Author: MaintenX

Why Work Order Management Is Top Priority for Facility Managers

For many facility managers, work order management is like the family junk drawer. It’s messy, disorganized, but functional enough to set aside. However, when it goes unchecked for enough years, by the time it starts to cause problems no one knows where to start. If you let this happen in your kitchen, it’s not a big deal. However, when you let your work order management process get out of hand, you’ll have a big mess to clean up sooner or later. 

 

On average, maintenance departments handle 45 or more work orders per week. Without a seamless management system, this can easily become overwhelming for your staff. In addition, with no work order management system, you cannot look at your maintenance trends over time. Your management process serves as an analytical tool for wrench time studies and much more, but only if it is in order. 

 

Work order management issues will inevitably affect your entire staff. That’s why it’s important to address them now so your maintenance team can work effectively and save your business money. Below are the steps to maximize performance through more effective work order management: 

 

Steps To Clean Up Your Work Order Management

 

  • Identify missing inventory, inaccurate records, and outdated service requests. The first step is to clear out the clutter within your work order management system. Oftentimes when work order management gets out of hand, the staff leaves old or outdated information because they’re overwhelmed. In order to create order from this chaos, you have to do an overhaul of your outdated system. 

  • Reorder your current work order list by priority, not time. Once you’ve eliminated or addressed outdated information within the system, you can reorder your work requests by urgency. Talk with your maintenance team to determine which repairs are necessary versus which can be put on the backburner for now. The goal is to eliminate all work orders from most to least urgent so your maintenance team can start fresh. 

 

  • Convert your work order management process to digital. If you are still using handwritten notes or emails for your work order management, it’s time for a change. MaintenX uses a fully automated work order management system to ensure that every request is addressed immediately. Our dispatch team receives the work order as soon as it is submitted, and we can send a team out within hours to address the problem. Communication issues are significantly reduced, leading to increased efficiency for both the business and maintenance team. 

 

  • Implement goals and standardize your work order processing. Managing work orders isn’t just about crossing tasks off a to-do list. You want to look at the big picture and understand how your work order management can impact facility efficiency and costs. By providing a direction for your maintenance team, you can see a greater reduction in costs and inefficiencies. 

 

According to Fiix data, you can increase asset performance by 50% when you organize your work order management. MaintenX can help you achieve these results with our automated work order management. We work with the finest maintenance specialists who will be dispatched to your location within hours of submission. 

Understanding the Benefits of Predictive Maintenance

Equipment maintenance can be both inconvenient and costly for any facility. When machinery is malfunctioning, the downtime hinders productivity and may even bring operations to a complete halt. That, coupled with the cost and headache involved in repairing or replacing the equipment, makes it a situation to avoid if at all possible. Thankfully it is possible to avoid the vast majority of reactive maintenance through the proper practice of predictive maintenance.

 

What exactly is predictive maintenance?

 

Predictive maintenance, also known as preventative maintenance, is the practice of scheduling regular checkups on facility equipment and performing small fixes over time in order to prevent major problems from arising down the road. By knowing the state of your equipment and doing maintenance on a regular basis, you will be able to catch potential problems such as wear, corrosion, and errors in operation before they become an emergency situation. If you have the right technicians, they will also be able to identify common problems with the exact equipment you use and know when components are reaching their end of life and when replacements and modifications are most necessary.

 

Benefits in time and money

 

The most notable benefit to predictive maintenance is the time that it saves for the facility. If you can choose when a certain machine is down for maintenance to replace parts, you will clearly choose times when it would not be in operation, unlike if an emergency situation arises. This saves both time and productivity for staff. There is also a cost benefit to setting up a predictive maintenance plan, as small fixes will always be cheaper than major repairs or replacing the entire piece of equipment. Additionally, this cost can be spread out over time, thereby making it much easier to budget for, especially because it is much more predictable.

 

Predictive maintenance is a must-do practice for any facility manager in order to save time and money and ensure the longevity of equipment. If you are unsure how to set up a good plan or need the right team of technicians to help you maintain equipment in the long term, we at MaintenX are here to help. For more information about our predictive maintenance plans and emergency repair services, please call us any time at (855) 751-0075.

What Is MaintenX’s Rapid Disaster Response?

