Specialized Business

facility equipment preventative maintenance vs downtime cost calculator

PM cost = visits × (labor + parts). Downtime cost = failure probability × hours down × (lost margin/hour + emergency repair). Choose the lower expected cost.

Compares planned preventative maintenance (PM) spend with the expected cost of unplanned downtime—lost output, overtime, and emergency repair—for a facility asset.

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Terms & how it works

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    Compare preventative maintenance cost vs downtime loss on facility equipment. Free, instant, no email.

When to use this facility equipment preventative maintenance vs downtime cost

Common use cases

  • Compare preventative maintenance cost vs downtime loss on facility equipment. Free, instant, no email.
  • Sanity-check with this case: PM $2,400/year vs 15% chance of a 10-hour outage at $1,800/hour + $4,000 emergency = 0.15 × ($18,000+$4,000) = $3,300 expected. PM wins by $900.
  • The relationship is: PM cost = visits × (labor + parts). Downtime cost = failure probability × hours down × (lost margin/hour + emergency repair). Choose the lower expected cost.

Localized examples

  • Specialized Business: the example on this page uses the same formula as the widget.

What you get

  • Workspace controls for this exact question
  • PM cost = visits × (labor + parts). Downtime cost = failure probability × hours down × (lost margin/hour + emergency repair). Choose the lower expected cost.
  • Example on the page: PM $2,400/year vs 15% chance of a 10-hour outage at $1,800/hour + $4,000 emergency = 0.15 × ($18,000+$4,000) = $3,300 expected. PM wins by $900.

What is it?

Compares planned preventative maintenance (PM) spend with the expected cost of unplanned downtime—lost output, overtime, and emergency repair—for a facility asset.

The Formula

Governing formula

PM cost = visits × (labor + parts). Downtime cost = failure probability × hours down × (lost margin/hour + emergency repair). Choose the lower expected cost.

Real-World Example

PM $2,400/year vs 15% chance of a 10-hour outage at $1,800/hour + $4,000 emergency = 0.15 × ($18,000+$4,000) = $3,300 expected. PM wins by $900.

Why It Matters

Skipping PM looks cheap until a line stops. This is the ops conversation between maintenance and finance in one formula.

Frequently Asked Questions

Put an annual dollar figure on PM, then estimate expected failure cost as probability × (downtime hours × loss rate + emergency repair). Compare expected values.

Specialized Business