If you have finally decided to invest in a more efficient, transparent and cost-effective method for maintaining your company?s assets and equipment by subscribing to a cloud-based equipment maintenance software. then you have made one of the best and most beneficial decisions you can make for your business. Many business owners find themselves second-guessing their decision to invest in such software.
Is preventive maintenance really worth the extra investment? Sure, equipment maintenance can keep your maintenance costs low in the long run, but do you really need a special software dedicated to it?
Well, if you?ve been asking those questions yourself, do you know that equipment maintenance software can reduce equipment downtimes by up to 85% within 6 months of use? And if that?s not enough, it can also improve equipment uptime by as much as 99.8%.
So now, the question you should have in mind is, which software should you buy? Since the market abounds with choices, it?s good to know exactly what to look for in a good equipment maintenance software.
1. Customizable PM Schedules
The most equipment maintenance scheduling software has built-in scheduling templates that you can follow. Sure, this may make the whole process seem easier, but the truth is, such templates will not serve your needs 100% of the time. So if you want to make the most out of your investment, look for one that allows you to make customized equipment maintenance schedules.
You can create a PM schedule that is calendar-based or time-based. This means that your assets will receive a routine checkup after a certain number of days, weeks, or months have passed. But if it is more appropriate for the asset or purpose you have in mind, you can also create a meter-based or usage-based schedule. This means that the software will count down the number of hours, miles, kilometers, or units of work your assets have performed or completed, and squeeze in a routine maintenance check at certain intervals. You can also set seasonal or temporary tasks based on your specific needs.
So a PM scheduling software can make it easy for you to generate tasks automatically and specifically for each one of your assets. It will keep you up-to-date with all the necessary PM work your assets need to make sure they are regularly maintained and are in good shape at any time.
2. Inventory Control And Coordination
The number one cause of delays and back jobs in the world of preventive maintenance is the unavailability of necessary tools or spare parts. This is why any PM scheduling software worth buying should have integrated inventory control. This helps you track all necessary tools, accessories, and spare parts your workers will need to keep your assets properly maintained. This built-in feature allows you to monitor usage, manage on-hand stocks, and reserve items ahead of time for scheduled maintenance tasks. This also notifies you when some stocks reach their critical buffer levels, and can even automatically generate purchase orders to help you replenish the said items.
This specific feature can take so much of the manual work that usually goes in coordinating preventive maintenance work. It improves overall coordination between your company?end users and buyers. Not only that, but it will also save you a lot of time and boost the productivity of your workers. By making sure your workers have the tools and spare parts they need, all scheduled tasks are finished on time.
Some inventory management features built into equipment maintenance software may also have barcoding capabilities. While this does not directly affect your equipment maintenance scheduling, it helps to know that the technology is available.
3. Hassle-Free Equipment Tracking And Reporting
Thirdly, look for an equipment maintenance software with a built-in tracking and reporting system. Now, this is a pretty common feature, and any software worth considering is sure to have it. This feature allows you to easily track all active work orders to ensure that your workers see them through to the end. This ensures 100% compliance with your maintenance team. In a way, this is the backbone of your preventive maintenance activities, as it ensures that at the end of the day, all PM tasks are carried out completely and that all machines are indeed regularly checked. If, in the event that schedules and targets are not effectively met, the software?s reports will alert you to it.
In a nutshell, you can set up the system so you will see all pending, approved, overdue, rejected, canceled, and completed tasks.
But the bonus benefit of having a good tracking and reporting feature in your PM scheduling software is that, when inspection and audit time comes, there is no need for you to work double time to come up with the necessary reports. The software can generate summary data with all the graphs and charts your auditor can possibly need. This way, you can sit back and simply reap the benefits of your regular data collection efforts.
The best part is, if you can schedule your maintenance tasks, you can also schedule the sending of reports to all persons involved. If you?re the decision-maker in the company, these reports will serve as your assurance and your reliable source of powerful data about your company?s operations and the general state of your business? assets.
4. Cloud-Based And Mobile Features
One of the major changes that the business landscape has seen over the past few years is the shift to the remote or mobile workforce. In managing equipment preventive maintenance, it is entirely common for workers to be assigned to different work sites. If this is true for your company, then make sure your equipment maintenance software comes with a mobile app or other similar cloud-based features.
Mobile and cloud-based features allow you and your workers to access your equipment maintenance software system no matter where they are or what computer or gadget they are using. Just don?t forget to check out the list of supported smartphones or gadgets to ensure compatibility.
Not all companies consider this as a need, but some may find it useful. If you belong to the latter group, then this will narrow down your choices significantly, as not all PM scheduling systems in the market have cloud and mobile capabilities.
5. Security
Last but definitely not the least, your equipment maintenance scheduling software should be secure. This is what separates sophisticated systems from less reliable ones. Some of the best systems use multi-layer security platforms to protect their users. These platforms are designed to authenticate users, encrypt data, protect user identity, and prevent unauthorized access to data. If you want to go the extra mile, look for software that uses industry standard encryption protocol for maximum protection.
Preventive maintenance is a crucial part of any business? operations if machinery and equipment are involved. If you take it seriously, it can extend the life cycle of all your assets. This only means one thing to you? more profits! Preventive maintenance also brings in more cost savings. It may seem like an outlay at first, having to spend for routine maintenance tasks for no reason at all, but in the long run, you?ll, be glad you did.
By deciding to invest in equipment maintenance software, you?re already halfway to better productivity and more profitability. But if you choose the right equipment maintenance partner, then it?s only really a matter of time.