Often, maintenance department managers are put on the spot when it comes to budget cuts, reducing downtime and overhead. They can be left feeling not as important as other departments even though the maintenance department is integral to the company running smoothly.
There is a way to communicate in "maintenance speak" to get your needs across better. CMMS is the perfect tool to help convey important messages as to what is needed and how to plan for it properly.
One of the ways to get your needs better understood is by using something better understood than "maintenance speak". This means that you have to convey what is needed in terms that are favorable to the decision makers in your company. For instance, in talking like a maintenance department manager, you may say things like, “I only have 10 guys working for me and the workload is about 100 tasks a day.” Now this is a rudimentary example but the point is, it is better to use phrases and verbiage that “speaks” to the ones in charge.
Instead of stating your number of workers and how short you are, use hard data to showcase what you need. Using your data without context doesn’t have the same significance as using it within context. For instance, you must relate it, frame it, or compare it in a way such as “I have 10 employees and over 900 labor hours that need to be done in seven days.” This puts the information in context and keeps it out of the casual tone that some managers or owners find off-putting. It also gives hard data driven information.
So, how do you teach the people in charge maintenance speak? You do it by giving them maintenance information via CMMS. Information is the presentation of data which is relevant, precise and accurately framed in a context that is readily understandable by the intended target.
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CMMS is the perfect translator from "maintenance speak" to hard data driven information. All of your tasks can quickly be emailed in a report showing how overwhelmed your department is. When it comes time to fix the HVAC or a boiler, the proof of how much has been spent, life span, value is all readily available with a click of a button. If you are trying to run your maintenance department without the help of a CMMS, you are doing yourself and your staff a great disservice.