These days, it’s more important than ever to keep your operations as smooth as possible. Part of operational efficiency comes from having the right tracking and maintenance software implemented by the organization. One of the best software items to have in a competitive industry is asset maintenance software. The right software keeps all your company assets on that side of the balance sheet for as long as possible. In addition, asset maintenance software alleviates the painful manual process that is wrought with errors and inefficiencies.
The Benefits of Using Asset Maintenance Software
When implementing asset maintenance software, you first must build a centralized database of all the company’s assets. Meaning all of the assets, from the computers and laptops in an office to the factory equipment, as well as microscopes in a lab. Asset maintenance software can benefit any industry; as long as your company has assets to track, the software will have a major return on investment.
Equipment, unfortunately, has a limited lifespan. Asset maintenance software can, at least, predict when your equipment is about to meet the end. You can then get ahead before employees start bombarding you with requests for new equipment. In addition, you can recycle old employee laptops, upgrade servers, and maintain a level of safety with heavy equipment and machinery, all because you can track their lifespan digitally. Combining lifespan predictability with a proper service and maintenance schedule will help to reduce maintenance costs overall.
Not only does asset maintenance software predict equipment lifespan but helps with asset utilization. The software ensures that every asset is working and being used efficiently. Asset utilization will reduce the unnecessary costs of buying too much equipment. You’ll already have a reserved piece of equipment ready to be used, fully functional, and still within its proper lifespan. The finance teams will also be able to use this tool as a cross-reference point for budgeting, forecasting, and confirming the total assets, at least from an accounting perspective.
What to Expect with Asset Maintenance Software
There is a plethora of features that come with asset maintenance software. The initial setup will be a project itself, as every asset, from desk to forge, will be included in the database that’s being built. However, categorizing these assets into subcategories will be easy. Making a straightforward process to find a specific item or group of items.
Asset maintenance software becomes a corporate internal inventory management system. The process improves audits that may come along, whether internal or external. All the assets will be accounted for in this one asset maintenance software system. Not only can every piece be tracked, but it can also be assigned to employees in certain situations. For example, if an employee is given a smartphone and laptop as part of their benefits, tasks can be assigned to them.
In addition, the employee can sign documentation about treating the hardware properly and being responsible for the care of the hardware. Signatures will cover you in case of damage or other issues and digitally save it next to the respective asset.
This process will also help employees who need to submit tickets and ensure it gets to the right department. For example, if the tech department needs to repair an asset like a desk, table, or lamp. The ticket will be processed through a work order management feature within the system. Work orders can help with preventative maintenance, produce reporting, and analysis to see if there are too many requests for repairs. Also, maintenance on a specific set of items or one major asset.
Data and information from asset maintenance software allow companies to take a proactive approach to switch vendors, get replacements faster, and ultimately allow the business to flow smoothly without interruption. The software will also prevent theft by assigning a location to the assets. Another benefit to asset tracking is during internal audits. The audit is not consumed by searching for items. Instead, audits primarily focus on ensuring that assets are in the correct location.
You can also set reminders and timers on all assets entered into the system for when they need to be checked, serviced, maintained, or disposed of. Alerts and notifications provide you with a way to keep healthy and workable asset maintenance schedules. Schedules continue the mission forward for overall operational efficiency.
How to Choose the Right Asset Maintenance Software
As you already know, any company can benefit from asset maintenance software. Once you have invested, you must integrate it with your current system. For example, you could have a communication system such as a chat or email tool or something more complicated like an ERP. Either way, you want to work with asset maintenance software that is compatible.
There are also software options catered to specific industries, so you’ll want to find software that may be better for your office management. Or, if you run a more industrial business, something built for that industry. Try to go with something other than a software system that claims to work with any business. Aim for software as compatible with your industry as possible, and then work on customizing it to your specific needs.
Best Practices when Implementing your Asset Maintenance Software
You may have a tracker somewhere or even an older internal inventory system. However, it’s always a good idea to start with fresh data and an initial intake with a new system. Then, feel free to compare the new data with older data, differentiate the discrepancies after the fact, and investigate later. Now is the chance to start off with the correct data.
Then, unless your business has free IT resources, you want to have the new software installed professionally because it’s a very active system. This means that it will be used often and needs to be set up fast and accurately according to business needs. Rather than trying to cut costs by installing internally, your company will benefit greatly by having the software installed the first time correctly. You know that you’ll get a quality install with customizations related directly to your overall business needs and the right integrations to any other relevant system. You, then, can use the software to keep your asset maintenance schedules running.
An Excellent Option in Our New Hybrid Working Models
A great example of where this type of software can really shine is when there are a lot of remote workers spread throughout the globe. Those employees likely have company assets. Whether you have a new employee getting the latest MacBook Pro, or another employee requesting a new wireless mouse for the home office, asset maintenance software can inform for both. For example, the software will show the assets the employee currently has and the employee asset history to see if they’re breaking mice too often or if their laptop is due for an upgrade.
In addition, asset maintenance software will help with purchasing and procurement. You will be able to schedule buying or repairing equipment in bulk. Thus, saving on the total costs for the company. As mentioned, even the documentation to confirm receipt of the assets can be done and stored digitally.
In the end
Understand that implementing a new asset maintenance system may be an investment in time and money. However, this is meant to keep the value and use of assets at peak levels. Just remember to keep the data new and work with professionals. And moreover, work with software specifically catered to your industry or as close as possible.
