Enjoying Better Technology

Understanding Equipment Up Time Obstacles And Their Effects

23 September 2017

Riley Garrett

Customer support representatives will continue to nod, smile, and fish for more details when someone says "it's broke!", but technology leaders and tech early adopters need a more nuanced, engaged approach to stay on top. Understanding the potential applications, real failures, and recovery potential takes a level of hands of, but eyes on management that few systems can pull off without dumping piles of data that may as well be in Latin. Here are a few details to help you understand the big picture and its many small snapshots, along with tool set information to find the right management system.

The Supply Chain Of Failed Machines

What are the costs of a failed device? Measuring the lost potential for sales or productivity is a science in its own right, but that final level of failure is the reason to keep an eye things in the first place. How much does it cost to prevent or repair a problem?

The cost of maintenance options begins at the reporting level. Who is trained to know when a problem occurs? The most drastic, obvious problems won't need an expert to identify failure, but what if there's a drive on its last legs that delivers files slower than usual? What if it's the network causing slow performance? Which part of the network?

These more subtle problems require training to identify, so you'll need a diagnostics professional. That's a training cost, offset only by having a technician who has the experience. That experience may come with higher salary expectations.

What if you decide to outsource that repair? The cost of the technician needs to be pinned down for future repairs, and should be bound to either hourly, flat rate, or service plan payment status for easier tracking.

Once you have someone working on the actual repairs, how much does each part of the repair or maintenance process cost? Accurate maintenance needs accurate tools, so it's best to have a list of each tool and replacement part used whether the maintenance is internal or third-party.

Along with the price of each component, what is the expected lifetime of the replacement part? If it's just a repair, what does that say about the rest of the device's lifecycle? Knowing the "health" of a system and its ability to change during maintenance is a tracking task that can't be done with a spreadsheet alone.

Answer These Questions With Management Tools

The easiest way to answer all of the previous questions is to have an equipment maintenance management system that allows flexible entry of anything in the maintenance process. A flow chart of repairs tied to an inventory of items is just the start, since different leadership and even personality types need a different viewing angle.

Along with multiple inputs, the reports must be scalable for different parts of the productivity, management, and senior leadership ladders. A large overview is best for proving the "it works!" argument in a board room meeting, but a tech-savvy board of directors may want to microanalyze without micromanaging. 

The ability to peek a bit further and get into the shoes of a technician on the floor can help with making major supply ordering decisions or choosing whether or not to continue with a major vendor, all without scaring off an otherwise competent technician who needs to continue working at capacity--not overthinking and freaking out when leadership arrives!

Contact an equipment maintenance services professional to discuss a management platform that can tick every box of your tech leadership information needs.

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