Natural disasters are an unfortunate part of life, no matter where your business facility is based. Whether hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, tornadoes, or snowstorms, disasters can be majorly harmful to the operations and infrastructure of your facility. When the worst happens and disaster strikes, it is important to know who you can depend on to step in and help get you back on track. We at MaintenX, through our rapid disaster response service, are the reliable team you can count on to recover after a disaster and return to normal as quickly as possible.

 

Specific Facility Repairs and Restoration

 

When it comes to helping facilities get back on their feet after a disaster, we at MaintenX have you covered! During the course of the disaster, we can help by repairing and refueling generators, and performing emergency repairs to facility components. After the incident is over, we can be on site shortly after to help clean up any damages in and around the facility and get equipment and systems back online by performing any necessary repairs. Once you are back to normal, we can help you set up preventative maintenance plans and devise the right strategy to help you mitigate damages during the next disaster.

 

Community Outreach and Recovery

 

In addition to helping private companies and their facilities, we are also active in communities affected by natural disasters. In the wake of a storm or incident, we work alongside FEMA and Red Cross to help get their operations up and running for impacted communities. We also help repair homes and provide essential services to those caught up in the emergency circumstances of the natural disaster. Over the past few years, we’ve been active and on the ground in many hurricanes and major storms in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and the Midwest and plan to continue this outreach for many years to come.

 

The MaintenX rapid disaster response is an important aspect of our dedication to helping not only our customers, but whole communities when they need it most. To learn more about our emergency services and how we can assist your company in both good times and bad, please call us at (855) 751-0075.

What Is Quality Management?

Many factors can make or break a company, but one of the most important is quality. Whether making products or performing a service, excellence in execution is key for long-term success. After all, who would continue to buy from a company whose products and services are sub-par compared to other companies? Because of this, businesses should prioritize quality management to succeed.

 

Defining quality management

 

Quality management is the act of overseeing anything that is involved in the production of a product or execution of a service that contributes to an excellent end result. This involves both the components that go into making a product, the staff that oversees production, any formal tasks needed along the way, and customer service. Depending on the company, the specifics involved with day to day quality management will be different, but the overseeing of excellence from start to finish is absolutely essential to ensuring that the best quality possible goods and services are maintained.

 

What it means for your facility

 

If you are a facility manager, then you no doubt have a great understanding of quality management. The factors that might be involved in quality management for you might be the equipment that you use at your facility, the training and management of the staff that runs that equipment, and anything that might contribute to the health and morale of employees, such as ensuring that the air conditioning and plumbing systems are working properly. These are all things that are sometimes difficult to deal with, but it would be unacceptable to let quality dip.

 

At MaintenX, we offer services for maintaining all kinds of facility equipment. Whether you need a preventative maintenance plan set up to prevent complications from arising or emergency repairs performed at a moment’s notice, our team of expert technicians is here to help. To learn more about our maintenance services and how we can help you achieve top quality output, please call us today at (855) 751-0075.

How Your Facility Can Prepare for Earth Day 2021 (April 22)

Traditionally, Earth Day is when many people celebrate the planet by raising awareness of the environment and the importance of taking steps now to preserve it. With April 22 right around the corner, you may be asking yourself how you and your facility will be celebrating Earth Day this year. While there is no right way to observe the holiday, it can be a good time to prepare your facility now and use it to springboard into being more environmentally friendly moving forward.

 

Raise environmental awareness in the company.

 

The easiest way to celebrate Earth Day at your facility is to raise awareness of environmental issues. This can be done through e-mails, posters, activities – some companies even opt to host small seminars or workshops that address what industry leaders are doing to reduce energy consumption, recycle materials, and cut back on the amount of waste product generated. If you want to really drive points home and generate a buzz in the community, staging group activities among employees and departments and providing media coverage for them is worth considering as well.

 

Initiate new “green” policies.

 

Earth Day is also a good time to announce new policies to help your facility be more environmentally friendly. For example, you may have been considering switching to recycled paper products, installing low-flow toilets, or setting up recycling bins across your facility. If you can, it is also a good time to roll out any new equipment that will help your facility be more green. Energy-efficient equipment is always good to have, and Earth Day presents an excellent opportunity to announce the installation of such equipment.

