Expertise & Process

What is preventive planned maintenance and why it matters

A kitchen only earns its keep when it is open. PPM is how you keep it that way.

Alessio Giorgetti, director of re:SPACE, turnkey fit-out company in London
· 6 min read
Pans on a stainless steel range in a professional restaurant kitchen

What preventive planned maintenance means

Preventive Planned Maintenance (PPM) is a schedule of inspections and servicing that keeps equipment running and finds faults before they stop a service. It replaces “fix it when it breaks” with a plan.

The systems that matter most

In a commercial kitchen, four systems close the doors when they fail:

  • Refrigeration — cold rooms, display and production
  • Heating — boilers and hot water
  • HVAC — ventilation and air conditioning
  • Kitchen extraction — canopies, ducts and fans

Why production sites need more than a calendar

A production laboratory like Badiani’s in Barcelona, making 3 tons of gelato a week, runs its chillers and heat recovery far harder than a café. Maintenance intervals should follow the duty cycle of each asset, not a single annual visit.

Building maintenance in at the fit-out stage

The best time to plan maintenance is during design: access to plant, isolation points and a complete asset register at handover. Sites we fit out start their PPM with that information already on file.

Red illuminated signage inside the Badiani gelato laboratory and shop in Eixample, Barcelona
Case study referencedBadiani Eixample →Badiani's first gelato laboratory in Spain.
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Q1

What is PPM in hospitality?

PPM, or Preventive Planned Maintenance, is a scheduled programme of servicing for the equipment a hospitality site depends on — typically refrigeration, heating, HVAC and kitchen extraction. It reduces breakdowns, extends equipment life and provides a documented service history. Our Asset Maintenance service also covers repair for commercial refrigeration, heating systems, HVAC and kitchen extractions.

Q2

How often should kitchen extraction be cleaned?

It depends on how heavily the kitchen cooks and what it cooks; high-volume grilling and frying need more frequent cleaning than light use. We set the frequency per site during the asset survey. Kitchen extraction sits in our Preventive Planned Maintenance alongside commercial refrigeration, heating systems and HVAC.

Q3

Is PPM worth it for a single restaurant?

Usually, yes. A single refrigeration or extraction failure during service can close the kitchen and spoil stock. Preventive Planned Maintenance minimises that downtime and extends the lifespan of the equipment, and our service covers commercial refrigeration, heating systems, HVAC and kitchen extractions, with repair when something does fail.

Q4

What is the difference between PPM and reactive maintenance?

Reactive maintenance responds to failures after they happen. PPM schedules work to prevent them. Most sites need both: a PPM plan to keep systems healthy, and a reactive service for the faults that still occur. We provide both under one contract.

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