COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE
We need a name for this software package!!!!!
My Business has commissioned a group of software writers to fill a gap
in Property and Facility Management systems available in the market
place. The hole is described below, as is our method of meeting the
need.
While the OHS / Legal requirements are VERY important, we want the
name to show that this system enables EVERYONE from the grounds keeper
to the Chair of the board to take control, be in control and know
what’s happening in the area of Property and Facility Management.
The name needs to be a single word, Australian (or not sound as if we
are foreign owned) and pronounceable from seeing it written.
Overview
The objective of this project is to create a valuable system that
enables a system owner to meet their obligations with respect to the
maintenance of property and assets to protect the users of the asset
and public from any accidents that may result from the improper
maintenance of that property or asset.
The system needs to be able to meet the implied obligations of work
cover in particular chapter 4 of the regulations. Common law also
places responsibility on the owner of property or machinery to
maintain it in a manner that means it will be safe for anyone who uses
the property.
Neither work cover nor legislation provides instructions on how to
prove that you have met these obligations, and, the only time that
proof is required is when an accident has occurred or if work cover is
conducting an audit. In such a case the authorities will look for
evidence of a system or procedure being in place to ensure scheduled
maintenance is carried out and historical evidence that it has been
done. This system will do just that.
The objective of this system is to provide the property/asset owner
with a system that staff can use to schedule maintenance, ensure that
the maintenance is undertaken, ensure that the maintenance is
undertaken by qualified staff, ensure that there are no missed
scheduled maintenances and provide historical data and evidence of
this maintenance.
In addition to these objectives relating to work cover and legal
responsibilities, the
system will also facilitate easier workflow management for the
maintenance manager, it will ensure that the maintenance staff are
aware of all their responsibilities with respect to maintenance and
enable them to plan their time better around their maintenance
responsibilities, it will ensure that users and maintainers of
machinery are appropriately trained and will provide head office staff
with evidence of activities being undertaken.
Further value adding features that might be added to future editions
of the system could include cost and budgeting software to better
manage the cost of planned maintenance. Due to the information stored
in the system it could also provide data for depreciation records or
at least to verify and cross check that data for accounting and tax
purposes.
Current situation
How is it being done?
At present the main systems that are in place to undertake these
activities are paper based, often with many books and diaries being
kept in many different places. In some cases the only evidence of
maintenance being done could be a receipt from a maintenance
contractor for the service.
The issues here are the potential for certain maintenance to slip
through the cracks, the lack of proof that appropriate systems are in
place and the potential for the work to be performed by a person
without the proper training or supervision.
There are also many cases where the maintenance is simply not being
performed and repairs are only carried out when the machine breaks
down. In the case of property maintenance there may be even less
compliance with obligations, for example the checking of electrical
cabling and switches on a regular basis, the testing of circuit
breakers, the checking of property for infestations like termites or
vermin.
Common law places a duty of care on all people and entities. In the
case of businesses and institutions like schools, nursing homes and
day care centres there is a duty of care to protect their customers
from their own lack of knowledge about safety. For example a five year
old can not be expected to know the difference between a glass of
water and a glass of clear liquid that might cause sever injuries if
swallowed, until it is too late.
This duty requires these businesses to take extra special care when it
comes to safety and property maintenance and as such if an accident
occurs they need to ensure that they have done everything possible to
prevent such accidents from happening. If the law sees that they have
systems in place and that those systems were appropriate, reasonable
and adhered to, they will not lay blame for the accident with them.
The cost saving from having good systems is only measurable in terms
of what it could cost if you do not have the systems and that should
be measured in this day of litigious activity in millions of dollar
System Objectives
The system has five basic objectives to meet.
1. Safe - All property/assets must be safe for potential users and the
public
2. Trained - All maintenance (and use?) must be carried out by
qualified staff
3. Maintained - All property/assets must be maintained on a systematic
basis
4. Accountable - Systems and procedures must be in place to report
back on maintenance in a qualitative and quantitative framework
5. Simple and appropriate - the system must be simple to use and
appropriate for the people using it. (E.g. no point requiring
Maintenance staff to have a desktop computer)
These objectives are met via the interaction of 3 basic users with the
system.
These users are Head office, Maintenance managers and Maintenance
staff.