 

If you need assistance installing any new equipment and setting up maintenance plans to ensure that they work well for your facility in the long term, we at MaintenX are here to help. We believe in both efficiency and environmental benefits and would be happy to help your facility achieve both. To learn more about our installation and maintenance services, please call us any time at (855) 751-0075.

Developing Your 2021 Emergency Maintenance Plan

Part of being a good facility manager means having an emergency plan at the ready should the worst happen to your facility. Although not all circumstances are predictable, if you have the basis for what to do in an emergency situation, such as vital equipment failure, facility system downtime, and natural disasters, you and everyone in the facility will be in a much better way. As the year goes on, it is always a good idea to tune the plan that you have and develop your 2021 emergency maintenance plan today.

 

Preparing for equipment and system failures

 

Even with the best maintenance, emergencies can still happen. Have a plan ready for when equipment breaks down unexpectedly. In preparing for such an occasion, it is a good idea to have a repair technician on standby, or work with a company that can be on site on a moment’s notice. It is also important to prepare your business workflows for interruptions and have contingency plans for if equipment is offline, especially until repairs are completed. 

 

Preparing for natural disasters

 

Depending on where in the country your facility is located, there are a number of natural disasters that could impact the operations of your facility. Whether it is a hurricane, which brings the risk of a power outage and flooding, earthquake, which could damage vital equipment, or fire, which could cause incredible damage to the entire facility, having a plan in place now will help you mitigate damages and recover from them. In general, backup generators, surge protectors, wind resistant windows and exteriors, and other relevant components are all worth researching and investing in.

 

Developing an emergency maintenance plan will save you cost and angst in the long term, so it is essential to come up with one now. If you need an expert maintenance team to help you fulfill your emergency plan, we at MaintenX are the right team for the job. To learn more about our facility maintenance services, including emergency repairs and preventative maintenance plans, please call us today at (855) 751-0075.

3 Reasons to Go Back to Technical School

You no doubt heard many times that the most successful route you could take as a young adult is to pursue a four-year university degree and use it to launch a career. While that is certainly a great option that brings success to many, it is not the only route. In fact, more and more young people today are instead pursuing technical school and finding long and successful careers as a result. If you’ve dismissed the idea of technical school or are toying with the idea of going, here are a few compelling reasons to go.

 

There is great demand for technical jobs.

 

Construction is booming in most parts of the country. With this expansion, technical jobs in plumbing, electrical, and similar fields are in great demand. In order to obtain these jobs, a degree from a technical school is necessary. If you learn these skills and demonstrate aptitude at them, it can be easy to obtain technical jobs and launch a long and successful career.

 

There is profit to be made in technical fields.

 

Not only are jobs plentiful for technical fields, but they also tend to pay well due to high demand. For example, if you have the skills to repair air conditioning units and live in Florida, there will always be steady income and those willing to pay for urgent repairs. 

 

There is job security involving technical skills. 

 

Finally, there will always be a demand for technical skills, meaning that job security certainly exists for those with the skills to be successful. People will always need places to live, indoor plumbing, electricity and, in most areas, air conditioning, so therefore there will always be some demand for those that work in these fields.

 

Technical school is an excellent way to obtain the skills and certifications that you need in order to be successful in technical fields such as electrical and plumbing. These skills are important in facility maintenance as well, which is what we specialize at MaintenX. Our technicians are all highly trained and are always at the ready to assist in any kind of facility project and maintenance job. To learn more about our skills and to inquire and potential career jobs in maintenance, please call us today at (855) 751-0075.

How to Better Prepare for Power Surges and Power Outages at Your Facility

Power outages are majorly detrimental to the functioning of any facility for a number of reasons. Not only can they grind production to a halt by halting equipment operation, but they can also produce a dangerous or uncomfortable environment for employees and customers who are inside when the air conditioning is offline. Even if the power comes back on right away, a phenomenon known as a power surge, there could be data lost that might set the facility back. These reasons and more are why you should prepare your facility for power surges and power outages and take steps now to prevent problems later.

 

Install a backup generator.

