What is pm³?
pm³ is a maintenance management model that describes how system maintenance is to be organized so that it can be conducted in a businesslike manner. It consists of four components that through theory and practical applications, have proven to establish the prerequisites for businesslike maintenance activities. The fundamentals of pm³ are described in the book More Businesslike Maintenance Management. pm³ is short for på maintenance management model.

Why is a maintenance model needed?
A maintenance model is needed because maintenance always involves several entities within an organization – the entities that conduct the activities where the systems are used, the IT department or departments where technical maintenance is carried out and perhaps external parties as well. Because basic organizations (such as line organizations) are not strong enough mechanisms for management, they must be complemented with a so-called maintenance organization. This is similar to appointing a project organization to achieve a specific goal. Business and IT entities have joint responsibility but for different aspects, and the maintenance model helps define these responsibility relationships. The implementation of pm³ consequently results in swifter and more flexible maintenance management, which in turn results in higher yield for businesses.

What does pm³ include?
pm³ is built up around the following four central components, which must be assured for maintenance management to be cost-effective.

• Clearly defined maintenance assignments
• Efficient maintenance objects
• Businesslike maintenance organizations
• Description, understanding and acceptance of maintenance processes
  

These four components are described in more detail in the pm³ model description. A brief description of each of the components is provided below.

Clearly defined maintenance assignments
A clearly defined maintenance assignments ensure that maintenance supports the goals and intentions of the business and IT entities. This is accomplished by implementing goal management in maintenance and preparing a maintenance plan that is renewed each year. The maintenance plan is the tangible agreement on what is to be done during the year and constitutes the maintenance organization’s controlling document.

Efficient maintenance objects
An efficient maintenance object defines what is to be maintained and thus constitutes the delimitation for the maintenance organization’s area of responsibility (see below). A maintenance object includes IT systems, but even so-called business support, which defines usage and benefits of the IT systems in operations. A maintenance object usually includes several IT systems and should be delimitated based on the activities they are to support so as to provide optimal operational benefits.
 
Businesslike maintenance organizations
A maintenance organization has a project-like form by it being based on roles that are filled from the basic organization. It differs from a project organization, however, due to it being more permanent in character – it exists for as long as there is something to maintain. There should be one maintenance organization per maintenance object. The roles in a maintenance organization are presented below.