Key takeaways
- Track a balanced set: reliability (MTBF, downtime), responsiveness (response time, MTTR), planning (PM compliance, planned vs reactive, backlog) and cost and service (cost per asset, SLA compliance).
- Pick 5–7 KPIs for your main dashboard and review them on a fixed rhythm. More than that and nobody looks.
- Every KPI depends on clean work order data. Accurate close-outs matter more than fancy charts.
- Use KPIs to compare sites, asset types and contractors, not only to report a single number upward.
Reliability KPIs
| KPI | Formula | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Mean time between failures (MTBF) | Operating time ÷ number of failures | How reliable an asset is. Rising is good. |
| Unplanned downtime | Hours an asset was unavailable due to failures | The real operational cost of breakdowns |
| Asset availability | Available time ÷ planned operating time × 100 | Share of time the asset could do its job |
| Repeat failure rate | Failures on the same asset with the same cause within a set period ÷ total failures | Whether fixes are lasting or just patching |
Responsiveness KPIs
| KPI | Formula | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Mean time to repair (MTTR) | Total repair time ÷ number of repairs | How fast the team restores assets. Falling is good. |
| Response time | Time from request logged to technician dispatched or on site | How quickly requesters see action |
| First-time fix rate | Jobs fixed on the first visit ÷ total jobs × 100 | Skills, parts availability and diagnosis quality |
| SLA compliance | Jobs within SLA ÷ total jobs with an SLA × 100 | Whether you meet commitments to clients or tenants |
For reference, across e-maintain customers the average time from issue reported to technician dispatched is 5–18 minutes, and the published case studies show response times per client.
Planning KPIs
| KPI | Formula | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| PM compliance | PM jobs completed on time ÷ PM jobs scheduled × 100 | Whether the preventive program is really happening |
| Planned vs reactive ratio | Planned work hours ÷ total work hours × 100 | How far you have moved from firefighting |
| Backlog | Open work orders, or estimated hours of open work ÷ weekly team capacity | Whether the team has enough capacity |
PM compliance is often the single most useful early warning. When it drops, breakdowns usually follow a few weeks later. See Preventive vs Predictive Maintenance.
Cost KPIs
| KPI | Formula | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance cost per asset (or per m²) | Labor + parts + contractor cost ÷ number of assets (or floor area) | Where money goes and how sites compare |
| Lifecycle cost | Purchase + total maintenance and parts cost to date | When repairing an asset stops making sense |
How to build a maintenance KPI dashboard
- 1
Start from decisions
Ask what each audience decides. Technicians need today's jobs and overdue items, supervisors need backlog and PM compliance, managers need cost, SLA and reliability trends.
- 2
Pick 5–7 KPIs per audience
Use the lists above. Leave the rest in on-demand reports.
- 3
Set targets and thresholds
A number with no target is hard to act on. Mark red, amber and green levels.
- 4
Make the data trustworthy
Require cause, action, time and parts at close-out, and timestamps from the mobile app, so the numbers reflect reality.
- 5
Review on a rhythm
Weekly for operational KPIs, monthly for cost and reliability. Act on one or two findings each time.
KPIs in e-maintain
Reporting & Analytics in e-maintain provides real-time KPIs, custom reports, work order analysis and a unified dashboard. MTBF and MTTR come from Asset Management, SLA performance from Contracts & SLA, and each user can have a personalized dashboard with the metrics that matter to their role. You can also connect a Claude account for conversational reporting, asking questions about your maintenance data in plain language.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important maintenance KPI?
There is no single one. If you can only start with a few, track PM compliance, MTTR, backlog and maintenance cost. Together they show whether planned work is happening, how fast you respond, whether the team has capacity and what it costs.
What is a good MTTR?
It depends on the asset type and how repairs are defined. Compare MTTR across similar assets, sites and over time rather than against a generic benchmark.
How often should maintenance KPIs be reviewed?
Operational KPIs such as backlog, overdue jobs and response time weekly; reliability and cost KPIs monthly or quarterly.