Overview
- Effective work order management (WOM) is critical to success in today’s competitive environment.
- Mobile work order management for MRO helps you streamline maintenance activities to reduce unexpected downtime and cost.
- Key benefits of mobile apps for digital inspections and WOM include: increased technician productivity, reduced costs, reduced maintenance backlogs and increased MRO inventory efficiency.
Work order management for MRO is often overlooked as an area for optimization. However, ineffective management of any MRO component can be devastating to your company’s bottom line.
That’s why many companies are starting to view MRO as a worthwhile investment for long-term reliability and profitability. This includes prioritizing efficient work order management.
You may currently use manual processes to complete work orders out in the field. However, replacing clipboards and binders full of paperwork with mobile apps can help you realize significant time and cost-savings.
DOWNLOAD: 3 Key Benefits of Mobile Work Order Management »
Some of the key benefits of mobile work order management technology include:
1. 40% Increased Productivity with Digital Inspections and Work Orders
Mobile work order solutions extend ERP information into the field and eliminate paper recording. Technician productivity increases 40% as a result.
With paper processes, your maintenance workers must find the appropriate forms, print them out and lug everything with them. Even if they have everything they need, can they tell how many parts are available and where they are located?
Instead, mobile and digital inspections use mobile apps to guide techs. Simple forms walk workers step-by-step through completing inspections and repairs. Techs report directly from their mobile device.
For example, RFgen’s mobile maintenance solution prompts you to follow seven steps to walk you through the entire process on a mobile device:
- Work Order Selection: Enter the work order ID to determine location, task description and equipment ID.
- Preparation: Scan barcodes of required parts and tools to check out and update ERP. Enter notes/images as needed.
- Documents: Access repair manuals, guides or special instructions.
- Repair Tasks: Check off repair/inspection tasks as completed. Mark parts as used.
- History/Notes: Enter notes/reminders for future inspections, including safety information.
- Take Pictures: Take pictures of equipment with mobile device, label as needed, and save to report.
- Close Work Order: View summary of work order parts used, tasks completed, check in parts and obtain completion signature.
Once completed, send the entire work order back to your main facility directly from the device.
2. Drive Down Maintenance Costs
Traditional MRO management is expensive, cutting into already razor-thin profit margins. On average, mobile WOM can help you reduce MRO costs by:
- Reducing rushed shipping costs due to missing parts or out-of-stock inventory
- Decreasing equipment downtime due to missing parts
- Reducing regulatory and non-compliance fines by 80%
- Reducing safety violations by 80% or more
And more.
WATCH VIDEO: How VSE Corporation mobilized maintenance and repair »
3. Reduce Maintenance Backlog by 50%
In addition to accelerating the rate of work order completions, mobile work order solutions help reduce maintenance backlogs by half. Your technicians are both equipped with accurate, up-to-date information and can work faster with mobile.
This combination helps you better plan for both:
Preventative Maintenance: Stay on top of planned repairs and plant equipment inspections. Maintain accurate, accessible records and view from mobile device, anywhere or anytime.
Predictive Maintenance: Accurate data enables powerful AI and analytics to predict repairs before they can shut down production, increasing uptime across your operation.
Taken together, an effective mobile work order management solution helps you streamline plant maintenance activities and prevent future bottlenecks.
Asset tracking software can enhance WOM further by:
- Eliminating ghost assets and identifying end-of-life assets
- Increasing asset ledger accuracy
- Reducing insurance premiums
With mobile work order management, you apply the same traditional inventory management principles to optimize your MRO inventory. For example, a coal mining operation automated MRO inventory and increased accuracy by 40%.
The Future of Digital Inspections
With complex global supply chains, multisite operations and competitive markets, you can’t afford to let assets sit underutilized or in disrepair. High-performing maintenance operations use mobile work order management software to efficiently process work orders.
With digital inspections, workers and technicians follow step-by-step procedures to view, complete and submit work orders. Stay connected to critical ERP data even in the field to significantly increase accuracy and visibility and optimize MRO inventory.
By driving down MRO costs and increasing uptime, you’ll be better prepared to overcome unexpected challenges and secure a profitable future.
