A PPM contract — Planned Preventive Maintenance — is one of those things healthcare facilities know they probably should have but often put off setting up. The annual scramble to organise equipment testing before an accreditation survey is the most common reason practices and facilities finally get one in place. This post explains what a PPM contract covers, who it suits, and what it actually costs not to have one.
What Is a PPM Contract?
A PPM (Planned Preventive Maintenance) contract is a scheduled agreement between a healthcare facility and a biomedical service provider to cover all equipment testing, calibration, and maintenance within a defined annual program. Instead of calling a provider reactively when something breaks or when accreditation is looming, a PPM contract sets out in advance:
- Which equipment is covered
- What testing and maintenance tasks will be performed
- When each task will happen during the year
- What documentation will be produced
- What the response time is for breakdown calls
The result is a facility whose equipment compliance records are always current, whose testing is never forgotten, and whose accreditation preparation involves pulling together existing records rather than organising a last-minute round of visits.
What Does a PPM Contract Typically Cover?
The scope varies by facility type and size, but a typical PPM contract for a GP practice or medical centre covers:
- Electrical safety testing — AS/NZS 3551 test and tag for all mains-powered medical devices, usually annually
- Autoclave/steriliser validation — AS 5369 quarterly or six-monthly external validation plus annual comprehensive testing
- Vaccine fridge calibration — annual calibration and temperature mapping
- AED servicing — pad and battery inspection, functional check, compliance documentation
- Patient monitor calibration — ECG, SpO2, and NIBP accuracy verification
- Asset register maintenance — keeping the equipment register current as devices are added or retired
- Breakdown response — priority call-out for equipment faults between scheduled visits
For hospitals and larger facilities, a PPM contract might also cover medical imaging support equipment, theatre equipment, ward-based monitoring systems, and infusion pump fleets.
Who Benefits Most from a PPM Contract?
PPM contracts suit facilities that:
- Are on an accreditation cycle (RACGP, AGPAL, QIP, NSQHS, Aged Care Quality Standards) and need equipment compliance records maintained between surveys
- Have more than a handful of medical devices and find ad-hoc testing hard to coordinate
- Want predictable annual costs for biomedical services rather than variable reactive spending
- Have multiple sites and want a single provider managing equipment compliance across all of them
- Have experienced an accreditation finding related to equipment records and want to prevent a recurrence
The Hidden Cost of Not Having a PPM Contract
The visible cost of reactive biomedical servicing is the call-out fee and labour rate. The hidden costs are harder to see but often larger:
- Accreditation risk — missing test records or out-of-date calibration certificates can generate corrective action requirements, trigger a follow-up survey, or in serious cases jeopardise accreditation status
- Clinical risk — equipment running outside calibration tolerances may produce inaccurate readings without any visible indication of failure
- Reactive premium — emergency call-outs cost significantly more than scheduled visits
- Staff time — coordinating multiple separate service providers for different equipment types consumes practice management time that has a real cost
How Nova Biomedical Structures PPM Contracts
We build PPM contracts around each facility’s equipment register and accreditation schedule. For a GP practice on a three-year RACGP cycle, we typically structure testing visits so that all compliance documentation is refreshed well before the survey window — not in the weeks immediately before it. For hospitals and aged care facilities on annual NSQHS or Aged Care Quality Standards review cycles, we align testing to the review calendar.
All testing under a PPM contract produces compliance-ready documentation — test tags, calibration certificates, validation reports, and an updated asset register — delivered in a format that works for your accreditation submission.
FAQ
What is the difference between a PPM contract and a service agreement?
A PPM contract specifically covers planned, scheduled preventive maintenance — testing and calibration that happens on a defined schedule regardless of whether equipment has failed. A service agreement may only cover reactive repairs when something breaks. A comprehensive biomedical service agreement typically combines both.
How much does a PPM contract cost?
Cost depends on the number of devices, the testing types required, and the site’s location. For a typical GP practice with 10–20 medical devices, an annual PPM program covering electrical safety testing, vaccine fridge calibration, autoclave validation, and AED servicing generally costs less than the price of a single unplanned accreditation corrective action response. Contact Nova Biomedical for a quote based on your specific equipment register.
Can a PPM contract cover multiple sites?
Yes — multi-site PPM contracts are common for GP groups, aged care operators, and hospital networks. A single contract covering multiple sites simplifies administration, ensures consistent testing standards across all locations, and often reduces per-site cost compared to separate arrangements at each location.
What happens if equipment fails between scheduled visits?
PPM contracts typically include a breakdown response provision — a defined response time for unscheduled call-outs when equipment fails between visits. Nova Biomedical PPM contracts include priority breakdown response for covered equipment.
Do we need a PPM contract or can we just book testing when accreditation is due?
Accreditation standards require ongoing maintenance, not just point-in-time testing before a survey. Surveyors look at the history of equipment records, not just whether testing was done recently. A reactive pre-accreditation testing visit will not produce the ongoing maintenance history that standards expect to see.
Related Services
Nova Biomedical offers PPM contracts for healthcare facilities of all sizes, covering electrical safety testing, autoclave validation, vaccine fridge calibration, AED servicing, and patient monitor calibration. We service hospitals, GP practices, aged care facilities, and more. Contact us to discuss a program for your facility.
