Maintenance is about reducing risk. Your maintenance team is responsible for decreasing the risk of equipment failure, employee injury, compliance audit issues, and so much more. When you’re a maintenance worker, you’re a first responder when things go wrong. Prepare for emergencies with CMMS. See also: Three Lessons for Maintenance Managers from Hurricane Harvey.
This point hit home for me after talking with Gary, an MPulse customer and maintenance director for a large manufacturing company with several locations across the United States.
One of those facilities had experienced a natural disaster—a flood. His team had less than 24 hours to batten down the hatches and secure the site for record rainfall. If you are building the program from scratch, start with the fundamentals of facility maintenance.
“You never think it’s going to happen to you,” he told me. “We were lucky to have a little prep time, because usually you don’t. And I realized what we’ve been preparing for all along.”
CMMS Software Can Help You Prepare
It shouldn’t take a flood to remind us how important it is to prepare for emergencies and natural disasters. Luckily, maintenance teams have a crucial tool in CMMS software.
CMMS software can help you…
- Create an emergency plan with checklists
- Define the roles and responsibilities of each staff person
- Ensure safety measures are in place
- Manage resources, supplies, and personnel
- Store documents and other information, including details for insurance purposes
- Identify where things are located, including emergency supplies
- Access information remotely.
It’s impossible to completely remove risk from an organization, but the combination of CMMS software and an emergency plan is the best way to prepare for when things go wrong. See also: Why Emergency Generator Maintenance Is Required for Reliable Power and Are You Prepared for Emergency Management?.
Recovery is Important Too
In Gary’s case, his team knew what to do before the storm hit, and they likely prevented more damage. Plus, their MPulse CMMS data was vital during the recovery period—helping the team get things up and running much faster.
“We had our emergency inspection checklists in the software, so our team hit the ground running,” Gary said. “Plus, we had all the vendor details and part information right at our fingertips, which helped us get the damaged equipment fixed much faster.”
Unfortunately, some of the company’s equipment was damaged beyond repair. Gary pulled data from his CMMS software to help with the company’s insurance claims. When the company replaced the damaged equipment, Gary’s team set up asset records right away in their MPulse Software, Inc.
“We want to protect our investments,” Gary said. “Plus, now we understand how those small things make a big difference when things go wrong.”
It shouldn’t take an emergency to realize the importance of proactive planning. Don’t wait for a disaster to strike. CMMS software can help you reduce your risk when speed is of the essence. Plus, you can give yourself an advantage during recovery with the safe storage of critical information.
How has your organization used CMMS software for emergency preparation? Leave a comment or contact us. We can all learn from Gary—and each other.
