FM & TECHNOLOGY AFTER THE STORM


Staying ahead of the curve as we move towards a different reality can be achieved by embracing a new level of systemised asset management, explains Infor.


Following the 2020 global pandemic, the ability to operate in a safe and clean working environment is one of the primary challenges in operations and maintenance. The post-COVID context is redefining what it means, exactly, to be safe and clean. This new normal means organisations and businesses must evolve and adjust to meet increasing regulatory scrutiny and a heightened focus on clean practices.


However fluid the current situation and regardless of the existence or lack of official guidance, a successful enterprise should work to stay ahead of the curve, taking steps to prepare for whatever is next. This means embracing a new level of systemised asset management that continues to meet the highest standards of safety and cleanliness practices, analysis, and reporting. There are five steps to ensure safe, clean operations.


Step one: Ensure continually clean


practices by staff Creating and communicating clean operation protocols are not enough to ensure employees are putting plans into practice. Anything less than full compliance is unsafe—and unacceptable. It is too easy to introduce a foreign contaminant into the operation, often unknowingly, compromising employee health and risking irreparable damage to organisational reputation. At the same time, regulatory agencies are issuing new guidelines on an almost-daily basis.


This new, intense level of required rigour will become part of new potential HR policies and there may even be a need to create education prerequisites for returning to the post-pandemic work environment.


The consistency of these practices will also need to be addressed. Manual and paper recordkeeping are insufficient. Instead, automated maintenance checklists and workflows, alongside digitised staff scheduling, training, and manager signoffs will become commonplace.


End-to-end preventive maintenance processes will be critical in keeping environments both safe and clean. New maintenance schedules are likely to include a new set of work qualifications and operating conditions. Preventive maintenance (PM) cleaning procedures and approaches will change, with updated protocols for PM execution—especially the use of PPE and more frequent equipment cleaning.


Step two: Update preventive


maintenance schedules Organisations can expect more tracking, monitoring, and analysis of any contamination incident, from questions about maintenance frequency to employee education and qualification. There are already new guidelines around flushing and heating systems, dictating more routine review of preventive maintenance practices.


30 | TOMORROW’S FM


This level of oversight will only increase across all industries. Organisations need to be ready with expanded documentation and records outlining their health and safety practices.


Identifying the most critical assets to maintain means having a sense of situational awareness around the primary physical resources that support safe and efficient business operations. For example, in a casino environment, the priority systems are air conditioning and ventilation. If those are not optimised, not only does revenue suffer but also, more critically, the property becomes at risk of contamination. In transportation, it’s all about the equipment that keeps people moving, safely and on time, which can call for something as fundamental as regular wheel inspections.


Step three: Identify assets at risk Under this new safe and clean mandate, identifying assets most at risk is critical. For example, prior to the pandemic, a transport risk assessment might focus on tyres, the heating and cooling system, and the engine. Post-COVID, this expands to include areas such as the operator and passenger cabins.


“Organisations can expect more tracking, monitoring, and analysis of any


contamination incident.”


These assessments need to not only ask if assets are but also when were they cleaned last, who cleaned them and were cleaning personnel trained on new regulations?


This applies to all other facilities, from hotels to factories to offices: With new safe and clean operation protocol in place, are rooms or spaces being cleaned by people who know how to clean them according to new requirements, and can their action history be traced?


Aside from this softer look at critical systems, staff should convene around a trustworthy reliability ranking process. Tools that help determine the risk of assets as measured against specific criteria typically allow users to assign a Risk Assessment Index (RAI) and score to assets. Criteria is defined by using decision trees and developing formulaic approaches to calculate the risk assessment score. Assigned score ranges determine which RAI should be applied.


twitter.com/TomorrowsFM


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60