In short, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is how much an asset costs from the time of purchase, throughout the course of its lifetime. This includes its original purchase price and all expenses incurred from start to finish including:   

• Acquisition Cost – An asset’s overall purchase price 
• Operation Costs – Training, operating, utility 
• Maintenance Costs – Repairs and upkeep (both parts and labor)  
• Downtime Costs – Financial loses as a result of asset downtime  
• Resale Value – Current value of an asset retains after a certain amount of time and usage  

As a Facility Maintenance Manager, you always have a lot going on. From organizing all of your technicians, to capital planning, to managing parts and inventory, to analyzing reports, and more you have a lot on your plate at all times. It’s critical that you stay organized and on track if you want to keep your facility running safely and efficiently, not to mention if you want to maintain a high maintenance ROI.

We’ve been writing blog articles about why you need a CMMS, how to use a CMMS, and updates to our CMMS for many years now but we realized something: we’ve never written one explaining what a CMMS actually is!

If you don’t have a maintenance management system, this will be helpful article for you to learn what they are and what they can do. Even if you’re already using a CMMS in your facility, there’s always room to brush up on your CMMS knowledge. 

When it comes to implementing a CMMS program, there has to be a balance between a robust system and a user-friendly program. What do those two things mean, you might be asking?

For years, many healthcare facilities have implemented the use of visitor passes. These passes keep up with who is visiting the facility whether it is a patient's family or friends, a vendor, a visiting doctor, a contractor, or anyone at all who needs to be there.

Not everyone is staying at a resort that's as remote as the Stanley Hotel in Colorado, which we all know from the movie, The Shining. However, any maintenance department, whether it's for a hotel or a resort, has to prepare for the winter.

Whether you run a facility for a small lawn care business or a huge bottling and packaging plant, proper equipment maintenance is a key factor in preventing accidents on the job. Here are a few ways that you can ensure that your facility is closer to being accident free:

In March of 2015, a maintenance worker was killed while working at a furniture manufacturing plant's frame shop.