One of the biggest time-waster that a maintenance person can have in their day is getting bogged down with telephone calls. They get them from all over the place. Some are people telling them to fix this or fix that, others can be contractors wondering where their next task will be. It might even be the boss looking for some kind of update or report on last weeks jobs. No matter the source, the telephone can be a big disruption in an otherwise productive day for a facility maintenance person.
Telephone Etiquette
Once you get on the phone, it's hard to hang up on someone. You don't want to be rude, but you've said what you needed to say about whatever the person was calling about and now they want to make small chat. That's nice when you have tons of time, but what about when your workload is piling up on you? It's quite a dilemma, be rude or see your day waste away.
One of Toby Keith's songs includes these lyrics:
I'm just sittin' 'round waitin' on a telephone call
After water pipe exploded in the living room wall
If your washer and drying in need of repair
You know the handyman's waiting'
And he'll be right there
Twenty-four hours
Seven days a week
If it's gettin' clogged up or maybe startin' to leak
Just ring up my number, baby give me a try
You know I got all the tools
Wouldn't it be nice if it was that way, where you can just have nothing to do, sitting around for a phone call of your next project. Unfortunately, your maintenance work day doesn't quite happen like this. It's more of a race from start to finish, trying to make sure you remember everything that was asked of you, trying to keep notes and get every thing and everyone coordinated to get things done.
Minimize Telephone Calls
Instead of having individuals waiting for a phone call, you could use maintenance work order software that not only gives individuals a way to report work needed, but also helps you track work so you can be proactive. You will know what each person is doing, and individuals can be assigned tasks further improving on the process. You can also have them doing routine maintenance work that will keep many problems from happening.
So, instead of paying individuals to sit around waiting for a phone call, or even worse, having your maintenance person not be able do their job because they get constantly interrupted, know how many maintenance individuals are needed because the software helps you track the work. That way you can maximize your maintenance budget and increase your profits.
Interested in changing from a system of waitin' on a telephone call to using software? Just contact us and let's talk.
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