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Conditional PM Schedules

Use Holidays, Seasons, and Skipped Occurrences in PM Schedules

Updated over 3 weeks ago

Overview

Your maintenance team may have instances where PMs need to be skipped to account for holidays or overlapping work; or PMs that only need to be done during specific timeframes.
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This article will cover how to use create conditional PM schedules using holidays, seasons, and the skip every “X” occurrence setting to account for these instances without overhauling your entire schedule.
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Improperly setting conditional PM schedules can significantly impact existing and future PMs, so we suggest reading this article thoroughly before making changes. If you have additional questions, reach out to our support team.

Table of Contents

Holidays

Seasons

Skip Every "X" Occurrence

View, Delete, & Restore Upcoming PM Schedules

Holidays

Holidays allow you to specify a specific date or date range for a holiday. Limble includes common US holidays for fast set up. You can also create your own.


You can configure settings for the PM to be created for the day before or after the holiday, or skip the occurrence altogether. This will affect the due date, not the PM's date of creation.
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Create & Configure Holidays


Only Super Users can create holidays.

  1. Navigate to the Configuration tab of the Settings page. Under Account Settings > Holidays, click “Customize.”

  2. In the pop-up, click the “Common Holidays” button.
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  3. Pick the desired holidays, then click “Select.”

    (Note: holidays that don’t fall on the same day will automatically adjust for the current year.)

  4. To create a new holiday, click the “Add Holiday” button. For custom holidays, you can select a single date, or specify a start and end date.

  5. By default, PMs that fall on holidays will be skipped. You can change this so the PM will generate the day before or after.

    Click the blue "Skipped" text and select the desired option from the dropdown.

  6. During the creation process, you have the option to apply the holiday to all PM schedules. If you have more than one location, this will apply to all PM schedules at all locations.
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    Click the checkbox next to "Apply to all Schedules."


    If you want to apply the holiday to select PM schedules, follow the steps below.
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  7. Once you are satisfied with your holiday setup, click "Save."
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Set a Holiday Schedule

Once a holiday is created, users with permission #55 'Change PM Schedules' can apply it to PMs.

  1. Navigate to the Manage PM Templates page within the desired location. Choose a PM and click on its schedule.

  2. In the new window, cog icon to expand the advanced settings.
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  3. In the "PM Holidays" section, any holidays that were applied to all schedules will already be accounted for.
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    Click the blue text to add additional holiday schedules.
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  4. In the pop-up, select all of the desired holidays to apply, and click "Select."

Delete or Edit a Holiday

Only Super Users can delete or edit holidays.

  1. Navigate to the Configuration tab of the Settings page. Under Account Settings > Holidays, click “Customize.”

  2. In the new window:

    1. To edit a holiday, make the desired changes to the date(s) and settings.

    2. To delete a holiday, click the trash can icon.


      Then, click "Save" to confirm your changes.
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  3. For every deletion or edit to a holiday, you will be asked if you’re sure you want to move forward with saving changes.
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    ​Making changes will recalculate ALL associated PMs and cannot be undone.

Seasons

Seasons allow you to create a date range where PM tasks will only generate within the desired date range. Any preventative maintenance outside the specified season’s date range is skipped. This will affect the due date, not the PM's date of creation.
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Seasons are helpful for tasks that only need to be performed at certain times of the year. For example, your team might need to routinely check generators during hurricane season or months of heavy snowfall.

Create & Configure Seasons


Only Super Users can create seasons.

  1. Navigate to the Configuration tab of the Settings page. Under Account Settings > Seasons, click “Customize.”
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  2. In the new pop-up, click “Add Season.”
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  3. Name your season in the text box, and choose the start and end dates. Then, click “Save.”
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Set a Seasonal Schedule


Once a season is created, users with permission #55 'Change PM Schedules' can apply it to PMs.

  1. Navigate to the Manage PM Templates page within the desired location. Choose a PM and click on its schedule.

  2. In the new window, cog icon to expand the advanced settings. Then, click "Select Seasons."
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  3. In the pop-up, select the desired seasons and click “Select.”
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Delete or Edit a Season

Only Super Users can delete or edit seasons.

  1. Navigate to the Configuration tab of the Settings page. Under Account Settings > Seasons, click “Customize.”

  2. In the new window:

    1. To edit a season, make the desired changes to the date(s) and settings.

    2. To delete a season, click the trash can icon.


      Then, click "Save" to confirm your changes.
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  3. For every deletion or edit to a season, you will be asked if you’re sure you want to move forward with saving changes.
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    ​Making changes will recalculate ALL associated PMs and cannot be undone.

Skip Every "X" Occurrence

Skip every “X” occurrence allows you to set a PM schedule that is skipped for the specified number of times (X) that the maintenance would normally occur.

Skipping over occurrences is useful if your team covers a PM within other routine maintenance, like quarterly or annual tasks.

Set a Skip Every “X” Occurrence Schedule

  1. Navigate to the Manage PM Templates page within the desired location. Choose a PM and click on its schedule.

  2. In the new window, cog icon to expand the advanced settings.

  3. Select the “Skip every X Occurences” checkbox. Then, fill in the desired number of occurrences you’d like to skip.
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Common Uses for Skip Every "X" Occurrence

Skip every “X” occurrence can be applied to both calendar- and meter-based scheduling. As you build out your PMs, you’ll want to be mindful of the tasks within your skipped PMs and make sure to build those instructions into the other PMs in the sequence.
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Expand the sections below to learn how to schedule some common PM schedules using this setting.
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Calendar-Based Example: Annual, Semi-Annual, and Quarterly PM Schedules


Skip every “X” occurrence can be used be for PMs that need to be done as part of annual maintenance, but also semi-annually and quarterly.

