If you run a small business, especially one with less than ten employees, your attention is probably preoccupied with the exciting aspects of business.
You’re keen on coming up with visionary ideas to grow your business and on developing a winning team to implement your strategies. You may also be figuring out new ways to slash costs and increase profits, or how to better market and sell a new product line. If your business is new, you might be trying to figure out how to find your first office space; and if your business is mature and ran into an unforeseen obstacle, you might be brainstorming ways to survive.
However, business success isn’t always about managing the dynamic nature of business. Sometimes it’s based on doing small, unexciting but necessary things, like regular maintenance. The maintenance aspect of business is a little thing that no one talks about, but which can have a big impact on your mood, productivity, and project management.
Software to Keep Track of Maintenance
One of the most elegant solutions for maintenance is the use of CMMS or Computerized Maintenance Management System (or Software). This software is also sometimes called Enterprise Asset Management (EAM). This software has been designed to make maintenance management easier. It can help you keep track of an urgent work order, as well as stay on top of routine work. The software ensures that the right work is done in the right order of importance and according to proper standards. From a management perspective, the software provides insight into what maintenance work needs to be done; helps sort out the difference between on-demand, comprehensive, and routine work orders; and makes it easier to schedule, forecast inventory needs, and generate reports, all with less paperwork involved.
Basic Maintenance:
- Information Systems: There are information systems that have to be tracked and maintained, important files that need to be backed-up, new software that has to be installed, and older applications that need to be updated. If there’s paperwork, all documents have to be organized before the end of the day. In addition, old paperwork has to be identified and digitized or archived so that your file cabinets have enough space for the most current files.
- Office Space: The office space has to be kept neat and clean to inspire a sense of orderliness. Basic office furniture like chairs, tables, and cabinets, as well as basic tools of the trade have to be kept in good, working order for routine office work to go smoothly. While the importance of staying neat, clean, and orderly is clear if you have clients visiting the office, dirty floors and carpets, damaged office furniture, and broken office machines all have a psychological impact on your team’s productivity.
- Safety Features: Besides making sure that things are neat, clean and in working order, maintenance is also about making sure that all safety measures are taken into account. Safety measures for computer systems include making sure the firewall is up, the latest antivirus software is running in the background, and passwords are changed every 3 months. For paperwork, safety might include making sure sensitive documents are locked up in cabinets, or proper disposal of sensitive information.
Hopefully, you’ve gained some insight as to why maintenance is imperative for the success of your business. Routine maintenance allows you to work smarter, not harder, giving you the most return on your time and effort. When everything runs smoothly, productivity increases, information is secure, and life just seems that much easier.
