{"id":4939,"date":"2024-06-10T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-10T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hirezdemo.xyz\/deferred-maintenance\/"},"modified":"2024-10-08T12:51:31","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T16:51:31","slug":"deferred-maintenance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eptura.com\/discover-more\/blog\/deferred-maintenance\/","title":{"rendered":"What is deferred maintenance?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deferred maintenance is all the work you’re postponing because you don’t have access to the right combination of resources. In some cases, there\u2019s not enough space in the budget for all the required work. In others, it\u2019s a lack of labor. <\/span><\/p>\n

You might also be deferring maintenance because the team doesn\u2019t have the proper training or tools. Regardless of the causes, by putting off maintenance you run the risk of larger, more expensive failures that can quickly cascade into costly downtime.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What’s the difference between deferred maintenance and a maintenance backlog?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Not everything on the backlog is there because you didn’t have the time, people, or parts to get it done. In some cases, you back-log low-priority work whenever something more important comes up. So, even though the walls in the employee break room could use a fresh coat of paint, that’s not as important as fixing the exhaust fans over the welding stations. <\/span><\/p>\n

In other cases, you backlog work when it makes more sense to do it later. For example, at a school, you can put off some of the work until summer break when students are not in the way. Or, at a factory, you can delay certain inspections, so they happen when you know the assets are scheduled to be down.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Having a backlog is normal. In fact, not having one is usually a strong sign the maintenance department is overstaffed. So, you don’t want to get rid of yours completely. Instead, you want a backlog that’s manageable and moving in the right direction. If it\u2019s steadily growing, you likely have some combination of problems with staffing and resource allocation. Over time, it should stay about the same size or shrink.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Deferred maintenance is different because it’s work that you would rather do now, but you lack the resources to get it done. Ideally, you shouldn’t have any deferred maintenance. It\u2019s a sign you don\u2019t have enough resources or that you\u2019re not spending them effectively.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How can I stop deferred maintenance and how does facility management software make it easier?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Depending on your situation, this can work one of two ways for you.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you can boost your efficiency, you might find that you have what you need to get work done properly and on time. If you can\u2019t, you need to capture definitive proof that the maintenance department needs more resources.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In both cases, the right facility management software can help you.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 1: Get all your maintenance data in one spot\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

When everything is spread out over random slips of paper and spreadsheets, you can quickly corrupt or completely lose critical data. Copy over the wrong number when you’re manually entering data, and you’ve just corrupted your data and spoiled your reports. Lose the wrong piece of paper, and now you don’t have any data, reliable or not.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cloud-based facility management software helps you keep all your data safe, secure, and accessible. Once you have reliable data, you can track maintenance metrics and key performance indicators<\/a> using the auto-generated reports.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 2: Prioritize your maintenance tasks\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Now that you have all your data in one spot, you can get a sense of the maintenance big picture. Start by making a list of all the work the team needs to tackle. How do you know something makes the list? Start by imagining you have unlimited time and money, and then add all the work you would want done.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But of course, you don’t have unlimited time and money, so you need to then organize the list according to priority, with the most critical up top.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Remember, though, there’s more than one definition of critical. It depends on your specific facility, but make sure to consider:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n