Advanced Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Training Course – Madrid, 8–19 Nov 2027

Advanced Maintenance Planning and Scheduling is a 2-week training course for maintenance planners, schedulers and supervisors who turn raw work requests into ready-to-execute jobs and a weekly schedule that craft crews can actually complete, ending with a Planned Job Package and Weekly Schedule. Tight access windows, thin craft rosters and higher expectations of equipment uptime make every unprepared job a source of delay. Jupiter Prime Training runs this course for planning professionals.

Why Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Matter Now

Planning offices face pressure from three directions: operations wants fewer and shorter equipment outages, craft supervisors lose experienced technicians and need jobs explained more fully, and digital work order systems now show exactly where each job stalls. A planning function that prepares work well lifts craft productivity and protects production windows; one that does not leaves technicians waiting for parts, permits and drawings. The course draws on EN 13306 for maintenance terminology and on the SMRP Best Practices Metrics and Guidelines for consistent definitions of schedule compliance, backlog and planned work measures.

Who Gains Most from Maintenance Planning and Scheduling

• Planners who scope jobs, estimate craft hours and assemble parts, tools and permits
• Schedulers who load craft capacity, sequence jobs and coordinate access with operations
• Supervisors who assign crews, manage break-in jobs and report completion feedback
• Coordinators who run the weekly scheduling meeting between maintenance and production
• Work control staff who maintain work order status, priorities and history in the CMMS

A planning office gains most when a planner, a scheduler and a crew supervisor from the same area attend together and agree one set of readiness rules.

Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Capabilities

Participants leave able to prepare jobs so thoroughly that crews start on time, and to load a week so realistically that schedule compliance becomes a credible measure.

• Specify job scope, steps, craft hours and materials in a job plan — the crew supervisor executing it
• Calculate realistic estimates from standard times and history — the scheduler loading craft capacity
• Build a weekly schedule balanced against available craft hours — the joint scheduling meeting with operations
• Assess backlog size, age and readiness — staffing and contractor support decisions
• Apply break-in rules and daily schedule adjustments — protection of planned work from disruption
• Communicate schedule compliance and feedback results — continuous improvement of job plans

Key Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Terms

• Job plan — the written scope, task steps, craft skills, hours, parts, tools and safety precautions prepared before a job is scheduled.
• Ready backlog — jobs fully planned with materials on hand and awaiting a schedule slot.
• Craft capacity — the craft hours genuinely available in a scheduling period after leave, training and meetings are removed.
• Break-in work — unscheduled jobs that interrupt the weekly schedule because they cannot wait until the next week.
• Kitting — gathering and staging all parts and consumables for a job at an agreed point before the crew starts.
• Completion feedback — notes from technicians on actual hours, parts and problems, used to improve the next job plan.

Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Day by Day

Day 1: The Planning Office in Context

• Planning and Scheduling Roles Separated — Why Supervisors Should Not Plan
• Craft Productivity Losses — Waiting, Travel and Searching Time Observed
• EN 13306 Work Categories — Classifying Corrective and Preventive Jobs
• Planning Office Charter — Scope, Authority and Interfaces With Operations
• Planner Workload Ratios — Sizing the Planning Function Per Craft Pool

Day 2: Work Request and Work Order Flow

• Work Request Screening — Accepting, Rejecting or Merging Requests
• Priority Setting Model — Combining Asset Criticality and Urgency
• Work Order Status Codes — Tracking Every Job Through Its Life
• CMMS Workflow Configuration — Approval Steps That Avoid Bottlenecks
• Emergency Work Path — Handling True Emergencies Without Breaking Control

Day 3: Job Scoping and Field Walkdowns

• Field Walkdown Checklist — Confirming Scope, Access and Isolation Points
• Job Step Sequencing — Logical Order for Safe Efficient Execution
• Craft Skill Identification — Matching Trades and Certifications to Tasks
• Drawings, Procedures and Photographs — Making the Package Self-Explanatory
• Safety and Permit Requirements — Isolations, Confined Space and Hot Work

Day 4: Estimating Craft Hours

• Standard Job Times — Reusing Proven Estimates for Repetitive Tasks
• Analytical Estimating — Breaking Jobs Into Measurable Elements
• Historical Actuals From the CMMS — Calibrating Future Estimates
• Allowances for Travel, Preparation and Clean-Up — Realistic Totals
• Estimating Accuracy Measures — Planned Versus Actual Hours Variance

