WORK MANAGEMENT METRIC

5.3.5 PLANNING VARIANCE INDEX

Published on April 16, 2009
Revised on August 23, 2020

DEFINITION
This metric measures the percentage of planned work orders closed in which the actual cost
varied within +/- 10% of the planned cost.

OBJECTIVES
The objective of this metric is to measure the accuracy with which work is planned. This metric
may also be a reflection of the efficiency of the execution of planned work.

FORMULA
Planning Variance Index =
(Number of closed planned work orders in which actual costs are within 10% of planned cost /
Total number of planned work orders closed) × 100

COMPONENT DEFINITIONS
Actual Work Order Cost
The final cost of the work order after all work is completed and the Work Order has been
submitted for final review by the Planner.

Planned Cost
The planner’s estimate of cost to complete the work order.

Planned Work Hours

Work that has gone through a formal planning process to identify labor, materials, tools, and
safety requirements. This information is assembled into a job plan package and communicated
to craft workers prior to the start of the work.

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Planned Work Hours Executed
Labor hours for work that was formally planned and completed. Additional scope changes due
to others input or work findings should be recorded on an unplanned work order, not reflect
against the planned work order.

QUALIFICATIONS
1. Time basis: Weekly, monthly, quarterly and/or annually.
2. This metric is used by maintenance managers to measure the accuracy of maintenance
planners and by maintenance supervisors to assess the efficiency of craft workers.
3. It provides the best data for evaluating the effectiveness of the maintenance work
planning function.
4. Planning variance index may also be used to assist in evaluating planner accuracy.
5. Organizations may choose a different target variance than + 10% based on the
experience and maturity of its work force and planners. Users of this metric should then
set a target goal for improvement in their application and measure to that target. The
overall goal being to approach a 100% accuracy rate, then tighten the target variance.
6. It is assumed that reactive work is not formally planned; therefore, the calculations
should not include reactive work orders in either the numerator or the denominator.
7. Blanket or standing work orders are also not included, even if they happen to close
during the period being evaluated.
8. The planned job cost will be fixed at the point when planning is completed and the work
order is sent for approval. Business rules and governance policy should be in place to
prevent modification after that point, unless re-approval of the revised plan is also
required.
9. This metric is influenced by many variables, most notably how well the maintenance
organization completes work orders and adheres to planning estimates. All aspects of
the organization’s processes can impact this measure including factors such as
departmental priorities, internal politics, how accurately time is charged to work orders,
etc.
10. Scope changes to the work orders should be tracked and considered when using this
metric.

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 11. See also the related metrics: SMRP Metric 5.3.3, SMRP Metric 5.3.4 and SMRP Metric
5.3.1.

SAMPLE CALCULATION
In a given month, 4,694 planned work orders were closed. The actual cost varied by more than
+/- 10% of the planned cost on 1,254 of these planned work orders.

Planning Variance Index =

(Number of closed planned work orders in which actual costs are within 10% of planned cost /
Total number of planned work orders closed) × 100

Planning Variance Index = (3420 / 4694) × 100

Planning Variance Index = 0.729 × 100
Planning Variance Index = 72.9%

BEST-IN-CLASS TARGET VALUE

SMRP’s Best Practices Committee was unable to find any target ranges, minimum/maximum
values, benchmarks or other references for target values for this metric. The committee
recommends companies trend their historical Planning Variance, then tighten the target
percentage with a goal of reaching 10% over time. The process can be guided by improving
investigation of significant deviations to improve estimating techniques, job planning skills, work
execution and craft performance.

SMRP will update this document as appropriate. While the target values are + 10%, SMRP
encourages plants to use this metric to help manage improvement of the maintenance planning
process. It is recommended to begin at a target value that will result in a 10% improvement
over current results, and work towards tighter requirements until meeting or exceeding the
10% guidance value.

CAUTIONS
There are no cautions identified at this time.

HARMONIZATION
This metric has not been harmonized to CEN standard EN 15341.

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REFERENCES
Wireman, T. (2008). Maintenance work management process. New York, N.Y: Industrial Press.

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