What Does a Maintenance Planner Do?
Fixing a leaking valve is often less time-consuming than lining up the part, the shutdown and the technician for it because each depends on someone else's calendar. Maintenance planners do that lining up for campuses, hospitals and plants, turning requests into scheduled work orders so crews arrive with everything the job needs.
Also known as: Maintenance Scheduler, Work Management Coordinator
Other Job Titles for This Work
Workers in this occupation report titles such as Expeditor, Inventory Control Specialist, Material Requirements Planner (MRP), Materials Coordinator, Materials Planner, Production Assistant, Production Clerk, Production Controller.
Maintenance Planner Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a maintenance planner include:
- Review incoming work requests and turn them into work orders with clear scopes.
- Estimate labor hours, parts and tools for each job before it reaches a shop.
- Build the weekly maintenance schedule so crafts, parts and building access line up.
- Order parts and reserve stock so technicians do not wait at the storeroom counter.
- Load preventive maintenance tasks into maintenance software such as IBM Maximo or AiM, and set their intervals.
- Schedule shutdowns of water, power or air handlers with building occupants and shop leads.
- Chase backlogged work orders and report which jobs are stuck, and why.
- Close out finished work orders, checking that labor, parts and notes are recorded correctly.
- Track backlog, schedule compliance and costs in weekly reports for maintenance managers.
- Walk job sites with technicians to scope large repairs and note access or safety issues.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a maintenance planner, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- CMMS software such as IBM Maximo, AiM or TMA
- Excel for schedules, backlog and cost reports
- Working knowledge of building systems and trades
- Estimating labor and materials
- Organized, deadline-driven planning
- Clear writing for work order scopes
- Negotiating shutdown times with building users
- Attention to detail on part numbers and costs
Education and Training
Shop floor experience could lead to a planning job. Although BLS lists a high school diploma as the usual entry education for this kind of clerk, employers often prefer planners who have worked in a trade. Training on the employer's maintenance software usually takes several months on the job.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $47,820 - $75,000 per year, with a median of $59,650.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks.
According to BLS, employment of production, planning, and expediting clerks, the wider group that maintenance planners fall under, is projected to decline about 1 percent from 2025 to 2035. That is close to flat, and the same projections still show about 32,600 openings a year across the group. Planning jobs in maintenance often are tied to the size of a facilities department, but large campuses and plants will keep needing someone to decide what gets fixed, when, and with which parts.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Production, planning, and expediting clerks.
Maintenance Planner Pay Range
| Earners | Annual pay |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $40,080 |
| Bottom 25% earn less than | $47,820 |
| Median (half earn more, half less) | $59,650 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $75,000 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $86,000 |
Highest-Paying States for Maintenance Planners
The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are Washington ($77,190), District of Columbia ($72,660), Wyoming ($69,710), Rhode Island ($65,310), Colorado ($63,980). Pay is lowest in South Dakota ($50,530), Arkansas ($50,350), New Mexico ($49,640).
Median pay in all 51 states with BLS data
| State | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $57,240 |
| Alaska | $62,590 |
| Arizona | $58,580 |
| Arkansas | $50,350 |
| California | $63,000 |
| Colorado | $63,980 |
| Connecticut | $63,240 |
| Delaware | $62,700 |
| District of Columbia | $72,660 |
| Florida | $51,940 |
| Georgia | $56,850 |
| Hawaii | $63,780 |
| Idaho | $59,950 |
| Illinois | $57,880 |
| Indiana | $58,980 |
| Iowa | $60,320 |
| Kansas | $57,080 |
| Kentucky | $55,690 |
| Louisiana | $60,120 |
| Maine | $60,200 |
| Maryland | $58,590 |
| Massachusetts | $60,280 |
| Michigan | $61,670 |
| Minnesota | $61,490 |
| Mississippi | $51,080 |
| Missouri | $54,170 |
| Montana | $50,800 |
| Nebraska | $55,710 |
| Nevada | $55,790 |
| New Hampshire | $61,590 |
| New Jersey | $62,710 |
| New Mexico | $49,640 |
| New York | $60,920 |
| North Carolina | $52,640 |
| North Dakota | $58,330 |
| Ohio | $57,830 |
| Oklahoma | $56,300 |
| Oregon | $60,790 |
| Pennsylvania | $59,240 |
| Rhode Island | $65,310 |
| South Carolina | $57,640 |
| South Dakota | $50,530 |
| Tennessee | $53,020 |
| Texas | $55,850 |
| Utah | $61,650 |
| Vermont | $60,560 |
| Virginia | $61,780 |
| Washington | $77,190 |
| West Virginia | $56,290 |
| Wisconsin | $58,540 |
| Wyoming | $69,710 |
What the Work Is Like
O*NET surveys people who work as production, planning, and expediting clerks about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:
- 95% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
- 95% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
- 86% are on the phone every day
- 86% use email every day
- 83% spend more than half the workday sitting
- 76% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
- 73% wear safety gear such as gloves, safety glasses or a hard hat every day
Education Workers Say the Job Needs
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| High school diploma or GED | 37% |
| Some college | 21% |
| Less than high school | 19% |
| Associate's degree | 13% |
Tools and Software Maintenance Planners Use
Tools and equipment
Software
Is This Job a Good Fit for You?
People who do well in this job tend to enjoy organized work with data, records and clear procedures as well as leading, persuading and making business decisions.
Skills O*NET rates most important: Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Active Listening, Time Management, Critical Thinking, Writing.
Knowledge areas used most: Production and Processing, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administrative, Administration and Management.
Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 2 of 5, which means some preparation.
Related Careers
These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:
Applying for a Maintenance Planner Job
- Job application letter sample
- How to write the skills section of a resume
- How to describe your work experience
- Job interview tips
- Interview thank-you note
The Job Explorer never charges candidates any money. If someone asks you to pay to apply for a maintenance planner job or to get hired, treat it as a warning sign.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035.
- O*NET 30.1 Database, occupation 43-5061.00 (Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks). View on O*NET OnLine.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The Job Explorer has modified some of the information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these changes.