Corrective maintenance
Corrective maintenance covers everything you do in response to an unexpected failure. The goal is not just to fix the machine — it is to build a record that helps you understand why it broke and whether it is likely to break again.Logging a breakdown
Open a corrective work order
Navigate to the CMMS work orders list and create a new corrective order. Select the affected asset from your equipment register so the incident is linked to its full maintenance history.
Record the cause
Categorize the incident using Bold’s multi-level categorization tree. You can create as many levels as you need — for example, Category → Sub-category → Failure mode — so incidents map precisely to your machines and processes. Consistent categorization is what makes root-cause analysis possible later.
Assign and dispatch
Assign the work order to a technician. They receive the task in their personal queue and can view all details — asset location, reported fault, any attached documents or previous interventions on the same machine.
The materials you log against a corrective work order are drawn directly from your WMS stock. Actual inventory levels update in real time — no separate stock adjustment needed.
Multi-level incident categorization
Bold lets you define as many categorization levels as your operation requires. A common setup for a production plant looks like this:| Level | Example values |
|---|---|
| Category | Mechanical, Electrical, Pneumatic, Hydraulic |
| Sub-category | Bearing failure, Motor fault, Seal leak, Valve issue |
| Failure mode | Wear, Fatigue, Contamination, Human error |
Preventive maintenance
Preventive maintenance is maintenance that happens on a schedule, before anything breaks. In Bold CMMS you set it up once per asset; the system handles the rest automatically.Creating a preventive maintenance plan
Select the asset
Open the asset’s profile in the equipment register and navigate to the Maintenance Plans tab. Each asset can have multiple plans — for example, a weekly lubrication check and a quarterly belt inspection running independently.
Define the tasks
List every task that needs to be completed during this intervention: inspection points, measurements to record, parts to replace, and safety steps to follow. You can attach reference documents such as OEM manuals or safety datasheets directly to the plan.
Set the frequency
Choose the trigger that fits your equipment best:
- Calendar days — e.g., every 30 days
- Operating hours — e.g., every 500 machine-hours (requires a counter or MES integration)
- Production cycles — e.g., every 10,000 units produced
Assign a responsible technician
Select the technician or team responsible for this plan. When Bold generates a work order, it goes directly into their queue. You can reassign individual work orders at any time without changing the plan.
How automatic work-order generation works
Once a plan is active, Bold monitors the trigger condition in the background. When the due date, hour count, or cycle count is reached, it creates a new work order pre-filled with the asset, the task list, and the assigned technician. That technician sees it in their queue and in the weekly team schedule, ready to be planned and executed. When the technician closes the completed work order, Bold records the date, time spent, parts used, and any notes — then resets the counter and schedules the next occurrence.Best practices for incident categorization
Good categorization pays dividends over time. Keep these principles in mind:Keep category lists stable
Keep category lists stable
Resist the urge to create a new category for every edge case. A consistent, well-maintained list of categories makes filtering and comparison meaningful. Review the list quarterly and merge or rename categories only when there is a clear operational reason.
Train your team on definitions
Train your team on definitions
Categories are only useful if everyone applies them the same way. Write a one-line definition for each failure mode and make sure all technicians understand the distinction — especially for borderline cases like “wear” vs. “fatigue.”
Use the notes field for detail, not workarounds
Use the notes field for detail, not workarounds
The structured category fields are what the analytics engine reads. Free-text notes are valuable for context but should complement the categorization, not replace it. If technicians routinely write “bearing failure” in the notes and pick a generic category, your root-cause charts will be misleading.
Connect categories to your assets
Connect categories to your assets
Bold lets you map categories to specific asset types so only relevant options appear when a technician logs a corrective work order on a given machine. This reduces errors and speeds up data entry on the shop floor.
How logged data feeds into analysis
Every closed work order — corrective or preventive — feeds Bold’s analytics engine. The downstream effects include:- MTBF calculation — the time between corrective failures on the same asset, updated automatically as new breakdowns are logged.
- MTTR calculation — the average time to resolve an incident, derived from the time elapsed between work-order creation and closure.
- Root-cause charts — failure incidents broken down by category and failure mode, showing which causes are most frequent and which machines are most affected.
- Cost tracking — labor hours and spare parts logged against each work order accumulate into a per-asset maintenance cost view.