COVID-19 & Maintenance

If one thing can be said without a shadow of a doubt, it is that the current COVID-19 pandemic and economic fall-out is a new

phenomen on to current generations – one we were not prepared for.

It once again proves how fragile the status quo is in daily life as well as our business life, and in a matter of weeks, the whole world can be turned upside down.

As I’m watching the news, I see different opinions everywhere, and predictions ranging from “It will all be back to business soon” to “This is going to be a new reality we need to learn to live with”. I don’t think we were prepared for this, and frankly, nobody knows what the right direction is to take.

No matter what the decisions and implications are that come from the government, in terms of shutdowns and economic stimulus packages, and bailouts, it is going to be a highly volatile market for some time to come.

So, how does your maintenance department respond to this? Well, if you came here to find an answer to that question, I think you will be left unsatisfied. There is already a clear difference between industries on how certain organizations are impacted by this crisis.

If you are in the airline industry, for example, the impact is large, and you are most likely in a cost-cutting modus operandi. If, however, you are in the Paper & Pulp or Food & Beverage sector, you will experience a sudden increase in demand due the online traffic and people stockpiling groceries. This does not mean that you are not greatly affected, raw materials, logistics, and personnel shortages, as well as contractor shortages, all pose great problems you now need to overcome.

Catch 22

We are always trapped in a catch-22. When things are good, there is no time to stop and improve the process and tools. When times are down, there is no money to invest in the process and tools.

The fact of the matter is that companies that did manage to overcome one of these two obstacles and invested in optimizing their process and digitizing the maintenance workflow now have a clear competitive advantage.

They can work effectively, keeping social distancing in mind (granted, that’s a happy coincidence, and no one saw that one coming), but more importantly, they have a clear insight into their backlog as well as the upcoming maintenance activities.

The potential increase/decrease in market demand provides both maintenance opportunities to reduce costs or ensure the highest possible production without risking unnecessary unplanned downtime.

A well-planned and digitally empowered workforce is up to 2.5 times more effective than a reactive, unplanned & paper-based workforce. In times like these – that counts more than ever.

Reach out to us today, and see how easy and fast it can be to get started. Last but not least, please help keep everyone safe and follow the social distancing and best practice rules when it comes to COVID-19.

covid-19