Maintenance planner

What is a maintenance planner?

A maintenance planner is a job title for an individual who is responsible for planning and scheduling maintenance activities in an organization. Maintenance planners are often found in the maintenance department, but they can also be found in other departments, such as plant operations or engineering.

As a role within the maintenance department, the main goal of the maintenance planner is to manage all maintenance activities. This includes scheduling work orders and making sure that all preventive maintenance (opens in new tab) and planned maintenance (opens in new tab) tasks get completed on time.

What does a maintenance planner do differently from a maintenance manager?

Unlike a maintenance manager (opens in new tab) who oversees a maintenance team and maintenance strategy, a maintenance planner ensures the smooth operation of equipment and machinery by planning, scheduling, and coordinating maintenance activities. This position acts as a bridge between the maintenance team and operations, ensuring that downtime is minimized and productivity is maximized.

A detailed job description of a maintenance planner

Below is a detailed job description of a maintenance planner's key roles, responsibilities, educational requirements and any required certifications or experience.

Key roles and responsibilities

• Maintenance scheduling: Develop daily, weekly, and long-term maintenance schedules based on equipment needs, availability of parts, and production timelines.
• Work order management: Create, prioritize, and track work orders using CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Systems).
• Resource coordination: Coordinate labor, materials, tools, and external vendors required for maintenance tasks.
• Workflow management: Initiating and authorizing requests, planning and scheduling tasks, and reporting and analyzing maintenance activities to ensure operational efficiency in the workflow process.
• Preventive maintenance planning: Design and implement preventive maintenance programs to avoid unplanned equipment failures.
• Inventory management: Ensure spare parts and tools are available, ordered, and organized efficiently.
• Compliance and safety: Ensure maintenance procedures align with safety regulations and company policies.
• Data Analysis and reporting: Monitor maintenance KPIs like MTTR, MTBF, work order backlog, and provide actionable insights for continuous improvement.

Education and other qualifications

• Education: Typically, a maintenance planner holds a diploma or a bachelor's degree in mechanical or industrial engineering, facilities management, or a related field. Often bachelor's degrees also allow a planner to advance to more senior positions like a maintenance manager.
• Certifications: CMMS training, OSHA certifications, Six Sigma certification and credentials like Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional (CMRP) are valued. Certification from the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) is also often required to become a maintenance planner.
• Experience: Prior experience as a maintenance technician or maintenance supervisor is common, often with a few years spent in hands-on roles before moving into planning. Often, maintenance planners know about working with OEM suppliers which, is considered a beneficial asset. Additionally, experience in total productive maintenance (TPM) as well as Six Sigma strategies is considered an asset.

What is the annual salary of a maintenance planner?

The average annual salary for a maintenance planner is approximately $78,000. This salary may vary depending on the industry, location, and company size. It also depends on the years of experience as well, the more years of experience as a maintenance planner, the higher the average salary for the position.

Responsibilities of a maintenance planner by industry

Below is a table that illustrates the different responsibilities of a maintenance planner by industry, as the role differs in each industry based on their requirements:

Why become a maintenance planner? Benefits for candidates

Becoming a maintenance planner opens the door to a stable and rewarding career path with opportunities for growth and specialization.

Benefits for individuals

High demand: With industries increasingly focused on uptime and efficiency, planners are in strong demand.

Career progression: This role often leads to advancement into maintenance management or reliability engineering.

Skill diversification: Gain exposure to operations, engineering, supply chain, and strategic planning.

Competitive salary: Due to the technical expertise required, salaries are often higher than typical technician roles.

Problem-solving role: Work with cross-functional teams to solve complex operational issues.

What value does a maintenance planner bring to an organization?

A maintenance planner is a strategic asset to any organization. By focusing on proactive planning and resource optimization, they help transform a reactive maintenance culture into a predictive and cost-effective one.

Some organizational benefits include:

Increased equipment reliability: Consistent scheduling of preventive maintenance reduces unexpected breakdowns.

Lower maintenance costs: Better planning means fewer emergency repairs, reduced overtime, and optimized parts usage.

Improved productivity: Reduced equipment downtime directly contributes to operational efficiency.

Stronger safety culture: Well-planned maintenance reduces risks associated with rushed or unplanned repairs.

Data-driven decision making: Maintenance planners bring structure to reporting, enabling continuous improvement through insights.

Differences between a maintenance planner, manager, and technician

Here are the key differences between a maintenance planner, maintenance manager, and maintenance technician: