FieldEx offers multiple ways to automate recurring work, each designed for a different operational and commercial need. Choosing the correct maintenance type ensures that jobs are generated accurately, history is recorded in the right context, and reporting remains meaningful as your operations scale.
While some maintenance types share similar scheduling logic, they differ in what the work is anchored to and why the work exists. Understanding these differences is critical before setting up maintenance automation.
This article covers:
Overview of maintenance types in FieldEx
Asset Preventive Maintenance
Contract Maintenance
Site Preventive Maintenance
Recurring Jobs
How to choose the right maintenance type
Overview of Maintenance Types in FieldEx
FieldEx supports four distinct mechanisms for automating recurring work. Each option determines how jobs are created, where history is tracked, and how performance and compliance are reported.
Asset Preventive Maintenance – maintenance driven by asset lifecycle
Contract Maintenance – maintenance driven by customer agreements
Site Preventive Maintenance – maintenance driven by site visits
Recurring Jobs – recurring operational work without a fixed anchor
Asset Preventive Maintenance
Asset Preventive Maintenance (PM) in FieldEx allows you to automate recurring maintenance activities for physical assets such as equipment, machinery, vehicles, or tools. Asset PM ensures that maintenance jobs are created consistently based on time-based rules.
Jobs generated from Asset PM plans are permanently linked to asset records, allowing FieldEx to build a complete maintenance and service history for analytics, compliance, and auditing.
Use Asset PM when:
Maintenance impacts asset health or lifespan
Service history is required at the asset level
Maintenance drives asset analytics and reporting
Warranty or compliance tracking is asset-based
Asset PM operates using a two-layer structure:
Maintenance Plan – defines schedule, rules, and automation logic
Job Orders – the actual maintenance jobs generated from the plan
Changes made to a plan affect only future jobs. Completed or already created jobs remain unchanged as part of the asset’s historical record.
Tip: Asset PM focuses on maintaining the asset itself, not the site it is installed at. Each job is always linked directly to the asset record. |
Contract Maintenance
Contract Maintenance is used when recurring maintenance is driven by a customer agreement or service contract. While it uses the same scheduling engine as Asset PM, the contract becomes the primary anchor that controls when maintenance is valid.
Contract Maintenance Plans are linked directly to a contract and customer, inherit assets from the contract, and only generate jobs while the contract is active.
Use Contract Maintenance when:
Maintenance is included in a service agreement or SLA
Customers are entitled to scheduled visits
Service delivery must align with contract terms
Reporting must reflect contractual fulfilment
Although jobs may still reference assets, contract dates and status control whether maintenance is generated.
Area | Asset PM | Contract Maintenance |
Primary anchor | Asset | Contract |
Date control | Plan dates | Contract dates |
Best used for | Internal PM | Customer service agreements |
Tip: If maintenance exists because of a contract, always use Contract Maintenance even if assets are involved. |
Site Preventive Maintenance
Site Preventive Maintenance (PM) is designed for recurring work that applies to a location rather than individual assets. It is commonly used for inspections, servicing, and compliance activities that must occur regularly at a site.
Site PM tracks site visits over time and calculates future schedules based on site-level activity, even when the assets at the site change.
Use Site PM when:
Maintenance is location-based
Compliance depends on visit frequency
Multiple assets may be serviced per visit
Scheduling depends on last site visit
Jobs are generated per site and follow the site’s visit history rather than an asset’s service history.
Tip: Use Site PM when maintenance is tied to visiting a location, not to maintaining a specific piece of equipment. |
Recurring Jobs
Recurring Jobs are intended for repeating work that does not naturally belong to an asset, contract, or site. These jobs are generated from a Recurring Job Plan using time-based scheduling rules.
Once activated, the plan generates job orders automatically. Each job behaves like a normal job record and follows the standard job lifecycle.
Use Recurring Jobs when:
Work is procedural or operational
No asset, site, or contract anchor exists
Tasks support internal operations
Flexibility is more important than asset history
Examples include internal audits, recurring reports, administrative reviews, or non-asset service routines.
Quick Comparison
Type | Primary Anchor | Best Used For |
Asset Preventive Maintenance | Asset | Asset lifecycle and condition-based maintenance |
Contract Maintenance | Contract | Service obligations and SLAs |
Site Preventive Maintenance | Site | Location-based compliance and visits |
Recurring Jobs | None | General recurring operational work |
How to Choose the Right Maintenance Type
To choose the correct maintenance type, identify what the work is primarily accountable to:
Asset health → Asset Preventive Maintenance
Customer commitment → Contract Maintenance
Location compliance → Site Preventive Maintenance
Operational routine → Recurring Jobs