Board of Governors in Healthcare Management (ACHE) Practice Exam 2025 – All-in-One Guide to Master Your Certification!

The maintenance plan for a physical plant should prioritize preventive maintenance because it focuses on proactively addressing potential issues before they become significant problems. Preventive maintenance involves systematic inspection, detection, and correction of potential failures, which can extend the lifespan of equipment, reduce the likelihood of breakdowns, and maintain the efficiency of operations.

By implementing a preventive maintenance strategy, organizations can ensure that equipment is serviced regularly and that any wear and tear is addressed in a timely manner. This not only enhances the reliability of the physical plant but also supports compliance with safety regulations and standards, which is particularly crucial in healthcare environments where equipment performance directly impacts patient care.

While other factors, like customer satisfaction, minimal downtime for equipment, and rapid response to problems, are important, they are often outcomes of a well-executed preventive maintenance plan. For instance, reducing equipment downtime is a natural result of maintaining equipment regularly; similarly, a responsive maintenance culture can be developed as equipment issues are mitigated before they escalate into emergencies. Thus, preventive maintenance serves as the foundation for optimizing overall operational effectiveness and reliability in a physical plant.