Daily Maintenance Checklist for Machines to Prevent Downtime in 2025

Unplanned machine downtime continues to be a major drain on industrial productivity. A 2022 report by Siemens revealed that Fortune Global 500 companies lose an average of 11% of their annual turnover due to unexpected equipment failures. For any manufacturer, distributor, or factory operator, this is a wake-up call: daily maintenance is no longer optional — it’s a strategic necessity.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to build and optimise a daily maintenance checklist, including:

• What preventive maintenance is and why it matters
  
• Key types of preventive maintenance for machines
  
• Sample daily checklist templates across different equipment categories
  
• The key steps for creating your own checklist
  
  

How platforms like Makula can streamline maintenance workflows
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What is Preventive Maintenance?

Preventive maintenance might sound like a straightforward concept—regular check-ups for your machinery to avoid future breakdowns. But it’s more than just scheduled care; it involves detailed planning based on the unique operational conditions and requirements of each machine.

By understanding the specific needs of your equipment, preventive maintenance ensures that every necessary step—from simple lubrication to complex overhauls—is performed at optimal intervals, maximizing machine uptime and minimizing disruptions.

According to a survey by Plant Engineering, 88% of manufacturing companies use preventive maintenance to maintain their operations. This approach not only extends the lifespan of machinery but also optimizes performance. Effective preventive maintenance is predictive, adaptive, and essential. It uses historical data and performance metrics to predict potential failures before they occur.

By doing so, it ensures that your operations continue to run smoothly, reduces the likelihood of costly downtime, and maintains the value of your equipment over time. Through systematic care, preventive maintenance becomes an integral part of your operational strategy, contributing to a more efficient, safer, and cost-effective workflow.

Types of Preventive Maintenance for Machinery

Let's break down the main types of preventive maintenance and how they can work for you:

What is a Preventive Maintenance Checklist?

A preventive maintenance checklist is a vital tool for ensuring the smooth operation and longevity of your machinery. It serves as a detailed guide for maintenance tasks, providing a structured approach to keep equipment in top condition.

Typically created by equipment manufacturers, consultants, or experts, this checklist forms the backbone of any effective maintenance program. 

Let's break down the key characteristics that make a preventative maintenance checklist so essential:

1. Regular Inspections: Schedule routine checks to identify and address potential issues early.
2. Early Detection: Use monitoring tools to spot signs of trouble before they lead to major failures.
3. Prompt Correction: Take immediate action to fix detected problems, preventing further damage.
4. Prevention of Future Failures: Keep thorough records to identify recurring issues and implement long-term solutions.

Machines Preventive Maintenance Checklist Templates for Day-to-Day Operations

To maintain your machines effectively, having a well-structured daily maintenance checklist is essential. Preventative maintenance checklists will guide your maintenance team through the necessary steps to ensure each piece of equipment operates smoothly.

Here are four practical templates tailored for different aspects of daily maintenance:

1. General Machine Maintenance Checklist

A general machine maintenance checklist ensures that all essential maintenance tasks are performed daily to keep the machinery running efficiently and prevent unexpected breakdowns. This type of checklist is designed for a variety of machines and includes routine inspections, cleaning, and testing of safety features.

Here are some daily tasks to include in this checklist:

2. Hydraulic and Pneumatic Systems Checklist

This type of preventative maintenance checklist ensures that the critical components of your hydraulic and pneumatic systems, such as hoses, connections, and control valves, are inspected and maintained daily to prevent leaks, maintain proper pressure, and ensure smooth operation.

Here are some daily tasks to include in this checklist:

3. Material Handling Equipment Checklist

A material handling equipment checklist ensures that forklifts, pallet jacks, and other handling machines are inspected daily to guarantee safe and efficient operations.

Here are some daily tasks to include in this checklist:

4. CNC Machine Daily Checklist

A CNC machine daily checklist helps ensure that your equipment is in optimal working condition, reducing the risk of unexpected downtime and extending the machine's lifespan.

Here are some essential daily tasks to include in your checklist:

Key Steps in Creating the Ultimate Preventive Maintenance Checklist

Creating an effective preventive maintenance checklist is crucial for ensuring that your equipment runs smoothly and efficiently.

