3 Ways to Reduce Maintenance Expenses

All businesses have expenses. But if you don’t manage your finances well, your business expenses could get out of hand. Keeping expenses as low as possible is vital if you don’t want your business to bleed cash. 

There are many areas where spending can start to get out of control. But one area that can seriously affect a business is maintenance. If you have a physical workspace, whether it’s an office or a factory, you likely have several assets in the form of machines, equipment, and computers. All of these require maintenance, upgrades, and at times replacement. Asset maintenance and replacement can get expensive, but you might think there’s nothing you can do about the expense. After all, you and your team need the equipment to do your jobs and keep the business operating at maximum efficiency. 

But the reality is, poor asset management can lead to unnecessary spending. If you don’t keep up with regular preventative maintenance, you’ll end up having to pay for costly repairs or premature replacements. If your staff doesn’t receive the proper training to operate certain equipment, you could suffer an unnecessary loss of assets due to user error.

How can you reduce maintenance expenses in your businesses? Here are a few tips.

Assign someone to handle asset management.

If no one is responsible for caring for asset maintenance and inventory, chances are these tasks will slip through the cracks. While every business is different and not all can dedicate a significant amount of funds and personnel to facility asset management, every business can assign these responsibilities to someone on their team. If your business is small and you don’t have many assets in your building, it should be fairly simple to keep an inventory and schedule regular preventative maintenance. Larger companies need more comprehensive solutions for asset management, like Facility Asset Management Software.

Depending on the size and type of business, asset management tasks might look a bit different. But basically, it involves the following three areas: inventory, maintenance, and data. You need to start by taking a complete inventory of all of your assets. Then you’ll have to come up with a maintenance plan for each machine or piece of equipment. Finally, you need to keep track of the data related to your assets, like their value, depreciation, cost of maintenance, and expected lifetime.

Prioritize preventative maintenance and avoid reactive maintenance.

Reactive maintenance is usually necessary when preventative maintenance has been neglected. It’s more urgent and usually more expensive as well. That’s why prioritizing preventative maintenance can save you money in the long run.

Preventative maintenance requires planning. You need to understand your assets and how often they need to be serviced or inspected. It’s essential that you create and follow a schedule. It will help reduce the need for repairs and equipment failure, which are both much more expensive than preventative maintenance. It will also help your equipment to last even longer. Take a look at the manuals of your devices and equipment to see how often they need maintenance and what kinds of problems to look out for.

Train your employees on how to use and maintain your equipment

Some machinery and equipment are very delicate, and improper use can lead to a malfunction or destroy the machine entirely. Even if the equipment isn’t that fragile, improper use can lead to it wearing out faster or needing repairs in the future. For that reason, it’s essential that you train your employees on the correct way to use each piece of equipment and machinery they’ll be working with. 

Set up regular training classes and demonstrations so that your staff feels confident using the tools they need to do their job. When a new employee is hired, make sure they receive the proper training before allowing them to handle the company equipment. 

You can also teach your team the basics of maintaining the machines they use every day. Not all maintenance requires a professional. Sometimes it could be as simple as teaching them how to properly clean a machine after each use. If you help your employees to build good work habits and care for the company assets, chances are your equipment will last longer and your maintenance costs will be lower. 

There’s no doubt that asset maintenance is a necessary expense for every company that has a physical workspace and equipment. But there are plenty of things you can do to lower maintenance expenses. For one, make sure to delegate the responsibility of asset management to someone responsible who can stay on top of inventory and maintenance. Be sure to place priority on preventative maintenance and make a thorough schedule for all of your assets. Lastly, train your employees on how to properly use and maintain the equipment that they work with every day. If you do, you’ll be able to keep your expenses down and your assets will last longer.