Partner Stories

Make Maintenance Schedulable in Business Central (without derailing production)

Published by Insight Works

At a glance

  • What this does: Turns maintenance into orders that block real machine capacity, so PMs don’t collide with production.
  • How you plan: Build tasks + intervals, then create orders via Plan Task, Plan Maintenance Where Due, or Auto Schedule into the Planning Worksheet.
  • How you schedule: Use the Maintenance Calendar (drag-and-drop), the Graphical Scheduler (Gantt with production + maintenance together), or MxAPS (auto-picks the least disruptive slot).
  • What you’ll need: The Maintenance Manager app is installed from Microsoft AppSource and requires Business Central Premium because it leverages production orders.

What Maintenance Manager is (in BC terms)

Maintenance Manager is a CMMS-style layer inside Business Central. You register equipment, define Tasks with Routings (work steps/capacity) and a BOM (spare parts), and generate maintenance orders that behave like production orders. So they’re visible in planning and consume capacity.

Think of a PM as “a production order with different instructions and parts.” That’s why it fits naturally into your schedule and warehouse flow.

Install & first-run setup

Install Maintenance Manager from AppSource, then in Business Central, open Maintenance Manager Setup Wizard.

Wizard steps (first run):

  1. Apply Getting Started Data – seeds templates & number series.
  2. Pick your Planning Worksheet (… → choose worksheet → OK).
  3. Enable Adv. Whse. Locations if used. Finish.

Then open the Maintenance Manager “Setup” page and confirm core settings:

  • Display Maintenance with Prod. Orders – shows maintenance in the production order list (visibility).
  • Placeholder Work Center No. – a dummy WC used on PM routings; when you create the order, it’s replaced by the real machine, which blocks capacity.
  • Update Actual Interval – when finishing, roll intervals forward automatically (e.g., new runtime value).
  • Equipment Inventory – choose Keep Inventory (treat equipment as $0 items you can move/ship) or Manage Inventory (record-only).

Finance note: Equipment items use standard cost = 0 by design; align posting groups with Finance before go-live.

Model your equipment (so intervals update themselves)

Two common paths:

  1. From Fixed Assets: Convert a FA to a Maintenance Equipment Item; the activation date carries over (edit if needed).
  2. From the Item List: Create an item as equipment/parts with the right posting groups.

On the equipment item, set Capacity Type/No. to the machine/work center it lives on. That link lets runtime hours or output counts auto-increment from posted production—no extra data entry.

Define the work (tasks, intervals, and documentation)

Create Corrective (one-off), Preventive (schedulable), or Template tasks. For each task:

  • Add a Routing (use the placeholder WC here) and a Production BOM of spare parts.
  • In Schedule, choose the interval Type: Duration (weekly), Runtime, Output Count, or Distance; set Size (frequency) and Effective Range (when it applies).
  • If you use multiple ranges, overlap them so milestones don’t get skipped.

Attach manuals/SOPs so techs can see instructions on the job card or mobile device.

Plan → Schedule → Execute (one clean flow)

1) Plan demand

Use any of these to push work into the Planning Worksheet:

  • Plan Task (single asset now),
  • Plan Maintenance Where Due (batch what’s due),
  • Auto Schedule (generate into the future for duration-based tasks).

2) Schedule it

  • Maintenance Calendar: drag-and-drop rescheduling that updates the underlying order.
  • Graphical Scheduler: Gantt view with maintenance beside production, showing machine load.
  • MxAPS: automated scheduling; give it a window (“do this PM within 3 days”) and it selects the least disruptive time.

3) Execute like production

Release the order; the placeholder WC becomes the actual machine, blocking capacity for the PM window. Techs log time, consume parts, and finish the order; intervals update on finish according to your setup.

A realistic example (show, don’t tell)

Scenario: Press #4 needs a 6-hour PM every 500 runtime hours or 100,000 cycles, plus a weekly safety inspection.

  1. Convert Press #4 to Maintenance Equipment and link its Capacity Type/No. to the machine center.
  2. Add three tasks (PM-Runtime, PM-Output, Inspection-Weekly) with a PM Routing (placeholder WC) and BOM (filters, grease, PPE).
  3. Use Auto Schedule to generate next month’s work; review/firm in the Planning Worksheet.
  4. In Graphical Scheduler, confirm maintenance loads the press; if using MxAPS, let it place the PM in the least disruptive slot.

Common pitfalls (and fixes)

  • “I can’t see PMs on the schedule.” Turn on Display Maintenance with Prod. Orders and use a placeholder WC on PM routings.
  • “Intervals aren’t moving.” Make sure equipment is linked via Capacity Type/No. and Update Actual Interval is set to roll forward on finish/release.
  • “Parts planning is last-minute.” Auto-schedule months ahead; those orders create demand so Planning can suggest buys in advance.

What it is—and isn’t

  • Inside BC: Uses standard production/warehouse flows; low learning curve.
  • Not a full EAM: It won’t “score asset health”; it focuses on orders, intervals, capacity, and history.

Licensing & trial: Available on AppSource; use the Buy Now button. Requires BC Premium (uses production orders). Trials exist for both per-user and pre-purchased plans.

Bottom line (why it’s worth doing)

  • Same plan = fewer surprises: Maintenance lives on the same capacity plan as production.
  • Adopt quickly: Named wizard, clear setup, and native BC flows.
  • Scale the sophistication as needed: Start with the Maintenance Calendar; add Graphical Scheduler or MxAPS for smarter placement.