Best Practices for Issue Tracking Software to Boost Corrective Maintenance

All issues must be taken seriously it does not matter if they are small or big. Issues shall never be ignored as small issues can turn into big issues in no time. We know issues create an impact on machines and equipment furthermore they also impact business productivity. Especially when you are using corrective maintenance. This practice is mainly utilized when you have a very limited budget, maintenance team, etc.

That is why you must keep track of issues and resolve them on time. How to do that? With the help of issue tracking software, you can keep track of them and resolve them accordingly!

What Is Corrective Maintenance?

Corrective maintenance is the type of maintenance in which failure has occurred and maintenance tasks shall be performed to bring the asset into running condition. However, most of the time corrective maintenance is done reactively but you can do it proactively as well. However, you can change corrective maintenance by running equipment to failure or by using preventive maintenance.

The corrective maintenance can be divided into two parts immediate maintenance and deferred maintenance.

1. Immediate Corrective Maintenance - Maintenance is done quickly and on an immediate basis so that machines or equipment can start work again without wasting any time.
2. Deferred Corrective Maintenance - According to Wikipedia  “in deferred corrective maintenance work is delayed in conformance to a given set of maintenance rules”. In simple words, an asset is not functional until maintenance is not provided.

Also Read: 5 Steps for Implementing CMMS in Growing Enterprise Business

Implementing corrective maintenance is dependent on various factors such as redundancy, dependability on the asset, expenses, etc. The steps involved in the corrective maintenance start when failed equipment is bought in the facility center then inspection and diagnosis are done then cause of the breakdown is identified then the new part is installed and then the machine is checked that it is functioning properly or not.

What Are the Best Practices for Issue Tracking Software?

The best practices for issue tracking software are as follow:

1. Identify the Category of the Issue

Issue category identification is important for effective tracking of issues. When you categorize assets as per their usage it will be easier to track issue which has higher importance.

These assets help fulfill the requirement of the customer on time. For instance, when a breakdown has occurred the maintenance team's precious time mustn't be wasted on unnecessary equipment. That is why it is significant that you divide assets into two categories. Critical assets and non-critical assets.

When you categorize assets, it is crucial that your maintenance teamwork on critical assets first then only move to non-critical assets. Since you are in the process of improving corrective maintenance you cannot waste time as it can be lethal for business.

2. Plan Corrective Maintenance

When you want to implement maintenance then why not plan accordingly. A lot of people think that corrective maintenance is reactive maintenance but you can use it proactively as well. In fact, this is one of the advantages of corrective maintenance.

Also Read: What Is Deferred Maintenance & Why It's Not the Best Strategy to Follow?

When you utilize proactive maintenance, it is very beneficial for business as it allows you to plan. However, in corrective maintenance, you must plan for maintenance accurately because you divided each asset into a category. Furthermore, deciding the priority of each asset is important as per the circumstances. Timely corrective maintenance helps in decreasing failure.

3. Invest in Issue Tracking Software

When corrective maintenance is crucial for business, managers need to know information and update regularly so that they can plan their next move. The maintenance team has lots of assets to work on. They need to keep updating about the work done and what needs to be done so that managers can update clients as well.

Issue tracking software helps employees by managing their tasks and boosting their productivity. Furthermore, managers can get a complete view of ongoing work orders. It keeps a record of every ticket generated, which can help the maintenance team by minimizing the worktime.

4. Make Informed Decisions

One of the main reasons behind asset failure is that there is no history of an asset is kept or tracked and management relies on manual process. Now is the high time to eliminate manual processes and make them automated.

This issue tracking software can provide details about assets that will help in making crucial decisions. You can also know how much the inventory will be required by the maintenance team to make effective maintenance. Keeping your assets maintained is essential in a business that is why the maintenance market is growing at a tremendous rate.

For instance, according to Allied Market Research,  “The global predictive maintenance market size was valued at $2,804.38 million in 2018, and is projected to reach $23,014.7 million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 30.20% from 2019 to 2026.”

Conclusion

Issue tracking software is one of the types of asset management software. It is helpful in monitoring, managing asset issues efficiently. It keeps track of tickets generated it lets you know how many tickets are closed how many open & what is the status of a particular ticket. This software can provide great details, these details can help you in decreasing downtime and minimizing maintenance expenses as well.

Also Read: Tips & Practices for Better Maintenance Management for an Organization

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What are critical and non-critical assets? How to categorize them?‍

Below we have defined critical and non-critical assets:
1. Critical Assets: These assets are essential for daily operation and without these assets, productivity will decrease. If the speed of the process is compromised without them then you can put these assets into a critical asset list. Furthermore, how dependent employees are on these assets also assists in deciding the category of assets.
2. Non-Critical Assets: Non-critical assets list can contain those assets which are not much important. In simple words, there are not so much dependencies on them. Work can be done without them.

2. What are the benefits of corrective maintenance?‍

The benefits of corrective maintenance are that it does not need much planning, it is simple to process. The maintenance team can focus on other tasks until the failed asset arrives and full utilization of assets and resources no waste occurs. Corrective maintenance is considered one of the most effective methodologies for non-critical assets.

3. What are the advantages of issue tracking software?‍

It keeps track of every ticket generated which is helpful in business decisions. It keeps every important person in the loop & making information centralized. It also provides history tracking that helps the maintenance team in improving downtime and maintenance expenses. It helps detect issues at earlier stages. They are also helpful in understanding asset situations with the help of asset history.