It’s the new year, which means it’s time to start fresh with your maintenance management plan. If you’re like many small to mid-sized businesses, you keep a running tab of maintenance services in your backlog that are planned to one day be addressed. The problem is, “one day” seems to never come, while your backlog gets bigger and more complex.
If you want a better way to handle your maintenance backlog, here are some tips to help you get organized in the new year:
Start with essential maintenance
The new year often sparks inspiration for new operational procedures or productions, but maintenance should come first at your facility. Your business can’t function properly until maintenance issues are addressed, even if they aren’t the most glamorous or exciting plans for the new year. Begin by knocking out your most important tasks from the backlog, such as major repairs or services that have been put on the backburner for more than a few months.
Prioritize smaller projects
Once you’ve cleaned up your facility’s more pressing maintenance issues, you can begin prioritizing and clearing out your current backlog. The goal should be to reduce maintenance planning to 2-3 weeks out with a plan to accomplish as many tasks per week as you add.
Revamp your work order system
A lot of backlog problems occur because work orders are poorly organized, are sent incompletely, or are not given to the maintenance team in a streamlined process. If you want to keep a clean backlog once you’ve organized it, make sure employees know how to submit maintenance requests and that they give all the necessary information for a technician to use when dispatched.
The backlog should be a tool for your maintenance department to keep your facility in proper working order. However, it only works if you use it to your advantage and prioritize preventative repairs over run-to-fail maintenance. When your backlog is filled with preventative care and minor services for your maintenance team to handle on a daily basis, you can expect fewer emergency services and a better bottom line by the end of the year.
MaintenX can help you make maintenance servicing easier with our independent teams and advanced work order management system. To learn more about how MaintenX handles work orders for a better customer experience, contact us today!
