your maintenance strategies into measurable results: less downtime, safer buildings, and more resilient operations? Schedule a demo to see how your team can achieve the same impact.
