Maintenance Fundamentals¶

Welcome to the Maintenance Fundamentals course. This course teaches you the concepts, terminology, and best practices for managing equipment maintenance at Scott Recycling using Odoo's Maintenance module.

Estimated Time: 1.5 hours Audience: Garage staff, fleet managers, anyone responsible for equipment upkeep

Course Overview¶

Lesson	Topic	Time
1	Why We Track Maintenance	10 min
2	Equipment Management	20 min
3	Corrective Maintenance — Fixing What's Broken	15 min
4	Preventive Maintenance — Staying Ahead of Problems	20 min
5	Maintenance Teams & Workflow	15 min
6	Reporting & Equipment Health Metrics	10 min

After completing this course, move to the Maintenance Sandbox Workout for hands-on practice.

Lesson 1: Why We Track Maintenance (10 min)¶

Learning Objectives¶

Understand why every repair and service should be logged
Know the business reasons behind maintenance tracking

Why It Matters¶

Every piece of equipment at Scott Recycling — trucks, forklifts, balers, lifts — costs money to buy, maintain, and replace. Tracking maintenance in Odoo gives us:

Benefit	What It Means
Repair history	Know exactly what's been done to every piece of equipment
DOT compliance	Prove trucks are inspected and serviced on schedule for audits
Insurance documentation	Records of maintenance for claims and coverage
Replacement planning	Data-driven decisions on when to retire vs. repair equipment
Downtime tracking	See how long equipment is out of service and why
Cost awareness	Understand what equipment really costs to operate

The Golden Rule¶

Log Everything

If you touch it, log it. Even a 10-minute brake light replacement gets a maintenance request. The small entries add up to a complete picture of equipment health. Without a record, it didn't happen.

What Happens Without Tracking¶

A truck fails a DOT inspection — no records to show it was maintained
A forklift breaks down repeatedly — no one realizes it's the same part failing
A baler needs replacement — no data to justify the capital expense
A mechanic spends most of their time on one truck — management can't see it

Lesson 2: Equipment Management (20 min)¶

Learning Objectives¶

Know what counts as "equipment" in the system
Understand equipment categories and how to organize assets
Read an equipment record and understand its key fields

What Is Equipment?¶

In Odoo Maintenance, equipment is anything the garage maintains. At Scott Recycling, this includes:

Category	Examples
Box Trucks	SBT-1 (Freightliner M2), SBT-2 (International MV607), MOR-1
Tractor Trailers	OTR trucks — Kenworth T680, Freightliner Cascadia
Forklifts	Warehouse forklifts, pallet jacks
Balers	Cardboard baler, plastics baler
Shop Equipment	Vehicle lifts, air compressors, tire machines
Trailers	Box trailers, flatbeds

Equipment Categories¶

Categories group similar equipment together. This helps with:

Filtering — Quickly find all forklifts or all box trucks
Reporting — See maintenance trends by equipment type
Preventive schedules — Apply similar service intervals to a category

Reading an Equipment Record¶

When you open an equipment record, here's what you'll see:

Section	What It Contains
Header	Equipment name, category, photo
General Information	Team, technician, used by, location
Product Information	Vendor, serial number, model, effective date
Maintenance	Preventive maintenance schedules, history link
Description	Free-text notes about the equipment

Key Fields Explained¶

Field	What It Means	Example
Equipment Name	Unique, descriptive name	"SBT-1 — Freightliner M2 {40}"
Equipment Category	Type grouping	"Box Trucks"
Maintenance Team	Who services it	"Garage"
Technician	Default mechanic	"James"
Used By	Who operates/uses it	"Kable West" or "Warehouse"
Serial Number	Manufacturer serial or VIN	"3ALACWFC5PDPX8833"
Effective Date	When it entered service	"01/15/2022"
MTBF	Mean Time Between Failure (days)	"45 days"
Estimated Next Failure	Predicted next breakdown	"03/15/2026"

Equipment Naming Convention¶

Naming Best Practice

Match Fleet app names so dispatchers and mechanics are on the same page:

[Fleet ID] — [Make Model] {Fleet Number}

Examples:

SBT-1 — Freightliner M2 {40}
MOR-1 — International MV607 {35}
Forklift-1 — Toyota 8FGU25
Baler-1 — Harris HRB-4

Lesson 3: Corrective Maintenance — Fixing What's Broken (15 min)¶

Learning Objectives¶

Know when and how to create a corrective maintenance request
Understand request priorities and stages
Follow a request from creation to completion

What Is Corrective Maintenance?¶

Corrective maintenance is reactive — something broke, wore out, or isn't working right, and it needs to be fixed.

