Gone are the days when healthcare facilities leveraged manual, paper-based work order systems to schedule and manage tasks.
These traditional systems are often synonymous with high risks, unimaginable costs, and a lack of real-time visibility, among other downsides.
Further, they're only suited for one location, not the entire facility, which can be inconvenient for multi-site facility managers.
So, what's the better alternative?
A mobile computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) is the modern solution to countless hospital challenges like maintenance backlog, burnouts, downtime, non-compliance with regulatory standards, and more.
When considering a CMMS provider, having a mobile option is crucial for hospital staff as it provides valuable data in real-time, hence improving workplace safety, productivity, security, and effectiveness. This blog will go into further detail to help you understand the benefits of a mobile CMMS.
Why mobile work order management software is imperative
Here are six ways a CMMS will add efficiency to your healthcare facility maintenance and help you streamline your work order system.
1. More accurate and complete data
A CMMS values data integrity by computerizing and centralizing all tasks for accurate assigning and efficient management from within the system.
So instead of having to manually write down or remember the work orders management when out of the office, teams can check the mobile app for accurate information wherever they may be. You no longer have to worry about missing the details or misjudging something; just leverage the mobile CMMS app for optimal data accuracy and completeness.
2. Workflow streamlining and reduced travel
As a goal-driven healthcare facility or biomedical operations manager, it's safe to say that ensuring efficient workflows throughout is one of your top responsibilities. But sometimes, this can be challenging to realize, especially if you have your workforce distributed all over different facilities—they may not have easy access to work orders and requests. Thankfully, mobile work order management software is here to help you streamline the function.
A mobile CMMS app enhances workforce efficiency by enabling all hospital staff to access all their tasks with a click of a button. And the reward? The productivity levels increase, there's no more time wasted, and your facility maximizes returns.
3. Easier organization
Eliminating or reducing paperwork is a crucial step in realizing a more organized workspace. And the software-based work order management system is here to optimize that by pioneering the automatic capturing of information. That means you no longer have to manually enter data into paper records, which is tiring and poses the risk of making errors of omission or commission.
Thanks to mobile CMMS applications, hospital personnel also have hassle-free access to the information they need at the comfort of their PCs, tablets, or smartphones. The system eliminates the need to go through vast piles of paper to find a particular piece of information.
Instead, it tracks data in real-time and provides for regular updating, categorizing work orders accordingly in the process. This paves the way for efficient management of tasks since everything is where it needs to be and when it needs to be there.
4. Safer hospital facilities and equipment
Mobile work order management software isn't just about enhancing efficiency and streamlining processes; improving workplace safety is also in the mix. The best CMMS solution improves safety in a couple of ways, including:
- Documenting the exact location of all facility equipment and updating any changes in real-time. This eliminates the risk of accidents or delays that may result from equipment being out of place.
- Defining and documenting facility-specific safety requirements, including clear-cut instructions for completing safety tasks, how often they should be performed, estimated time of completion, and minimum skill requirements, etc.
- CMMS also facilitates the successful completion of a safety-related task by assigning or recommending the most qualified staff based on their skill set and the project's due date. But that's not all; the system also tracks the project's progress until completion, creating a documentary life cycle for each safety-related task for future reference.
5. Reduced maintenance backlogs
Maintenance is a critical activity for healthcare facilities because the cost of buying new equipment to replace failing ones is unimaginable. It's better to maintain the existing medical equipment and keep it in optimal condition, saving you lots of time and unnecessary expenses. But let's face it; it's incredibly challenging to measure and control your maintenance backlog, especially if you're doing it manually.
To combat this, a mobile work order maintenance software, or CMMS, takes care of this by tracking all pending work orders and ensuring they're completed on time. What's more, it can also send you reminders when the work orders are behind schedule.
Facility managers can create reports regarding overdue work orders and come up with means of controlling the backlog. The key takeaway is that sharing the backlog stats with the CMMS empowers managers to make informed decisions and improve challenges more efficiently.
6. Real-time visibility
Mobile work order management systems increase transparency and real-time visibility of your assets and staff through clear insights and reporting. You can effortlessly leverage this system to identify excellent performances and note the areas that require improvement, enabling you to spot and neutralize potential issues before they come to light.
You can also schedule planned preventative maintenance to know where, when, and what your team is working on. This tracing and visibility functionality also helps enhance your regulatory compliance and SLAs.
Learn more about mobile work order management software
If you haven't made the switch from the conventional paper-based work order management systems, it's not too late.
You can still modernize your healthcare facility and start enjoying all the benefits of mobile work order systems, such as improved safety, increased data accuracy, more efficient workflows, better compliance, and more.
You also want to adopt the innovative maintenance and management system to stay competitive with other organizations already leveraging the tool to streamline operations.
FSI offers integrated CMMS solutions for facility managers looking to save time and money with work order management software. Our products evolve continually to match the ever-changing market trends and demands, ensuring that you tap into the latest technologies before anyone else.
If you're curious to learn more about FSI’s healthcare CMMS solution, schedule an FSI CMMS demo today.