Maintenance software

Asset Management forms the basis for the resulting maintenance planning. Before you can receive reminders from the maintenance software, your assets and their master data must be entered into the software. This includes core data such as manufacturer, serial no. as well as performance data and detailed information such as individual components of the property—for example, the building automation system installed.

In addition, it should be possible to determine the location of the maintenance object not only using address data, but also using GPS coordinates. Finally, the Asset history should show when (at what meter reading) each maintenance level was performed in the past.

The Maintenance Scheduler function uses the defined asset data from Asset Management and determines the next maintenance stages due based on the assigned maintenance plans. Good systems do not simply add a defined time interval.

Especially for complex technical assets that are maintained based on meter readings (e.g., operating hours), it is necessary to also take into account the utilization rate of your asset and to determine the next maintenance date much more precisely based on the most recent known time and meter readings. As soon as maintenance is due, a ticket or maintenance reminder should be generated fully automatically and assigned to a designated employee or department.

The maintenance tasks generated as part of maintenance planning are reviewed and coordinated by the operation planner—depending on the agreement with the customer—and incorporated into the preliminary order planning. To optimally map a holistic maintenance management process, appropriate software solutions should offer the option of generating corresponding maintenance assignments or orders directly from the maintenance tickets created.

As part of order management, these are assigned to the service technician in the planning board —ideally via drag-and-drop. The software assists the operation planner in assigning jobs by automatically evaluating criteria—which technician is best suited for the job based on their qualifications and proximity to the place of operation? An integrated planning board gives planners an overview of the defined maintenance assignments at all times.

Maintenance software only truly makes sense if it enables optimal collaboration among all employees involved in the maintenance and service process—including, in particular, the service technicians who perform the technical maintenance work. The software solution should include an easy-to-use mobile app that provides technicians with all the necessary information about the operation, the customer, and the property.

A key factor here is the ability to access the technical documentation and the complete Asset history of the plant.

Using flexible, customizable forms, service technicians can then digitally record measurement values and checkpoints via the app. It should also be possible to document the replacement of individual components—ideally by adding a photo of the nameplate. After filling out all relevant order data, the service technician immediately transmits the data back to headquarters.

After preliminary validation, the software uses the reported data to calculate future maintenance levels—and the maintenance cycle starts over from the beginning.