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🗓 Preventive Maintenance Scheduler via ICS Email (n8n | Google Sheets | Gmail)
This workflow automatically reads your daily preventive maintenance schedule from Google Sheets and sends each assigned team member a personalized calendar invite (.ICS) as an email attachment. No more manual reminders or copying events — your operations and field teams will always be on schedule with clear, actionable reminders!
Who’s it For
- Maintenance teams at plants, renewable sites, factories.
- Facility and operations managers.
- Any field crew, service team or org using Google Sheets and email for coordination.
- Businesses wanting reliable, zero-touch preventive maintenance notifications.
How it Works
- Daily Trigger: Workflow runs automatically every morning at 7:00 AM.
- Read Maintenance Tasks: Pulls all scheduled maintenance for today from Google Sheets.
- Generate ICS Data: Prepares universal calendar event details: summary, location, time, assignee, etc.
- Create ICS File: Converts event data into a standard
.icscalendar invite file with correct timings and description. - Send Calendar Invite Email: Sends a personalized email to each assignee, with the
.icsfile attached — ready to add to Outlook, Gmail or mobile calendar.
How to Set Up
- Import the workflow JSON into your n8n instance.
- Set up connections in n8n:
- Authenticate Google Sheets (read access) and Gmail (send access).
- Format your Google Sheet with headers:
date,asset,task,location,email - Activate the workflow. It runs daily on schedule. You can test it manually for validation.
- Each day: Team members with tasks scheduled for that date are sent their personalized event invite.
Requirements
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
| n8n Instance | Run and schedule the automation |
| Google Sheets | Source of maintenance schedule/tasks |
| Gmail (or SMTP) | Email platform to send calendar files |
How to Customize
| Customization | How |
|---|---|
| Change calendar invite/event wording | Edit title or description in the "Create ICS File" node |
| Adjust event start/end times | Modify time logic in "Generate ICS Data" node |
| Change daily send time | Tweak time in "Daily Trigger" node |
| Use a different email provider (SMTP) | Swap Gmail node for SMTP node; link correct credentials |
| Add extra notifications (SMS/Slack) | Add appropriate node after or before Send Email node |
Add‑ons
| Add-on | Description |
|---|---|
| Recurring Tasks | Automate repeated tasks via your sheet/setup |
| Email Logging | Log sent invites in another sheet/db |
| WhatsApp/SMS Alerts | Add Twilio or WhatsApp for instant alerts |
| Manager Summary | Send daily reports or dashboards to leads |
| Pre-alerts | Add reminder emails 1hr / 1 day before event |
Use Case Examples
- Wind turbine engineers receive daily calendar invites for inspections.
- Solar O&M operators are automatically reminded for inverter cleaning via calendar sync.
- Facility staff gets scheduled reminders for HVAC or safety checks without manual admin.
- Managers have a clear audit trail of which reminders were sent on time.
Common Troubleshooting
| Issue | Possible Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| No email received | Gmail/SMTP misconfigured | Check node credentials, token or SMTP settings |
| Calendar file comes as .txt | Wrong file type/extension/MIME | Ensure "Create ICS File" outputs .ics and text/calendar |
| No invites sent for today | No matching rows in Google Sheet | Check date/value format; add sample data for today |
| Google Sheets returns error | Wrong Sheet ID/tab, access issue | Confirm correct Google Sheet is linked and shared |
| Event time/zone is incorrect | Code node’s time logic not matching | Adjust start/end time settings in the code node |
Need Help?
Want guided setup, advanced reporting, Outlook synchronization or a full preventive maintenance dashboard?
👉 Contact WeblineIndia — Your n8n Automation partner for smart preventive maintenance and calendar-driven ops!