Day 5: Materials, Tools and Kitting

• Bill of Materials per Asset — Fast and Correct Parts Identification
• Stores Reservation and Purchase Lead Times — Setting Readiness Dates
• Kitting and Staging Areas — Delivering Parts Before Crews Arrive
• Special Tools and Equipment Booking — Cranes, Scaffolds and Test Gear
• Job Plan Library — Reusing Approved Packages for Repeat Work

Day 6: Backlog Management

• Backlog Measured in Crew Weeks — Comparing Workload With Capacity
• Backlog Ageing Profile — Spotting Jobs Stuck Without Progress
• Ready Versus Not-Ready Backlog — Exposing Material and Engineering Delays
• Backlog Purge Sessions — Removing Duplicate and Obsolete Requests
• Contractor Levelling Decisions — When Backlog Exceeds Own Craft Capacity

Day 7: Weekly Schedule Construction

• Craft Capacity Forecast — Available Hours After Leave and Training
• Loading Rules by Priority and Readiness — Filling the Week Correctly
• Equipment Access Windows — Agreeing Outage Slots With Production
• Weekly Scheduling Meeting Agenda — Freezing the Schedule With Operations
• Multi-Craft Coordination — Sequencing Mechanical, Electrical and Instrument Crews

Day 8: Daily Scheduling and Execution Control

• Daily Schedule From the Weekly Plan — Assigning Named Technicians
• Break-In Approval Rules — Deciding What May Displace Planned Jobs
• Shift Coordination and Handover — Continuity of Partly Completed Jobs
• Field Supervision Checks — Quality, Safety and Pace of Execution
• Technician Completion Feedback — Capturing Actual Hours and Findings

Day 9: Measuring Planning and Scheduling Performance

• Schedule Compliance Calculation — Counting Jobs and Hours Honestly
• Planned Work Percentage — Share of Craft Hours on Planned Jobs
• SMRP Best Practices Metrics and Guidelines — Shared Indicator Definitions
• Wrench Time Study — Sampling Where Craft Hours Really Go
• Weekly Performance Review — Turning Missed Jobs Into Corrective Actions

Day 10: Practising the Planned Job Package and Weekly Schedule

• Scoping and Walkdown Findings Applied — Drafting a Real Job Plan
• Estimating and Kitting Methods Applied — Completing Hours and Materials Lists
• Backlog and Capacity Figures Applied — Loading a Realistic Week
• Compliance Measures Applied — Setting Targets for the First Month
• Planned Job Package and Weekly Schedule Completion — Ready for Crew Release

Applying Maintenance Planning and Scheduling After the Course

• Walk down and fully plan the ten oldest ready-backlog jobs in one area, then track their execution against estimates.
• Introduce a frozen weekly schedule signed off in a joint meeting with operations and report schedule compliance every Monday.

Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Questions (FAQ)

What is advanced maintenance planning and scheduling and why does it matter now?

Maintenance planning and scheduling is the discipline of preparing jobs before execution and allocating craft hours to them week by week. It matters now because thinner craft teams and shorter outage windows leave no room for technicians waiting on parts, permits or instructions in refineries, water utilities and factories.

Which roles gain most from advanced maintenance planning and scheduling?

Planners, schedulers and maintenance supervisors gain most. They prepare job plans, load craft capacity and control daily execution, so improvements in estimating, kitting and schedule discipline translate directly into more productive crews and fewer missed outage windows.

How does advanced maintenance planning and scheduling differ from a maintenance management course?

It works at the level of the individual job and week. A maintenance management course sets department strategy, budgets and policy; here participants practise walkdowns, estimating, kitting, backlog control and schedule loading that make that strategy executable on the plant floor.

What do you bring back from advanced maintenance planning and scheduling training?

You bring back a completed job plan and a loaded weekly schedule built on your own site's work. Both use the readiness rules, estimating methods and compliance measures practised, so you can apply them in the next scheduling cycle.

Maintenance Planning and Scheduling: The Way Forward

The Planned Job Package and Weekly Schedule give crew supervisors a ready job and a realistic week. The first decision they inform is which ready-backlog jobs are released to crews next week. Planners, schedulers and operations coordinators use them in the weekly meeting. After the first cycle, revisit the estimates against completion feedback to tighten future job plans.