PPM vs. CM: The Ultimate Guide to Maintenance Contracts for Healthcare

Imagine this: Your patient’s tests are scheduled throughout the day, and they depend on you for diagnosis and timely treatment. But the machine breaks down at the last moment. This equipment downtime can be catastrophic, as it can delay patient care and disrupt your operational workflow.

That’s why the healthcare institutions sign maintenance contracts with trusted equipment repair companies to ensure smooth operations at their facility. It also aims to reduce expenses through timely actions.

But there isn’t just one approach, but two, i.e., PPM and CM.

So, how do you decide whether to sign a proactive or a reactive maintenance contract? This blog covers the advantages and process for a clear understanding of both.

The Proactive Path: Planned Preventive Maintenance (PPM)

PPM, i.e., Planned Preventive Maintenance, is regularly scheduled maintenance to prevent failures and avoid anticipated downtime. It is based on time-based intervals rather than repairing after damage. This annual check involves equipment calibration and the replacement of a defective/potentially damaged part to avoid failure. It addresses potential issues before they lead to costly repairs.

Key Benefits of PPM

Some customers feel that they require maintenance only when there’s a disruption. However, the long-term advantages of PPM are extensive, such as:

• Increased Lifespan: When a machinery part breaks down, it impacts the entire equipment. But routine inspections and timely replacements can extend their lifecycle by ensuring that there’s minimal damage.
• Higher Accuracy: Frequent downtimes can reduce dependability on the medical equipment. That’s why regular maintenance services are important to ensure accurate diagnosis and treatment.
• Regulatory Compliance: Following up with annual maintenance ensures that medical equipment complies with the changing legal and industry standards. It eliminates the risk of penalties or legal issues due to non-compliance.

How is PPM Implemented?

Scheduled maintenance is carried out in one of two ways:

• Manufacturer Recommendations: The maintenance schedules are mentioned in the equipment manual. Follow them in a timely manner to avoid missing out on timely service.
• Usage-Based Scheduling: In another scenario, maintenance is scheduled according to the actual usage, such as the number of cycles, operating hours, and workload. Assets that are used more rigorously require frequent maintenance compared to those that are used rarely.

The Reactive Risk: Corrective Maintenance (CM)

Another method is CM, i.e., corrective maintenance, where repair is only initiated in case of a failure. It doesn’t involve regular servicing cycles and focuses on addressing malfunctions and failures. In case of a breakdown, only the faulty components are repaired/replaced. Although it is an ideal approach to solve unexpected downtimes, CM is costlier for a healthcare centre. Let’s look at the additional drawbacks of corrective maintenance.

Drawbacks of Corrective Maintenance

The following are the reasons CM may not be as effective as PPM:

• High Emergency Repair Costs: Ignoring small issues can escalate matters and result in fatal problems. Due to untimely maintenance, the repair cost keeps increasing and may even lead to a situation that requires machinery replacement.
• Unpredictable Downtime: Downtime can happen at any time and stop production. This unplanned interruption causes diagnostic delays and lost revenue.
• Patient Backlog: Sudden equipment breakdowns mean your scheduled patient diagnosis cannot happen. It leads to a backlog that cannot be cleared easily, especially till the machine is up and running again.

Ideal Situations to Leverage Corrective Maintenance

If corrective maintenance has so many drawbacks, when can healthcare professionals benefit from CM?

• Minor Non-Critical Issues: CM is easy to manage, so it is ideal when there is a minor issue that doesn’t involve a long downtime. The issue should not be important for core operations. 
• Equipment Near End-of-Life: The healthcare equipment close to its end does not benefit from regular maintenance. In this situation, troubleshooting the issues is a better and cost-effective solution.

Choosing the Right Maintenance Contracts (AMC/CMC)

Now that you are clear about PPM and CM, you can better decide the maintenance contract for your healthcare equipment. Here is an overview of AMC and CMC for clarity:

Comprehensive (CMC)

A comprehensive Maintenance Contract covers both routine servicing and the cost of repair and spare parts. It is a combination of PPM and CM, and offers:

• Minimal financial risk in times of major breakdowns
• Predictable maintenance and repair costs
• Peace of mind for high-value equipment

CMC is ideal for healthcare equipment with expensive spare parts and downtime costs.

Non-Comprehensive (AMC)

Unlike CMC, an  Annual Maintenance Contract only covers PPM and CM labour. You have to pay an additional amount for any spare part charges. It offers:

• Flexibility in choosing the desired spare parts
• Low upfront cost for the contract
• Cost variations during breakdowns

AMC is better suited for healthcare equipment that requires infrequent maintenance or has inexpensive spare parts.

Cost-Benefit Analysis

CMC offers fixed maintenance costs while AMC involves time- and downtime-based maintenance, leading to varying expenses. This cost-benefit analysis can help you choose effectively:

• Breakdown frequency
• Cost of spare parts
• Impact of downtime on healthcare operations
• Equipment complexity

CMC is preferable when repair costs and downtimes are higher. However, opt for AMC for cheap, low-risk spare parts and repairs.

Conclusion

Healthcare equipment downtime is risky in a lot of ways. Not only does it hamper the patient care process, but broken machines also increase backlogs, reduce accuracy, and damage the hospital’s reputation. That is why it is imperative that you sign a carefully chosen maintenance contract. It assures timely maintenance, spare part replacement, and downtime elimination. Regular servicing also reduces operational expenses and increases dependability on your healthcare institute. But the key is choosing between PPM and CCM contracts. A robust maintenance contract is a combination of scheduled PPM and guaranteed CM response times.

But that isn’t it. You also need to find a reliable maintenance contract partner that ensures timely servicing, repair, and replacement to prevent long downtimes. Ultravision Medical is a trusted repair and service company for global brands. It offers comprehensive services for brands like Philips, Siemens, GE, and Canon. Get in touch with the experts to learn more.