By Lalith Prasanna Madanayake, Marine Consultant · 10 October 2026
A planned maintenance system, usually called a PMS, is the record that tells a ship's crew what maintenance is due, who is responsible, what spares are needed and what was actually done. It replaces memory, notebooks and loose spreadsheets with one schedule that the Chief Engineer, the Master and the office can all rely on.
Section 10 of the ISM Code requires the company to make sure the ship and its equipment are maintained in conformity with the rules and regulations, and that inspections are held at appropriate intervals. It also asks the company to identify equipment and technical systems whose sudden failure could create a hazardous situation, and to provide specific measures to promote their reliability. A working PMS is the normal way to show all of this.
A modern PMS also carries defects, condition monitoring trends, certificates and survey dates, permits to work, requisitions and drydock lists. These are the same items a superintendent or an inspector asks about, so keeping them in one place saves time at every audit.
A ship's PMS has to work when the internet does not. It should open without a complicated installation, let the crew add, move or delete components for their own vessel, and keep working offline. NavTech is built on exactly this idea: a single file on board, with automatic sync to the fleet office whenever a connection is available.
A PMS is only as good as the entries in it. Start with the critical equipment, use realistic intervals, and record jobs on the day they are done. A smaller schedule that is always up to date is more valuable than a huge one nobody trusts.