  1. In this example, we’ll set an annual PM for January 1.

  2. Next, we’ll set the semi-annual PM. For this setting to work, use the first PM as the “day one” to count off from for subsequent PMs:
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    1. Since January 1 is the first PM, we’ll want to schedule the semi-annual PM for July, which is 6 months from the annual PM.
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    2. We’ll skip every 2 occurrences.

  3. This PM will generate in July and skip over the January (annual) occurrence.

    (Note: you can view upcoming schedules for calendar-based PMs like this one by clicking Options > View Upcoming Schedules under the Options column of the PM.)

  4. Finally, we’ll schedule a quarterly PM. Again, we need to use the initial date in January as "day one" to schedule this PM.
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    1. We’ll schedule the quarterly PM to occur in April, which is 3 months after the annual PM.
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    2. We’ll apply the skip every “X” occurrence command to skip every 2 occurrences. This will ensure that the July occurrence is skipped, without missing the October occurrence.

  5. The PM will generate in April and October, and skip over the January (annual) and July (semi-annual) occurrences.

  6. Now that the PMs are set up to skip occurrences properly, it should look like this:

    The annual PM will take place on January 1.

    The semi-annual PM will take place on July 1, and skip the January occurrence.

    The quarterly PM will take place on April 1 and October 1, skipping the July and January occurrences.
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Calendar-Based Example: Weekly, Monthly, and Quarterly PM Schedules

Using skip every “X” occurrence for schedules that include weekly PMs requires a bit of a different setup.

  1. If you plan to include weekly PMs in the mix with any other calendar-based scheduling, you’ll need to schedule your other occurrences in weekly increments as opposed to monthly or yearly increments. For example:

    1. Monthly: every 4 weeks

    2. Quarterly: every 12 weeks

    3. Semi-annual: every 24 weeks

    4. Annual: every 48 weeks
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  2. Make sure to set the start date to be the day before you want the first occurrence to take place.
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  3. Depending on the number of weeks that are in each month (since it varies depending on which day of the week each month starts), scheduling this way may mean your PMs won’t generate on the first or last week of the month.
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    However, this is the most efficient way to ensure weekly PMs line up with your other calendar-based PMs.

Meter-Based Example: Checking Meters at 1,000 & 3,000 Hours

Another great use for skip every “X” occurrence is for meter-based PMs.

  1. To ensure your meter-based PMs line up properly:
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    1. Ensure that the "starts at" value is the same for all occurrences.
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    2. Check off “Schedule at regular intervals” for all PMs sequenced together. Scheduling regular intervals will force your PMs to generate at the interval of your choosing.
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      For example, if you schedule a PM to generate every 1,000 hours, but the task isn’t completed until 1,015 hours, the next PM will generate at 2,015 hours. This will help you avoid running PMs too frequently.
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  2. First, we’ll set our 3,000-hour PM, since we don’t need to apply any special scheduling changes.
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  3. In this scenario, the hours’ current value is 100. Click "Save."
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  4. Although this does not require skipped occurrences, be sure to check off “Schedule at regular intervals” to ensure the PM generates at the correct interval.
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  5. Next, we’ll schedule the 1,000-hour PM. Make sure the hour start time is the same for both PMs. Then, click "Save."
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  6. Since the 3,000-hour PM will generate the at the same time as the third occurrence of the 1,000-hour PM, we’ll skip every 3 occurrences.
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    Be sure to check off “Schedule at regular intervals.”
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  7. With this schedule in place, the PMs are set and the 1,000-hour PM will not generate during the 3,000-hour PM.
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  8. Since meter-based occurrences are not on a calendar-based schedule, you will not be able to see the next several scheduled occurrences within Limble.
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    However, the occurrence that directly follows the most recent occurrence will be indicated under the Schedules column.
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View, Delete, & Restore Upcoming PM Schedules

You can view upcoming calendar-based PM schedules and delete or restore occurrences all in one place.

  1. Navigate to the Manage PM Templates page.

  2. Select a PM and click "Options." From the dropdown, select "View Upcoming Schedules."
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    From here, you can review, delete, or restore occurrences.

  3. Within the new pop-up, you’ll see the next several upcoming schedules for your selected PM, including instances that will be skipped based on the chosen conditional PM schedules.
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    Skipped occurrences are shown, but cannot be edited within the pop-up.
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Delete an Occurrence

  1. Follow the steps in the workflow above.

  2. To delete an occurrence, click the trash can icon.
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  3. In the new pop-up, click “Yes” to confirm your choice.
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    1. The deleted occurrence will remain visible, but greyed out like skipped occurrences. The record will show who deleted the occurrence under the Information column.
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Restore an Occurrence

  1. Follow the steps in the workflow above.

  2. To restore an occurrence, click "Restore."
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  3. In the pop-up, click “Yes" to confirm your choice.
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Related Articles

PM Scheduling Options

Advanced PM Scheduling Options

Stack PMs

Still don’t see what you’re looking for? Check out our YouTube channel for more tips and tricks! You can also reach out to us anytime at support@limblecmms.com.

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