BUILDING MAINTENANCE
Indicators such as average response time to corrective work orders, frequency of preventive maintenance, and failure recurrence rate allow adjustments in team sizing and allocation according to operational needs.7,8
conducted by XENOS,9
According to studies analysing these
indicators is crucial to ensuring that the maintenance team meets hospital demands efficiently and is prepared for rapid interventions in critical systems. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that hospitals that adopt automated monitoring systems can identify and resolve problems more quickly, increasing team efficiency and reducing the number of corrective work orders.10 The study11
conducted in the Gaza
Strip, highlights that workforce allocation for hospital building maintenance should be based on performance indicators, such as the Maintenance Efficiency Indicator (MEI), which measures the efficiency of allocated resources in relation to the physical condition of the buildings. According to the authors, “the MEI provides a quantitative indication of the efficiency with which maintenance activities are implemented, allowing adjustments in resource allocation and prioritisation of preventive strategies”.11 This approach is essential to ensure a
balance between corrective and preventive demands, avoiding overloads and optimising the performance of maintenance teams. The approach considers the variability in building conditions and the complexity of hospital systems, demonstrating that inadequate planning can overload professionals with emergency demands, compromising the efficiency and functionality of the facilities. The use of KPIs allows you to optimise team performance, adjusting human resources according to the specific needs of healthcare institutions, promoting more effective and economical maintenance.
Methodology The study adopts a qualitative and quantitative approach, based on data from INCA. Service orders recorded in maintenance management systems, classified as preventive and corrective, were analysed. Based on this data, key performance indicators (KPIs) are proposed to assess efficiency, safety, and resource optimisation . The KPIs were developed in three stages: document analysis of the literature and technical standards;12,13
identification of critical
variables in hospital settings; and formulation of indicators applicable to the national context.
Proposal for performance indicators The proposal includes three KPIs that allow monitoring and evaluating hospital building maintenance. Average Response Time (ART) is one
24 The National Cancer Institute (INCA).
of the key performance indicators applied to hospital building maintenance, especially in critical environments such as Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and surgical centres. This KPI measures the time between the opening of a work order and the initiation of corrective intervention by the maintenance team. Therefore, it is an indicator directly related to operational agility , team responsiveness , and, ultimately, patient safety . In a hospital setting, every minute of
delay can have significant impacts: power outages can compromise ventilators, failures in air conditioning systems can compromise the sanitation of the environment, and delays in repairing imaging equipment can postpone diagnoses. Therefore, monitoring ART is not only a matter of technical efficiency, but also of clinical risk management . From a governance perspective,
systematically monitoring ART allows managers to identify bottlenecks in internal flows , such as excessive open orders, inadequate team sizing, or communication gaps between departments. Furthermore, it enables the assessment of the effectiveness of outsourced contracts and the verification of compliance with Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Thus, the indicator becomes a strategic tool to support investment decisions, human resource reallocation, and process review .
Another relevant aspect is the alignment of the ART with sustainability practices and ESG principles. Reducing response time means minimising equipment downtime, optimising infrastructure use, and ensuring greater operational resilience in a scenario of scarce resources in the public health system. In the case of INCA, for example, the analysis of service orders highlighted the need for faster responses in critical sectors, reinforcing the importance of this KPI in guiding immediate action plans. The Percentage of Preventive
Maintenance Performed (PPMP) is one of the most relevant indicators in hospital building maintenance management, as it measures the proportion of preventive interventions relative to the total number of service orders executed in a given period. This KPI reflects the level of management maturity, indicating whether the institution acts reactively – only resolving failures once they have already occurred – or proactively, anticipating problems and reducing the risk of interruptions to healthcare services. In hospitals, where equipment and
support systems (such as air conditioning, medical gases, generators, autoclaves, and imaging centres) are critical to the continuity of care, preventive maintenance plays a strategic role. Regularly executing scheduled maintenance increases system reliability,
IFHE DIGEST 2026
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