Examples:

Brake lights stopped working on SBT-2
Forklift hydraulic leak
Baler belt snapped
Check engine light on MOR-1

Anatomy of a Maintenance Request¶

Field	Purpose	Tips
Request Name	Short description of the problem	Be specific: "Replace front brake pads" not "Brakes"
Equipment	Which piece of equipment	Select from the list
Maintenance Type	Corrective or Preventive	For breakdowns, always "Corrective"
Priority	How urgent	See priority guide below
Maintenance Team	Who handles it	Usually auto-fills from equipment
Responsible	Assigned technician	Can be changed if needed
Scheduled Date	When work is planned	Set a realistic date
Description	Detailed notes	Symptoms, when it started, safety concerns

Priority Guide¶

Priority	Star Rating	When to Use	Example
Normal	No stars	Can wait for a scheduled slot	Cosmetic damage, minor leak
Important	1 star	Should be done this week	Worn brake pads, dashboard warning
Very Important	2 stars	Needs attention within 1-2 days	Intermittent electrical issue, failing component
Urgent	3 stars	Truck/equipment cannot operate	Flat tire, won't start, safety hazard

Safety First

If equipment has a safety issue (brakes failing, lift mechanism stuck, hydraulic failure), mark it Urgent and notify your supervisor immediately. Do not operate unsafe equipment.

Request Lifecycle¶

New Request → In Progress → Repaired
                              ↘ Scrap (if beyond repair)

New Request — Someone reports the issue and creates the request
In Progress — A technician picks it up and starts working
Repaired — Work is done, equipment is back in service
Scrap — Equipment can't be repaired and is being retired

Using the Chatter¶

The chatter (message log) at the bottom of every request is your communication tool:

Post updates as work progresses ("Ordered parts, ETA Thursday")
Tag people with @mentions to notify them
Attach photos of damage or completed repairs
Log parts used and time spent in notes

Lesson 4: Preventive Maintenance — Staying Ahead of Problems (20 min)¶

Learning Objectives¶

Understand why preventive maintenance matters
Know how to set up recurring maintenance schedules
Recognize the key preventive schedules for our equipment

What Is Preventive Maintenance?¶

Preventive maintenance is proactive — you service equipment on a schedule to prevent breakdowns before they happen.

	Corrective	Preventive
When	After something breaks	Before something breaks
Goal	Fix the problem	Prevent the problem
Cost	Usually higher (emergency parts, downtime)	Usually lower (planned parts, scheduled downtime)
Impact	Unplanned downtime, route disruption	Planned downtime, minimal disruption

The 80/20 Goal¶

Target Ratio

A well-maintained fleet should see roughly 80% preventive and 20% corrective maintenance requests. If you're seeing mostly corrective requests, your preventive schedules need to be tightened up.

How Preventive Maintenance Works in Odoo¶

You set a recurring schedule on an equipment record (e.g., "Oil change every 90 days")
Odoo automatically generates a maintenance request when the interval is reached
The request appears in the maintenance list like any other request
The technician completes the work and marks it as Repaired
The cycle resets and Odoo will generate the next one on schedule

Our Preventive Maintenance Standards¶

Box Trucks¶

Service	Frequency	Notes
Oil & filter change	Every 10,000 miles / 90 days	Whichever comes first
Brake inspection	Every 30,000 miles / 6 months	Pads, rotors, lines, fluid
Tire rotation	Every 20,000 miles	Check tread depth
Tire replacement	Every 40,000 miles	Or when tread is below 4/32"
DOT annual inspection	Every 12 months	Required by law
A/C system check	Annually (before summer)	Refrigerant, belts, compressor
Transmission fluid	Every 60,000 miles	Check manufacturer specs

Tractor Trailers¶

Service	Frequency	Notes
Oil & filter change	Every 15,000 miles	Heavy-duty intervals
DOT annual inspection	Every 12 months	Required by law
Brake adjustment	Every 25,000 miles	Air brake system
Coolant system	Every 300,000 miles	Or every 3 years
5th wheel inspection	Every 30 days	Grease and wear check

Forklifts¶

Service	Frequency	Notes
Daily pre-shift inspection	Daily	Operator checklist
Hydraulic fluid check	Every 30 days	Level and leaks
Tire inspection	Every 30 days	Wear and pressure
Annual OSHA inspection	Every 12 months	Required by law
Chain and mast lubrication	Every 250 hours	Or every 30 days

Balers¶

Service	Frequency	Notes
Belt inspection & tensioning	Every 90 days	Check for cracks and wear
Hydraulic system check	Every 90 days	Fluid level, hoses, fittings
Full service	Every 12 months	Comprehensive overhaul

Shop Equipment¶

Service	Frequency	Notes
Vehicle lift inspection	Every 12 months	ALI/OSHA required
Air compressor service	Every 6 months	Filters, oil, belt tension
Fire extinguisher inspection	Every 12 months	Required by code

What Happens When Preventive Maintenance Is Due¶

When a preventive request is auto-generated:

It appears in the Maintenance Requests list
It shows Maintenance Type = Preventive
The Scheduled Date is set based on the recurring period
The assigned Technician gets notified

Don't Just Close It

Never close a preventive maintenance request without actually doing the work. The point of the schedule is to ensure the work gets done. Closing without servicing defeats the purpose and creates false records.

