How to organise maintenance plans and work orders
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Short answer
Maintenance happens in three ways; when something breaks, on a schedule, or based on the equipment’s condition. A work order records which equipment needs what, who does it and by when. When alarm, work order, checklist and close-out record sit in one chain, you can see whether a fault keeps coming back and what it does to the bill.
Three ways to maintain
| Approach | When it happens | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breakdown maintenance | When equipment fails | Needs no plan | Downtime and emergency costs |
| Planned maintenance | On a calendar (e.g. monthly, yearly) | Predictable | Time is spent on healthy equipment too |
| Predictive maintenance | When measured condition points to deterioration | Done when it is needed | Equipment must be monitored continuously |
Most sites use all three: critical equipment gets planned or predictive maintenance, non-critical equipment is handled when it breaks.
Why track energy and maintenance together?
A maintenance problem often shows up in the energy data first:
- A fault in the compensation panel lowers the power factor and can appear on the bill as a reactive energy charge.
- A rising base load at night or at weekends can point to a system that does not switch off or a broken schedule.
- An offline meter or data logger means gaps and false comparisons in reports.
If the data that raised the alarm and the record that closed the work order sit in one place, you can check later what a job did to the bill.
What a good work order contains
- Equipment and location: which site, which panel or device.
- Problem: what was observed, and the related alarm if there is one.
- Priority: by safety, downtime and cost impact.
- Owner and due date: who does the work, by when.
- Checklist: the steps to follow on site.
- Close-out record: work done, parts replaced, measurement result and close-out date.
From alarm to close-out
- A reading crosses a threshold or a deviation is spotted; an alarm opens.
- The alarm is assessed: watch it, or turn it into a work order?
- The work order is assigned; the checklist is completed on site.
- The job is closed; check that the related alarm has closed and the reading is back to normal.
- Recurring jobs on the same equipment are reviewed regularly; if a fault keeps returning, look for the root cause.
Periodic inspections in Türkiye
In Türkiye, periodic inspections of equipment such as electrical installations, earthing and lightning protection are set out in Annex III of the Regulation on Health and Safety Conditions in the Use of Work Equipment (in Turkish). The regulation was last amended in the Official Gazette of 23 December 2025, issue 33116; the change also affects who carries out inspections and how they are recorded (ÇSGB notice, in Turkish). Under Annex III of the regulation:
| Installation | Maximum inspection interval |
|---|---|
| Electrical installation and earthing | 1 year, unless the relevant standard sets a period |
| Lightning protection | 1 year, unless the relevant standard sets a period |
| Generator | 1 year, unless the relevant standard sets a period |
| Battery banks, transformers | 1 year |
These inspections are carried out by authorised electrical engineers, electrical and electronics engineers, technical teachers who graduated in electrical education, and electrical technicians or senior technicians; for installations at 1 kV or below, authorised electronics engineers may also carry them out (Annex III, 2.3.2). The installation design is checked during the inspection; the employer must have a design prepared for any installation without one, and the inspection assesses whether the installation matches its design (Annex III, 2.3.7).
Adding periodic inspections to the maintenance plan as scheduled jobs keeps deadlines from slipping and reports from being scattered. This article is not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between planned and predictive maintenance?
Planned maintenance follows a calendar; equipment is checked at set intervals even if it looks fine. Predictive maintenance looks at the equipment’s measured condition and brings maintenance forward when signs of deterioration appear.
Does every alarm need a work order?
No. Short alarms that clear by themselves are watched; recurring alarms, or those that affect the bill, safety or comfort, become work orders. The rule for telling them apart should be written down in advance.
What should be recorded when a work order is closed?
The work done, parts replaced, any measurement taken, who did the work and the close-out date. If the problem is fixed, the related alarm should be seen to close too.
Which Turkish regulation covers periodic inspections of electrical installations?
The Regulation on Health and Safety Conditions in the Use of Work Equipment. Electrical installations, earthing and lightning protection are inspected at least once a year unless the relevant standard sets a period. Inspections are carried out by the authorised electrical professionals listed in the regulation.
Sources
How you do this in GenieBlocks
In GenieBlocks, an alarm is the start of a workflow. Maintenance plans and work orders, field checklists and equipment with a falling health score are tracked on the same platform as the energy data.
How the platform helps
- AlarmsOpen and closed alarm events; an alarm is the start of a workflow.
- MaintenanceMaintenance plans and work orders.
- Field ChecklistsChecklists completed in the field.
- Predictive MaintenanceEquipment with a falling health score, and predictive maintenance.
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