Maintenance management is not easy. You are being flooded with service requests. The controlling authorities are constantly watching you. And what's more, you need to tackle the lack of employees. But we got your back! Read how to relieve some of the work pressure.
What challenges do maintenance managers face most often today?
1) Lack of experienced people
The technical services industry has long struggled with a shortage of workers. Seasoned technicians are scarce - and many are close to retirement. And what's worse, the younger generation is not that attracted to service professions. Even if a young technician does join the team, he or she often leaves soon after. The result is an overworked and demotivated team.
What can you do about it?
Help your newcomers with their first steps at work. Provide them with high-quality training and motivate them to stay.
Technology can make the employee training easier. Instead of a tired worker, who is too busy and not too keen to train new colleagues, the Lumnio system can do the teaching. In Lumnio, the employees find comprehensible work instructions and documentation. And when they are clueless during a call-out, Lumnio connects them via interactive video call to a dispatcher who will help them.
After all, newcomer motivation is not only about the salary anymore. Good workplace relationships and an opportunity to put one's knowledge into practice can help, too.
2) Lack of time
When there aren't enough technicians, there's no one to do the job. The requests are piling up, and your team members can't keep up the pace. And more often than not, there is chaos in the organization that complicates things even more. The documentation is a mess; people forget important tasks - and it all results in very long downtimes.
What can you do about it?
Bring an order to your work. It's not going to happen overnight, but the standardization and digitization of processes can make the situation much easier. When everybody knows what to do and when, you get rid of unnecessary delays, and the work gets more effective.
For digitization, maintenance software systems can prove useful. In the Lumnio system, for instance, you can effortlessly create a knowledge base for your employees. It will serve as a valuable storage for standardized work instructions and tech documentation. The workers in the field can easily access it and find important information whenever needed.
Tip! Speed up the work by better task delegation. Always assign a call-out to the technician located in the closest proximity to the spot. Don't wait until your most experienced worker is available. With manuals and tech documentation stored in Lumnio, even a newcomer can handle the work. And as a precaution, he always has remote support - workers in the control room, constantly prepared to give him further instructions or to send him manuals.
3) Mistakes and repeated call-outs complicate things
And there is yet another inconvenience related to the organisational chaos - errors and failed repairs. Because of them, the technicians need to travel to the location repeatedly, which costs you both money and time.
What can you do about it?
Standardized workflows and operating instructions stored in the system can prove useful even in this case. Furthermore, the assistance of more skilled colleagues can help your employees a lot. In Lumnio, for example, your controller can share both documents and manual drawings during a video call with the technicians to further direct them. In the course of a service call, it is also possible to take photos and videos to prove to the customer (and the service manager, for that matter) the work has been done properly.
4) Safety instructions and preventive measures
Safety is an essential topic for every service manager. Not only are you responsible for technical checks of the machinery but also for the safety of your employees, who often work in demanding conditions. You don't want the machinery to break down too often, and you don't want anyone to get hurt during work either. And everything is monitored closely by both your management and the controlling authorities. Therefore, prevention plays a crucial role in this field of expertise.
What can you do about it?
Create binding safety regulations for your technicians' work. Even regular inspections should have clear and defined rules. That way, your staff won't forget anything. Write down what machinery needs to get checked and how often. Afterwards, hand the to-do list to your service technicians so they can use it as a basis for their work. We also recommend that you keep records of each inspection as evidence for future reference.
In the Lumnio app, you can create such a to-do list in a few clicks. Additionally, the system generates an editable work report during each service call so the technician doesn't have to do much paperwork.
