April 18, 2012
Preventive Maintenance Software
And your maintenance staff: protecting your most valuable assets
Ask any CEO what he considers to be his most valuable assets, and more often than not the reply will be, “My people”. Successful companies realize the investment they have in their employees and credit them for the contributions they make daily to ensure the continued growth of the business.
As well, great companies take necessary steps to keep their workforce updated in skills necessary to compete in today’s marketplace. Training seminars in the latest Safety, Production or Maintenance practices, or on-the-job Cross-Training all contribute to the overall education and productivity of their employees
The focus of this article is on the value to the organization of a good Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) and, the company’s “most valuable of the most valuable”, the Maintenance Staff.
So, ask yourself: ‘What steps have I taken to keep my maintenance employee job skills current?’ As you know, as an aide from corporate guidelines, many regulatory agencies require manufacturers to keep their employees up-to-date on various aspects of their job. A good example is the Welding profession. If your company produces fabrications that are welded, periodic Pressure Vessel Welding Certification is required. The same holds true for Vertical and Structural Welding standards. And, how about:
- Heavy Equipment Operation
- Aerial Platform Training
- Asbestos Awareness
- Emergency Water Procedures
- Lock Out/Tag Out
- OSHA Compliance Standards
- Ladders & Scaffolds
- Fall Protection Harness Use
- Radiation Awareness
The first step in protecting your maintenance assets is identifying the training required (either by your company or a regulatory agency like the EPA) to keep staff current. These programs were identified before you started using a CMMS – now it’s time to let your preventive maintenance software manage your needs and provide a critical check against missing a critical update for one or more employees.
An effective CMMS, or preventive maintenance software package, is one that not only helps you manage your Production Assets, but one that provides easy-to-use tools to keep your People Assets current. In fact, one of the reasons we chose the MAPCON preventive maintenance software system was its "Special Number" Table.
Using this unique feature, we were able to not only identify mandatory training needs and participation in safety programs, but a multitude of payroll and attendance issues were also identified. Employee participation in these programs, as well as important payroll and attendance entries, are easily managed from the MAPCON Timecard screen. The program allows you to charge time to Work Orders and record time spent being trained via a ‘Special Number’ assigned to that program. This information is automatically then saved to the employee’s Human Resources record and can be reported on using MAPCON’s preventive maintenance software full-functioned Report Generator.
When features like a Special Number table are incorporated into a preventive maintenance software package along with a Report Generator – one that allows the System Manager to self-manage the Menu system – everyone wins. Custom reports can be created (above the 200+ canned reports offered) and placed on menus where people who need to know can quickly find up-to-the-minute information. Managing your employee training records in your CMMS preventive maintenance software eliminates duplication, and you don’t have to rely on someone else (e.g. Data Center, IT, Help Desk) to get information that may be needed in a hurry.
Imagine the kind of questions can be answered with this feature!
- “Which Pipefitters are authorized to operate a Mobile Crane?”
- “Are the Millwrights current on their DC Control training?”
- “Which Clerks have not been trained in the recent OTR Tie-Down Policy?”
- “Do we have a qualified Asbestos Removal technician?”
- “When was Employee 1 trained in Lock Out/Tag Out?” (Answers to questions like this one can quickly satisfy an OSHA or Safety Department accident investigation).
As you continue to visit this Maintenance Blog, you’ll be reminded “the value of CMMS lies not in what you put into it, but what you can get out of it.” Applications such as MAPCON’s preventive maintenance software offer the user the ability to focus on employee needs as well as protecting plant equipment take the entire process one step closer to Total Asset Management. After all, didn’t we acknowledge that “Our People” are the company’s most valuable asset?