A priority matrix for maintenance requests

Begin with three questions: Is there an immediate safety risk? Has an essential service stopped? How many people or units are affected? Add whether damage may spread and whether a temporary workaround exists. Priority should follow verifiable answers, not the intensity of the report.

Priority 1 — emergency: threat to life or safety, a leak, fire, or fault likely to cause rapid damage, or a widespread loss of critical service. Acknowledge immediately, secure the area, assign a qualified responder, and update stakeholders until contained. Do not close before safety is documented.

Priority 2 — urgent: essential service disruption affecting a limited area without immediate danger, or a fault likely to worsen soon. Set a clear response window, perform initial diagnosis, and offer a safe workaround where possible. Escalate before the service target is missed and the issue becomes an emergency.

Priority 3 — routine: a fault affects comfort or use, but safe operation can continue. Priority 4 — planned: cosmetic improvement or work that can join a scheduled visit. Bundle similar jobs by location to reduce visits, but never leave routine work without a known date.

Record why the priority was chosen, who approved it, and every later change. Monthly, review upgraded and downgraded requests, repeat faults, and missed targets. If nearly every ticket is urgent, the classification rules or preventive-maintenance program probably needs attention.