 

The most obvious, but also the most helpful, thing that you can do to prepare your facility for a power outage is to install a backup generator. If you have a backup generator in place, the power will naturally come back on as soon as it is lost and some even before power goes out across the main facility. If you are the manager of a large facility, it may be necessary to install multiple generators or one very powerful one in order to meet the power needs of the building.

 

Have the right equipment and a plan in place.

 

Even if the power comes back on right away, you still want to have surge protectors on important equipment in the facility. Most individual battery backup units have these and they can be built into the infrastructure of the outlets as well. Additionally, you should devise a plan now to ensure that everything will be working properly later. The best way to do this is to schedule preventative maintenance for backup generators and surge protecting equipment so that you can rest easy knowing that they won’t fail when you need them the most.

 

At MaintenX, we specialize in all aspects of facility maintenance and preventative maintenance plans. If you have any concerns about power outages, it is worth looking into and investing into now in order to protect you, your employees, and your facility later on. To learn more about our preventative maintenance plans and equipment, please call us today at (855) 751-0075.

Turning Preventative Care Into Profitability

If you are a facility manager, you are likely familiar with the concept of preventative maintenance. If you are not practicing preventative maintenance for pieces of equipment at your facility, you certainly should be. This kind of maintenance is not only perfect for preventing emergency situations from arising; it can also lead to greater profitability for your facility and your company overall.

 

Preventative care also prevents a loss in profit.

 

The main goal of preventative maintenance is to help ensure that important equipment and facility systems don’t break down, especially at pivotal times. This is accomplished by performing small fixes and part replacements over time and checking the equipment and systems at regular intervals to notice and take care of potential issues early. When parts of the facility fail, it can lead to downtime in the facility, which is majorly detrimental to profitability. If people are unable to do their work, or are forced to work in a less efficient way, profitability will clearly be impacted. If shutdowns can be prevented, however, this risk will be all but eliminated. 

 

Preventative care saves costs in the long run.

 

While there is a cost to preventative maintenance care, it is significantly less than emergency repairs. Major repairs are expensive and tend to be even more costly if they are needed urgently. Preventative maintenance is not only cheaper, but also is spread out over time and therefore easier to budget for and less impactful on a long-term basis. In addition, machinery that is well kept will run more efficiently, consuming less electricity and accomplishing tasks faster. This also will improve profitability, both by getting work done quicker and in saving on energy costs. Maximizing profitability means minimizing company costs and is another major benefit to preventative maintenance.

 

We at MaintenX specialize in preventive maintenance in all of its aspects and have helped out companies and facilities across the state and country set up the perfect plans for them. We would be happy to help you as well and set you on the road to greater profitability. To learn more about the services that we offer and how we can serve your facility today, please call us at (855) 751-0075.

Measuring Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

In the manufacturing industry, there is a standard for how to best calculate and measure productivity known as the overall equipment effectiveness, or OEE. It is the single best way to figure out how productive your facility is, particularly as it pertains to how equipment is running. Understanding how to calculate OEE will help you make future plans on how to make your facility run even better and lead to greater profitability.

 

What factors play into OEE?

 

One of the most important factors that plays into measuring OEE is the actual time that employees spend being productive. If production is moving along at the correct pace, it is a good thing and this time should be recorded. Of course, things don’t always go smoothly, which is why it’s important to record stoppages in production and events that impact performance. Some stops, such as employee breaks, are planned, but mechanical failures, power surges, and other unplanned factors cut into productivity and thereby lower OEE. The quality of production should be accounted for as well, as having to take time to correct mistakes and produce less will impact OEE negatively.

 

How to best calculate OEE.

The simplest way to calculate OEE is to calculate the ideal time production would be running, in a perfect world, and divide it by the actual time spent on production. This measurement, however, won’t break down everything that you need in order to correct issues with OEE. Instead, all of the above factors should be multiplied together, factoring in any issues with production, equipment maintenance, and everything else. This will not only give you a more accurate reading on your facility’s OEE, but will also make apparent where the problems in the facility lie and therefore allow you to correct them.

 

If your OEE problems are centered around equipment not running efficiently or time needing to be taken for maintenance, now is the time to invest in a preventative maintenance plan. We at MaintenX specialize in this kind of facility care and would be happy to work with you to limit issues with production and have your facility be as productive as it can be. For more information about our services, please call us any time at (855) 751-0075.