Maintenance managers are, by definition, problem solvers. Whether it is small equipment repairs or sweeping strategic initiatives aimed at reducing downtime, maintenance professionals are in the business of solutions. Those on the cutting edge of their field are turning maintenance from a necessary cost center, into a critical driver of efficiency.
In this article, we will explore what it means to be a modern maintenance professional in today’s marketplace, share stories of teams who have reached innovator status at their organizations, and tell you where to find more modern maintenance inspiration.
What is a “modern” maintenance professional?
Modern maintenance professionals are leaders in the field who transform their departments into drivers of efficiency and strategic value. In other words, they use their maintenance programs to provide more than reactive repairs; they help their organizations succeed by pursuing innovative maintenance strategies.
They may be managers, supervisors, technicians, mechanics, or other specialists, but the common thread is a commitment to pursuing an updated maintenance program. They do this by making the most of:
- People: Effectively using the skills and talents of their colleagues within a shifting workforce.
- Processes: Optimizing maintenance processes to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.
- Tools and Technologies: Implementing new tools and technologies that can enable the above to do their best work.
In short, they are all interested in trying new things to improve every part of their maintenance program. As a result, modern maintenance professionals transform their departments into sources of strategic success. They are implementing preventive maintenance, distributing in-depth reports on downtime costs, or creating detailed spare parts inventories to make repairs happen faster. Their successes and approaches are unique, creative, and too good not to share.
Why sharing maintenance challenges and solutions is important
Maintenance teams frequently do their jobs while flying under the radar to cause as little disruption to business operations as possible. As a result, maintenance professionals often don’t get the visibility or recognition they deserve and their role is frequently considered a necessary cost of doing business.
Here at Limble, we are working to change that by empowering the unsung heroes of maintenance and connecting them across industries and organizations. Whatever challenge you are trying to solve at your organization, there is another maintenance professional out there dealing with something similar. By shedding light on the work of maintenance teams, we can help them share best practices and elevate their role to a more strategic, value-adding position in their businesses.
Modern maintenance success stories
After working with thousands of maintenance professionals, we have heard numerous stories of maintenance teams whose work has delivered measurable results for their organizations. By investing in the people, processes, and technologies that power their work, maintenance teams can provide increased value to their business.
Maximizing people power
PolyExcel’s maintenance team was facing a skills shortage on the other side of upcoming retirements. The team needed to adapt in order to enable a younger, less experienced team with a higher baseline of team turnover.
They got to work, updating many aspects of their maintenance program, standardizing processes, improving access to institutional knowledge through documentation, and shortening training and orientation time. As a result of these improvements, the team saw numerous efficiencies including a 50% reduction in walk-around time.
Improving processes
The team at Grove City College needed to improve overall efficiency and find a way to overcome a drastic backlog of over 2,000 work requests. With detailed reports, updated work order management processes, and a new work request portal in Limble, the team was able to prioritize and resolve their backlog over the course of one summer. Limble allowed them to get ahead on their PMs and have the data to show just how productive their team could be with the right processes in place.
Leveraging the right tools and technologies
As Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art embarked on an expansion, it needed a more streamlined system to manage its broad array of grounds and maintenance functions. They consolidated the management of everything from facilities maintenance to grounds and trails onto one platform. The result is improved transparency and resource efficiency, both of which make the budgeting process simpler and more accurate.
Lessons learned and more inspiration
Experience really is the hardest teacher. As the famous quote says, it gives you the test first and the lesson afterward. But with a community of colleagues to learn from, it doesn’t have to be that way.
If you are looking for more ways to learn from colleagues and other experienced maintenance professionals, we have you covered. Here are some of the best resources for maintenance inspiration and places to connect and learn from maintenance teams like yours:
- Download The Big Book of Modern Maintenance, a review of over 20 case studies of Limble customers using modern maintenance to solve their biggest challenges.
- Peruse the Limble Community page, where you can view a message from our founder, see a list of future events we’ll be attending, or sign up to join our community of modern maintenance professionals.
- Explore our library of cases studies and hear in-depth stories of modern maintenance wins.
- Peruse our resources page which includes on-demand recordings of Limble’s webinar series.
Conclusion
It is great to be able to learn hard lessons the easy way – by hearing them from someone else who has been in your shoes. While it isn’t the same as going through trial and error yourself, learning from the experiences of others in your field is a great way to speed up the progress of your own professional growth, get clarity on the right path forward, and gain inspiration.
To keep the information coming, join our upcoming webinar on July 31st: Lessons Learned from 24+ Modern Maintenance Pros. Gain invaluable advice from seasoned maintenance pros on how they learned to overcome challenges throughout their careers, with commentary and insights from maintenance consultant Matt Burtz and Kristin Drake, VP of Limble’s Customer Success team. Register now to claim your seat!
