The term leading Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is used frequently in the world of maintenance and asset management, but not always correctly. Many commonly reported metrics are considered as leading and widely accepted, even though they do not facilitate proactive decision-making. This misinterpretation creates an illusion of control, where organisations believe they are managing future performance while they are, in reality, reviewing past results.

Metrics such as Planned Maintenance (PM) compliance, emergency work volume, and wrench time are often presented as leading indicators. However, by the time these numbers are even made available, the outcome has already occurred. While they may highlight trends or expose systemic issues, they do not provide an opportunity to intervene before failure, delay, or disruption happens.

While metrics such as these can be indicators of a future trend that doesn't make them leading KPIs. To be a leading KPI they must tell you what is about to happen to allow you to step in, not just tell you how you've done previously. True leading KPIs serve a different purpose. They give early warning of what is about to happen, enabling action to be taken while there is still time to influence the outcome.

Understanding the difference between leading and lagging indicators is critical if maintenance teams want to move from reactive reporting to proactive control.

Some examples of true leading KPIs on the same theme could be:

• PM backlog by age (identifies potential risk before failure occurs)
  
• Schedule Load vs Available Capacity (gives indication work is unlikely to be complete in line with schedule and allows intervention)
  
• Repeat Failure Indicator i.e. defect work orders raised on the same asset within short timeframe.
  (Highlights high potential for asset to fail again in future and allows intervention)
  

A strong KPI framework should do more than report results, it should influence outcomes. When we clearly separate leading from lagging indicators, we give ourselves the chance to act before problems escalate rather than after the damage is done.

Lagging KPIs will always have their place in reviewing performance and identifying patterns, but they are retrospective by nature. True improvement comes from pairing that hindsight with foresight, metrics that
highlight mounting risk, capacity gaps, and repeat issues early enough to change the course.

Ultimately, the question to ask of any “leading” KPI is simple: Does this let us take action before it’s too late to change the outcome? If the answer is no, it’s not leading and it is in fact, history. Organisations that understand this are the ones that move from reacting to predicting, and from measuring performance to truly managing it.

Ifyou’re ready to move beyond rear-view reporting and start shaping performance, it’s time to talk to SRCN - The Work Management Experts. Don’t let KPI confusion or hidden inefficiencies hold your operations back. Reach out to SRCN today (info@srcnsolutions.com)to unlock proactive work management practices that help you reduce risk, improve reliability, and focus your resources where they matter most and start turning your performance data into foresight you can act on.

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