Efficient maintenance management is critical to minimizing unproductive hours while ensuring high output. In fact, the Aberdeen Group found that companies with an effective maintenance strategy can achieve as high as 30% more equipment uptime and 20% less maintenance costs. Be that as it may, a great number of maintenance professionals still use Microsoft Excel for maintaining their schedules and tasks.

This blog examines some of the reasons why people might choose Excel, the real disadvantages of using the system to manage maintenance, and how an automated solution—a mobile EAM system—can promote huge gains in efficiency.

Overview:

Why Use Excel in Managing Maintenance

Excel is one versatile tool used within many organizations for different purposes, including maintenance management. Due to its wide availability and ease of use, it remains a favorite among maintenance schedulers and planners. Some of the reasons why maintenance personnel prefer to use Excel are as follows:

Cost-effective:
Excel often does not require additional funding for small businesses or at least for startups because it’s part of the Office package.
Familiarity:
Since most employees already work with Excel, this will reduce the learning curve for new software.
Flexibility:
Users can customize spreadsheets to fit their specific needs, creating tailored solutions for tracking tasks and schedules.

But whereas these benefits may prove very enticing, in reality, the opposite is often true with scalability.

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Why Excel Is Not a Preferred Choice for Managing Maintenance

Despite its initial appeal, relying on Excel for maintenance management presents several critical disadvantages such as:

Lack of specialized features:
Excel is not designed specifically for maintenance tasks. It lacks essential features such as automatic work order generation, real-time tracking of interventions, and preventive maintenance alerts. This deficiency can severely limit the effectiveness of maintenance management efforts.
Real-time update and sharing difficulty:
While multiple users try to use one Excel file, real-time updating becomes difficult. One might face version conflict and data loss when several of them try to update the same document at the same time.
Risk of errors and data loss:
Human errors during data entry is a big risk associated with Excel. Complex spreadsheets lead to calculation errors, and without regular backups, some key data gets lost.
Limited accessibility on mobile:
Maintenance teams often need to access data while they are on-site. While Excel can be used on mobile, it is no match for the ease of use a native mobile application would provide for maintenance management.
Challenges in analysis and reporting:
Although Excel offers powerful analysis tools, generating detailed reports can be tedious and time-consuming. Users often struggle with data visualization and manual chart creation, hindering quick decision-making.
Compliance and accountability issues:
Maintaining compliance with inspection schedules or warranty requirements can be difficult with Excel. Tracking changes in spreadsheets lacks transparency, making it hard to identify who made modifications and when.
Scalability problems:
As your organization grows, managing larger datasets in Excel becomes cumbersome. The software struggles with performance issues when handling extensive information, leading to slow load times and increased potential for errors.

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How an Automated Solution Can Overcome These Challenges

An automated solution such as a mobile EAM solution offered by Propel Apps can optimize your maintenance efforts, specifically your maintenance planning and scheduling tasks. This solution seamlessly integrates with your in-house ERP system (Oracle or SAP) to enable two-way data synchronization. And the best part is this solution even works offline, which is a boon for your maintenance technicians located remotely, having poor internet access. Let’s understand some of the key benefits of this solution in the subsequent section.

How Does Propel Apps’ Mobile EAM Solution Benefits Your Team

Provides real-time data access: This EAM solution provides real-time updates on asset status and work orders, enabling better decision-making and reducing unplanned downtime.
Automates routine tasks: Automating the triggering of notifications for schedules regarding preventive maintenance assists in ensuring that important tasks are not missed.
Improved collaboration: This EAM solution allows multiple users to access and update information all at the same time with no version conflicts or data silos.
Enhanced reporting: Having reporting capabilities in its core, this solution eases data analysis and visualization for quick identification of trends and fact-based decisions.
Offline connectivity: Your technicians can access essential information on-site even with poor internet connectivity, thereby fostering efficient communication and efficiency on the field.

By adopting Propel Apps’ EAM solution, you can streamline your maintenance processes, reduce errors, and ultimately enhance productivity. To know more about this solution, schedule a free demo with us.

Explore: The Future of Maintenance: RCM’s Impact on Operations

Final Thoughts

While Microsoft Excel might fit for a short-term solution for your organization in performing maintenance, noticeable limitations arise as your organization begins to grow. Human errors, lack of real-time updates, and collaboration involve a number of risks, making it less suitable for long-term maintenance management. Moving to an automated solution—like a mobile EAM system—addresses these challenges and positions your organization for efficiencies and success in maintaining assets.

In return, investing in such specialized software for maintenance management yields a very substantial return through various means: improved uptimes, cost reduction, and enhanced overall effectiveness of operations. The earlier you make this shift, the more prepared you’ll be to respond to the demands being raised by today’s maintenance management and to drive your organization into a more productive future.