What a maintenance contract should contain

Why contracts disappoint

Many maintenance contracts say little more than "preventive maintenance quarterly, corrective maintenance as required". The client can't tell what was done on a visit, response times aren't measured, and after a year nobody knows the system's condition. When something important fails, the contract is argued over instead of used.

The checklist

1. Asset register. Every device covered, with location, model, serial number, firmware and network address. If it's not on the register, it's not covered.
2. Task list per visit. What is cleaned, inspected, tested and adjusted for each device type, and how often.
3. Priorities and response targets. Defined fault priorities with remote response, on-site attendance and fix targets for each.
4. Hours of cover. Working hours, out-of-hours and public holidays, stated separately.
5. Spare parts. Who supplies them, at what price basis, and which critical spares are held on site.
6. Exclusions. Damage, vandalism, misuse, power events and end-of-life equipment: how each is handled.
7. Reporting. A visit report after every preventive visit and a monthly summary with response times achieved.
8. Records for third parties. Any format required by an authority, insurer or landlord.
9. Software and firmware. Who approves updates, how they are tested, and who holds configuration backups.
10. Exit. What is handed back at the end: credentials, backups, documentation.

Start from a known condition

If the system was installed by someone else, insist on a condition survey at the start. Existing defects get listed and priced separately. Without that baseline, the first months of a contract are spent arguing about whose problem each fault is.

Measure it

Ask for the numbers every month: preventive visits completed against plan, faults by priority, response and fix times against target, and repeat faults. A contractor confident in its service will offer these before you ask.