Here are five key steps to guide you in developing the ultimate checklist for your needs:

1. Identify Critical Equipment and Tasks

Start by listing all the critical equipment that requires regular maintenance. Focus on the machinery that, if failed, would have the most significant impact on your operations.

For each piece of equipment, identify the specific maintenance tasks necessary to keep it running smoothly. This could include inspections, lubrication, part replacements, and safety checks. Ensuring that these tasks are part of your is essential.

2. Determine Maintenance Frequency

Decide how often each task needs to be performed. This could be daily, weekly, monthly, or annually, depending on the equipment and the task.

Base your decisions on manufacturer recommendations, industry standards, and your own operational needs. Appropriate intervals help ensure that maintenance is proactive rather than reactive, fitting seamlessly into your maintenance schedule.

3. Develop Detailed Procedures

For each maintenance task, develop a detailed procedure that outlines exactly what needs to be done. This should include step-by-step instructions, necessary tools and materials, and safety precautions.

Clear and detailed procedures help ensure that tasks are performed correctly and consistently, reducing the risk of errors and oversights. Align these procedures with industry regulations to maintain compliance.

4. Train Your Maintenance Team

Ensure that your maintenance team is fully trained on how to execute the checklist tasks. This includes understanding the importance of each task, how to perform it correctly, and recognizing signs of potential issues.

Around 37% of maintenance managers say their biggest challenge is getting people to use the CMMS properly. Addressing this challenge is essential for the success of your preventive maintenance plan. Regular training helps maintain a high standard of maintenance and keeps the team updated on any new procedures or equipment.

Well-trained maintenance teams are crucial for the effective implementation of your preventive maintenance plan. This includes not only technical skills but also the ability to adhere to best practices and safety protocols, thereby enhancing the reliability and performance of your machinery.

5. Why Go Digital? The Case for Makula

Despite the push for modernisation, 39% of companies still rely on paper-based maintenance logs—a practice that leads to missed tasks, manual errors, and limited visibility across teams【Source: Plant Engineering】.

Makula offers a modern alternative tailored to your business type:

• For OEMs, AssetHub helps manage installed base data, service history, and warranties across machines in the field—enabling full lifecycle visibility and faster response times.
• For factories, our CMMS centralises machine park records, maintenance checklists, and technician workflows for internal teams.

With Makula, you get:

• Digital checklists and maintenance forms that replace spreadsheets and paper logs
• Real-time updates from field or factory technicians
• Asset-level service histories to inform better decisions
• Automated task creation, reminders, and escalations—no more chasing follow-ups manually

The result: greater uptime, faster service cycles, and a unified digital workflow that grows with your operation

Benefits of Preventive Maintenance Checklists

Implementing preventive maintenance checklists provides clear advantages that enhance operational efficiency and reliability:

• Reduced Downtime: Regular maintenance tasks help catch issues before they lead to breakdowns. Ensuring machines undergo preventive maintenance leads to smoother operations and improves return on investment (ROI) by maintaining consistent productivity.
• Extended Equipment Lifespan: Routine care, such as lubrication and part replacements, keeps machinery running efficiently. This regular maintenance maximizes equipment longevity by delaying the need for expensive replacements and extending the useful life of your assets.
• Increased Safety: By ensuring all safety features and components are regularly inspected and maintained, these checklists help prevent workplace accidents, ensuring that your equipment is operating safely and creating a safer environment for employees.
• Cost Savings: Preventing major breakdowns through regular maintenance reduces the need for costly repairs. Conducting regular preventive maintenance can save a business 12% to 18% in total maintenance costs.
• Improved Efficiency: Properly maintained machines perform better, leading to higher productivity and consistent product quality. Regular maintenance enhances equipment performance, helping meet production targets and customer demands more effectively.
• Better Record-Keeping: Digital checklists enhance record-keeping, allowing for detailed records of maintenance history, tracking recurring issues, and enabling data-driven decisions. This organized approach supports continuous improvement in maintenance practices.

Make Maintenance Effortless with Makula

Makula helps manufacturers and factories automate and manage daily maintenance from one intuitive platform. It combines a CMMS, AI-driven tools, field service automation, and digital asset records — everything your team needs to stay ahead of downtime.

🔗 Explore pricing: https://www.makula.io/pricing
📘 Related reading: Work Order Management Template for Excel

👉 Book a demo to see how Makula helps your team digitise maintenance from the shop floor to the cloud.