Necessary Features for Maintenance Software to Overcome Challenges posed by COVID-19

The changes that this COVID-19 blockade will set in motion in every sector are going to be so intense that at this point it’s impossible to even predict them. Especially the industrial sector will see industrialists persevering in the name of getting more productivity on their plate every day.

Exploring new options for facilities management is something every name in the game will do in order to get a headstart from the competitors. As the gears will start to turn again, we’ll see more facility managers adopting facility maintenance software even if it comes at the price of taking another hit at the balance sheet which already has suffered enough.

For ensuring that the resources are used as efficiently as they could be, facility maintenance software must have some key features:

1. Properly Detailed Work Orders:

Another feature that is critical to have in your facility maintenance software is the ability to include more information in work orders. In primitive management systems, work orders used to carry less information which led to communication gaps and hence diminished efficiency.

But now, CMMS software packages have the ability to include minute details like detailed instructions, step-to-step checklists, manuals and schematics, tools required, site patterns, and work order histories.

Due to this standardization of instruction, dealing with a specific problem will be the same throughout the facility and not differ like before. Also, newer members will get to learn more swiftly. This learning will be a requirement for technicians once all the facilities start to function again after lockdowns due to COVID-19 end.

Also with slowed and strained supply chains, inventory management becomes more crucial than ever. Through efficient CMMS software, you can manage your inventory and make the best out of it even during these hard times of impeded supply chains.

2. Preventing Problems Preventive Maintenance:

It’s not a new idea that preventing a problem always takes less than fixing it. A CMMS software will be considered incomplete without the feature of preventive maintenance programs.

It makes the life of the facility manager easier by slashing unpredictability of having to maintain the facility when it fails any time by its choice. It makes operations predictable and orderly.

Due to being less problem-prone than the traditional maintenance preventive maintenance offers improved productivity and longer asset life. Apart from this, it decreases downtime and lets you manage your inventory better.

With the pandemic staring in our faces, the cost-cutting will happen first from maintenance departments before other departments are even touched. So, with fewer resources a CMMS software with a reliable preventive maintenance program will save the day.

3. Accessible Threat Request Portals:

The traditional methods of threat reporting are either the way that facilities keep deteriorating until the problems are too big to handle or have a periodic demand of risk-check technicians that engrosses more time and money than it should.

Instead, your maintenance software should have a threat reporting request portal that is accessible to everyone in the facility. This makes the constant demand of technicians go away which saves money and increases uptime. But, extreme care must be taken in the implementation by giving CMMS software training to everyone in the facility.

These portals should also have some necessary data fields while issuing requests for threats so that the data is received correctly and proper work orders can be created to deal with it.

These features must be used in a way that you can identify which request is a priority and which is not. With COVID-19, not only machine and tool damage will be prioritized but health issues and safety tools will also become a priority.

The struggles after COVID-19 won’t be pieces of cake. But, with the right tools and software like a worthwhile CMMS software at your disposal, it will be slightly easier to survive through it.

About the Author

Nitin is a voracious reader and a passionate writer. Having worked with numerous HR mobile app companies and MNCs across the world, he really has very to the point and enthralling insights about the industry and the people working in them. Nitin writes about technology and how it impacts various industries such as pharma, hospitality, travel, and many others as well.