Save on maintenance costs by bundling work orders

There’s no better time to practice work order prioritization.

Along with the effects of the ongoing equipment and labor shortage placing stress on the economy, it’s important to prioritize maintenance work and save wherever possible.

One effective way to create strategic facilities savings is to bundle work orders together. In other words, to group work orders by complexity or severity and then resolve them all in a single visit.

Over time, you’ll notice significant savings from far fewer trip charges billed to your account. 

Here are a few work order bundling tips.

Identify mission-critical facilities needs

To gain a clear understanding of the work orders that need priority, look no further than your mission-critical assets.

Your mission-critical assets are the ones your business can’t do without. They’re your units of revenue-generating equipment.

• If you’re a retailer, these might be your coolers, HVAC units, and cash registers.
• If you’re a restaurant, these are your ovens, fans, and walk-in freezers.

Make a list of the assets your locations can’t do without. Then, prioritize attention and resources toward those—and not simply on an as-needed basis. Your mission-critical assets should receive preventative care in order to maintain smooth operations.  

Briefly defer non-critical work orders

Your high-traffic locations are, by extension, also the ones that receive the most attention from your customers and associates. It’s important that these locations properly represent your brand.

And though it’s tempting to address every new work order as soon as the need arises, there are times where it’s simply best to wait. 

A broken floor tile, an unresponsive light fixture, or a door that hangs imperfectly in its frame are, in almost every case, uncritical maintenance needs that can be put off for another day.

Especially in times of stress or uncertainty, business owners and facilities decision makers need to strike a balance between complete coverage and strategic deferment.

Bundle low-severity work orders in the same trip

After you’ve taken care of the mission-critical assets throughout your locations, the next step is to address your groups of strategically-deferred work orders.

Consider grouping together low-severity work orders according to trade specialty. That way, you can quickly schedule maintenance work and resolve a large bundle of similar issues in a single trip.

Not only will you reap considerable savings from fewer trip charges, but you’ll optimize your maintenance schedules across your locations and see better overall portfolio performance.

Maintenance deferment can be an important strategic asset for your company’s facilities management programs. By focusing proper attention on revenue-generating, mission-critical assets, you’ll keep your business running with the added bonus of savings—both for your schedule and your budget. Get in touch to learn more about strategic, data-driven approaches to facilities by requesting a demo.