There are secondary objectives of the system including
• Workflow management
• Cost management
• Budgeting
• Affordability
In order to achieve these objectives the system needs to have certain
features to enable the users to interact with it.
Maintenance Manager Interface
The maintenance manager is the main user of the system and needs to be
able to.
• Record asset details (accountable)
• Schedule maintenance for the asset (maintained)
• Authorise staff to conduct the maintenance (safe and trained).
• Authorise staff to use the assets (safe)
• Manage available resources to ensure all the work can be performed.
(workflow management
• Notify of exceptions to plan (safe, accountable).
• Record unplanned maintenance
• Compare planned maintenance with unplanned maintenance (safe)
Maintenance Staff Interface
The maintenance staff interface needs to provide these staff with the
ability to perform their work, on the right assets and with the
appropriate training. The interface needs to
• Ensure the staff member is qualified (trained)
• Ensure the maintenance is carried out on the correct asset (safe and
accountable)
• Ensure that the maintenance is complete and appropriate (maintained)
• Fit into Maintenance staff environment e.g. Palm Pilot (simple and
appropriate)
Head office interface
The Head Office interface needs to allow head office staff to feel
comfortable that the work required by Maintenance staff and managers
is being done, and done correctly. The interface needs to
• Notify on missed scheduled maintenance (accountable, safe, and
maintained).
• Provide reports on all maintenance (accountable)
• Report on who is performing maintenance (Accountable, trained,
safe).
• Notify on incomplete maintenance (safe)
• Notify on unqualified maintenance activity (trained safe) |
Clarification of Question by
kah-ga
on
26 Apr 2003 19:20 PDT
Thank you for your comments on "COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE".
Given that this will be seen by the public I would like to shorten the
information to this -
We need a name for this software package!!!!!
My Business has commissioned a group of software writers to fill a gap
in Property and Facility Management systems available in the market
place. The hole is described below, as is our method of meeting the
need.
While the OHS / Legal requirements are VERY important, we want the
name to show that this system enables EVERYONE from the grounds keeper
to the Chair of the board to take control, be in control and know
what’s happening in the area of Property and Facility Management.
The name needs to be a single word, Australian (or not sound as if we
are foreign owned) and pronounceable from seeing it written.
Overview
The objective of this project is to create a valuable system that
enables a system owner to meet their obligations with respect to the
maintenance of property and assets to protect the users of the asset
and public from any accidents that may result from the improper
maintenance of that property or asset.
The system needs to be able to meet the implied obligations of work
cover in particular chapter 4 of the regulations. Common law also
places responsibility on the owner of property or machinery to
maintain it in a manner that means it will be safe for anyone who uses
the property.
Neither work cover nor legislation provides instructions on how to
prove that you have met these obligations, and, the only time that
proof is required is when an accident has occurred or if work cover is
conducting an audit. In such a case the authorities will look for
evidence of a system or procedure being in place to ensure scheduled
maintenance is carried out and historical evidence that it has been
done. This system will do just that.
The objective of this system is to provide the property/asset owner
with a system that staff can use to schedule maintenance, ensure that
the maintenance is undertaken, ensure that the maintenance is
undertaken by qualified staff, ensure that there are no missed
scheduled maintenances and provide historical data and evidence of
this maintenance.
In addition to these objectives relating to work cover and legal
responsibilities, the
system will also facilitate easier workflow management for the
maintenance manager, it will ensure that the maintenance staff are
aware of all their responsibilities with respect to maintenance and
enable them to plan their time better around their maintenance
responsibilities, it will ensure that users and maintainers of
machinery are appropriately trained and will provide head office staff
with evidence of activities being undertaken.
Further value adding features that might be added to future editions
of the system could include cost and budgeting software to better
manage the cost of planned maintenance. Due to the information stored
in the system it could also provide data for depreciation records or
at least to verify and cross check that data for accounting and tax
purposes.
The reason I have put this question to you "Researchers" is, well I
just have drawn a blank on the whole NAME thing.
To sum up the question -
The name needs to be a single word, Australian (or not sound as if we
are foreign owned) and pronounceable from seeing it written.
AND have something Property and Facility about it!
Like I said 4 months on we have only come up with one name and it
stinks. It’s a good thing we do software better than we do NAMING!
|
