Faced with a shrinking budget and limited resources, many companies are looking for ways to reduce maintenance expenses. One critical area where organizations can control costs is worker safety and health. Poor safety practices and accidents that lead to employee injury and illness can cost organizations a lot of money, in addition to impacting employee motivation and productivity. Part of running an effective safety program involves scheduling, recording, and tracking maintenance tasks with maintenance control software.
Maintenance Control Software Improves Safety
When it comes to meeting safety standards, remembering to complete maintenance tasks is half the battle. At the heart of any successful safety program is maintenance control software, which schedules routine inspections and takes the guesswork out of maintenance management.
Equipment that is regularly inspected and maintained is more likely to remain safe and reduce the risk of injury. When safety is improved, the loss of work time is kept to a minimum and productivity is enhanced. In turn, increased capacity and reliability lead to improved profitability.
Not only does computerized maintenance management software (CMMS) minimize the risk of accidents, it also aids in regulatory compliance, helping organizations avoid noncompliance penalties. A CMMS will alert you when it’s time to make a repair or replace a part and automatically tag items that belong on a safety compliance checklist. Preventative maintenance software triggers notifications so that technicians are reminded to tune up or repair equipment and perform environmental and occupational safety tasks.
Computerized maintenance management system software tracks maintenance history, such as when a piece of equipment was repaired, who repaired it, how often it has been inspected, and whether maintenance technicians were provided with clear instructions and safety procedures. Organizations may undergo random inspections by regulatory agencies, and a CMMS serves as proof of compliance. Below are other maintenance control software features that help improve safety and achieve cost savings.
Standard Operating Procedures
Developing standard operating procedures and associating them with specific assets or tasks is another way maintenance control software improves safety. A safety program ensures that every work order issued by a CMMS describes the necessary safety precautions that workers must take. Clearly stated operating procedures also help to increase productivity because they minimize uncertainty and create better workflow.
Safety checklists are a supplement to standard operating procedures that provide maintenance technicians with a list of safety tasks in chronological order. These checklists typically allow technicians to enter data as well as check off completed tasks.
Employee Safety Records
Using a CMMS to record each employee’s safety records, including lost-time accidents and illnesses, may motivate employees to keep lost-time accidents to a minimum. Based on trends that these records reveal, such as an increase in certain types of accidents or frequent accidents caused by a specific individual, targeted improvements like training or equipment redesign can also be implemented.
Safety Priority
One of the ways maintenance control software improves safety is by establishing safety priority levels. Assets are given importance ratings based on the role that they play, the amount of preventative maintenance they require, and the degree of danger to which they expose workers. Computerized maintenance management system software has priority codes that allow maintenance technicians to prioritize work based on equipment criticality.
DPSI’s maintenance control software takes the guesswork out of scheduling preventative maintenance and adhering to safety standards. The investment in a CMMS can lead to substantial returns by helping organizations avoid noncompliance penalties, reduce accidents and injuries, and maximize productivity. Contact us today for more information about how maintenance control software improves safety or to set up a free trial.