Lesson 5: Maintenance Teams & Workflow (15 min)¶

Learning Objectives¶

Understand how maintenance teams are organized
Know the daily workflow for handling requests
Understand how to use the Kanban board for tracking work

Maintenance Teams¶

A maintenance team is a group of people responsible for maintaining equipment. At Scott Recycling, you'll likely have:

Team	Responsibility	Members
Garage	Trucks and vehicles	Mechanics, fleet manager
Warehouse Equipment	Forklifts, balers, lifts	Warehouse maintenance staff

Teams can be configured with members, and when a request is assigned to a team, the team members can see and claim work.

Daily Workflow¶

Here's the recommended daily routine for garage staff:

Morning (Start of Shift)¶

Open the Maintenance app
Check the Kanban board — Look at "New Request" column for anything reported overnight
Review scheduled work — Switch to Calendar view to see what's due today
Claim your requests — Assign yourself to requests you'll work on
Move to In Progress — Drag requests to "In Progress" as you start them

During the Day¶

Update the chatter — Post progress notes, parts used, time estimates
Log new issues — If you find something else wrong during a repair, create a new request
Move to Repaired — When work is done, move the request to "Repaired"

End of Shift¶

Review open requests — Make sure nothing urgent is left unassigned
Update in-progress work — Add notes about where you left off for the next shift

Using the Kanban Board¶

The Kanban view is the most visual way to manage maintenance work:

Column	What It Means	Action
New Request	Reported, not started	Review, prioritize, assign
In Progress	Work underway	Update chatter, track parts
Repaired	Work complete	Verify, close
Scrap	Equipment retired	Document reason

Drag cards between columns as work progresses. The card shows the equipment name, priority stars, and assigned technician at a glance.

Lesson 6: Reporting & Equipment Health Metrics (10 min)¶

Learning Objectives¶

Know what metrics are available in the Maintenance module
Understand MTBF and why it matters
Use reports to spot trends and make decisions

Key Metrics¶

Metric	What It Means	Why It Matters
MTBF	Mean Time Between Failure (days)	Higher = more reliable. If it's dropping, something is wearing out.
MTTR	Mean Time To Repair	How long repairs take. Longer = more downtime.
Corrective/Preventive Ratio	Breakdown of request types	More corrective = reactive. More preventive = proactive.
Open Request Count	Unfinished work backlog	Growing backlog = understaffed or under-prioritizing

MTBF Explained¶

MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) is the average number of days between breakdowns for a piece of equipment.

MTBF	Interpretation	Action
90+ days	Reliable — maintenance plan is working	Continue current schedule
30-90 days	Needs attention — something is wearing	Increase preventive frequency
Under 30 days	Unreliable — frequent breakdowns	Evaluate for major repair or replacement

Odoo calculates MTBF automatically based on corrective maintenance request history. You can see it on each equipment record.

Using the Reporting Dashboard¶

Go to Maintenance → Reporting to see:

Requests by team — Who is handling the most work?
Requests by equipment — Which equipment needs the most attention?
Requests by month — Are breakdowns increasing or decreasing?
Average close time — How long do repairs take from report to completion?

Use filters and group-by options to slice the data. For example, group by Equipment Category to compare box truck maintenance vs. forklift maintenance.

Monthly Review

Set a reminder to review the maintenance report monthly. Look for:

Equipment with dropping MTBF
Rising corrective request counts
Any single piece of equipment consuming disproportionate maintenance time
Whether preventive schedules are being completed on time

What's Next?¶

Now that you understand the concepts, it's time to practice:

Maintenance Sandbox Workout — Hands-on exercises in the training sandbox
Maintenance Software Guide — Detailed reference for all features

Quick Reference¶

Request Priority Cheat Sheet¶

Stars	Level	Response Time
None	Normal	This week
1	Important	Within 2-3 days
2	Very Important	Within 1-2 days
3	Urgent	Immediately

Request Stages¶

Stage	Meaning
New Request	Reported, waiting to be picked up
In Progress	Technician is working on it
Repaired	Work complete, equipment back in service
Scrap	Equipment retired

Equipment Info Checklist¶

When adding equipment, always include: