A system of routine, scheduled preventive maintenance – one that tracks and executes the recommended maintenance requirements for each piece of premise equipment – is always preferred over merely performing unscheduled fix-it routines on malfunctioning equipment. A preventative maintenance is a program should include equipment servicing plans that make the best use of internal labor and maintenance contractors at optimal cost.

For a facilities manager, a preventive maintenance plan helps to ensure strong and reliable performance from premise equipment throughout the lifetime of each piece. The best maintenance approach for any piece of commercial equipment, from fire alarm systems to elevators, is one that emphasizes a routine maintenance plan – one that is planned, scheduled, managed, tracked and recorded. Computerized Maintenance Management Software titles (or CMMS applications), have become the new standard for managing preventive maintenance tasks and labor for equipment in medium to large organizations.

Through the use of software applications, a facilities manager can build an enterprise-wide preventive maintenance program that ensures productive equipment life and keeps operating costs at a minimum. At the same time, most facilities management software applications will allow the manager to build a database of responsible staff members or outside contractors that can be assigned to any given preventive maintenance task. Some software packages, such as PropertyTrak, will better allow the facilities manager to contract with and maintain relationships with outside maintenance vendors as they would with a professional contact management system.

Although the needs of each facilities manager are always unique, a competent CMMS application should allow the manager to set up and perform equipment maintenance tracking, produce labor assignments for each asset, make use of calendar functions, and create and file reports after the maintenance assignments are completed.

Common Features and Benefits of Facilities Management Software Applications:
· Allows you to easily create tasks and assign them to staff members or vendors
· Create tasks that are one-time activities or that are recurring
· Oversee equipment and systems to ensure all are at peak operating efficiency
· Ensure that all equipment is maintained according to manufacturer guidelines
· Maintenance calendar allows a facilities manager to review all preventive tasks
· Create and assign work orders for any future date
· Collect feedback on finished maintenance jobs
· Check and manage resource availability
· Create an inventory tracking system for part reorders
· Generate equipment-specific notes for staff members
· Set up and send alerts for pending preventive maintenance tasks
· Search for specific work orders and review or change details
· Provide at-a-glance analysis of preventive maintenance work loads
· Adjust workloads or resources for a given period

When the facilities manager can plan, schedule and assign labor to preventive maintenance tasks – as well as manage multiple tasks and track progress – the efficiency gained returns to the organization in terms of saved time, lowered labor costs, and lower operational costs. Please contact PropertyTrak if you are interest in a facilities management software solution.