This series of blogs discusses the application of preventative maintenance in order to maintain our field team’s product and service promotion effectiveness. [1]

Step 2 – Replacing, Refurbishing or Cleaning Wearable Parts and Consumables

In order to help our customers to be better off for having hired us, we must continually be on the lookout for ways that we can help them achieve their business goals.  Our field service team is in the best position to do this because of their knowledge of the technology, our company’s capabilities and our customers’ challenges and goals.  However, in order for our team to be effective in making proactive recommendations, we must have the system and processes in place and working smoothly.  Regular preventative maintenance (PM) of our systems and processes will help ensure that our field service professionals continue to provide recommendations that will be appreciated by our customers.

Last time I wrote about conducting a high level assessment before getting into the details of the PM.  This time, I would like to focus our attention on the parts of the initiative that wear and need refurbishing or replacement – the opportunity capture and management systems and processes.

Opportunity Capture and Management Systems and Processes

Opportunity capture and management systems and processes are the backbone of the business development initiative and are the parts of the overall initiative that is most subject to wear and tear.  If the systems are not working smoothly, then opportunities get lost, field professionals get frustrated and customers become disappointed.  Failure to maintain the processes and systems will be a sure way to bring the entire initiative to a grinding halt.

Capture Opportunities

To keep systems and processes operating in tiptop condition, check to ensure that there is a clear and simple process to capture opportunities and that the process is clearly understood. Look for any opportunities that may have fallen through the cracks.  Identify opportunities that are in limbo and the clarity and effectiveness of the process to follow-up.

Feedback Loops

Look at the feedback loops. Check to ensure that the feedback loops are working properly so that the field service professional is informed on opportunity status when visiting the customer.

Response Times

Ensure that management is responding quickly to address any anomalies when problems in the process do occur.  Failure to address concerns about the processes and systems will communicate to the field team that you are just not that serious.

Simplify the Efforts of the Technicians

Speak with the technicians to explore for improvements in the process that will simplify their efforts.  They are the ones who live and breath within the system and irritations, no matter how small, will slow down their efforts and discourage the desired behaviours.

Taking the time to check and address worn parts and consumables will ensure that the core of the initiative is working smoothly.  Next time I will discuss checking alignments and readjusting if necessary.

Let’s Connect

As always, I welcome your comments and questions. You can connect with me via telephone or email or leave a comment right here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim Baston

“If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I would
spend the first four hours sharpening the axe.”

– Abraham Lincoln

[1] This series of blogs is based on an article published for Field Service News – https://www.fieldservicenews.com

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Preventative Maintenance Pays Off (But You Already Knew That!)

As service providers, we spend much of our time helping our customers realize the many benefits of preventative maintenance (PM). Improved uptime, reduced operating costs and increased asset life are just a few. Although hard to pin down an exact number, experience shows that the return on PM programs can have a significant financial impact. One case study by the Building Owners and Managers Association in 2000 suggested that the return on investment of a PM program can be as high as 545% [2]. A rule of thumb is that corrective maintenance is between two to five times more expensive that implementing a PM program. [3]

We Can Benefit Too

If preventative maintenance programs provide such benefits for our customers, would it not make sense to apply the same logic to our own business and specifically to our efforts to engage our field service team in business development activities?  When was the last time you applied the components of a PM program to improve the effectiveness of your field team’s business development efforts?  If it has been a while, maybe now is the time to revisit your efforts.

Components

To achieve results, a typical PM program will include a number of components including:

• Checking for overall mechanical condition and wear
• Replacing, refurbishing, or cleaning of the wearable parts and consumables
• Checking alignments and readjusting if applicable
• Lubricating moving parts
• Checking and updating spare parts inventories
• Updating software to maintain currency

A PM of our initiative to engage the field team in promoting our products and services could include similar components. Over the next few blogs, I will look at each of these and what steps within each component that we can take to maintain our proactive business development efforts by our field service team.

Let’s Connect

As always, I welcome your comments and questions. You can connect with me via telephone or email or leave a comment right here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim Baston

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

– Benjamin Franklin

[1] This series of blogs is based on an article originally published for Field Service News – https://www.fieldservicenews.com

[2] http://cdn.ifma.org/sfcdn/docs/default-source/default-document-library/determining-the-economic-value-of-preventative-maintenance.pdf?sfvrsn=2

[3] https://www.plantengineering.com/articles/preventative-maintenance-the-cost-of-maintaining-equipment/

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