“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”Â
– Benjamin Franklin
A well-known adage that emphasizes the value of foresight. Adopting a preventive approach rather than a reactive one is a wise strategy for any business.
Preventative maintenance (PM) involves scheduled and regular maintenance, inspection, and testing of equipment or infrastructure to minimize unplanned downtime. This typically entails lubrication, repairs, replacements, and other activities, which are carried out based on either usage-based or calendar-based conditions.
Ineffective maintenance can lead to high production downtime, damaged machinery, callout fees, overtime, and other negative consequences. However, reports claim that 55% of maintenance work orders in the US still rely on reactive maintenance. Taking a reactive approach will not only result in costly downtime but also reduce the lifespan of assets, leading to supply chain issues and long-term losses for the business.
So, field service businesses that either sell or service equipment, infrastructure, or heavy machinery need to implement an effective preventive maintenance strategy into their system. This, in turn, could lead to an improved customer experience and potentially increase sales.
In this article, we’ll cover everything from different types of preventative maintenance to how a field service management platform can make the process hassle-free.
Different Types of Preventative Maintenance
It is vital for businesses to understand the different ways of implementing a maintenance strategy. Although each asset or equipment requires a different approach to preventative maintenance based on its complexity, here are a few concepts that form the base of setting up a successful preventative maintenance routine.
1. Periodic Maintenance
Based on the guidelines provided by the manufacturer, assets are scheduled for maintenance activities at periodic intervals. This is probably the simplest and the most commonly adopted type of asset maintenance.
2. Predictive Maintenance
Sensors are attached to the assets and the data derived from them are monitored. And, when there is a performance anomaly, a work order is created and maintenance activity is scheduled.
3. Prescriptive Maintenance
Advanced analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and other advanced software help study the condition of the assets and machinery to aid in prescriptive maintenance. This method predicts and gives an ETA for machinery failure that allows the team to put together an action plan.
Preventative Maintenance and Field Service Management Platforms
Field service businesses that use outdated tools like spreadsheets and online forms face an array of challenges ranging from missed maintenance schedules to mismanaged assets. A field service management platform can make the entire process efficient and hassle-free. A well-equipped field service management solution must be adept at handling multiple maintenance strategies and catering to the unique business needs of service providers.
Managing Preventative Maintenance Work Orders with Zuper
A flexible FSM platform, such as Zuper, is capable of handling complex preventative maintenance requirements at ease, allowing businesses to tailor custom processes easily.
1. Manage assets effectively
Zuper enables users to manage assets by setting up planned preventive maintenance (PPM) work orders within customer contracts. This helps the service providers by auto-generating preventative maintenance work orders without them having to worry about it.
2. Customize work orders easily
With Zuper, preventative maintenance work orders can be customized to fit the needs of a particular asset. It is possible to create different PM strategies for different assets based on their usage conditions.
3. Manage recurring maintenance like a pro
Forget the trouble of creating maintenance work orders from scratch every time, Zuper creates recurring PM work orders automatically. What’s more, it allows businesses to customize them (dates, service locations, and more) as and when required.
4. Dispatch technicians on time every time
With Zuper’s inbuilt smart scheduling system, maintenance requests can be auto-scheduled and fulfilled on time. Zuper’s intelligent dispatch board helps find the right service tech in a matter of minutes by weighing in a variety of parameters ranging from the skill set of the technician to their location proximity.
5. Keep stakeholders in the loop always
With Zuper by your side, you can keep all your internal and external stakeholders up-to-date about the maintenance process and relevant updates instantly. What’s more, Zuper Mobile App relieves you of manually notifying your technician of their schedules for the day and equips them with all the necessary information.
6. Simplify invoicing and payments
By co-relating your planned preventative maintenance activities with customer accounts and contracts, the process of calculating service charges, labor costs, warranty information, and even after-sales service becomes a breeze.
7. Keep your service delivery consistent
No matter how experienced your service technician is, you can ensure that all your maintenance activities are followed to the tee with Zuper’s customizable work order checklists. These checklists can be used to make a task mandatory, ensure consistency, and even fetch customer signatures.
Level Up Your Preventative Maintenance Game Today
To ensure asset-owning clients experience a top-quality service, businesses must utilize cutting-edge field service management tools to tailor their preventative maintenance strategies. Such proactive approaches guarantee success and make sure no compromises are made when it comes to the quality of your service.
Zuper, with its advanced functionalities, handles preventative maintenance like a pro. If you would like to get to know more about how Zuper can make your maintenance process effortless and help scale your business, sign up for a free trial today and see Zuper in action.
