You know that you need asset management and maintenance software, but do you realize how beneficial having an asset management mobile app also is? The best asset management mobile app is specially designed to ensure that your teams have complete control and visibility of maintenance requests from the minute they are submitted up to when they are officially resolved.
Having an asset management mobile app helps you to have timely asset inspections while also ensuring maximum employee productivity. The right app will significantly help your Maintenance and Asset Managers while also ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
To learn more, keep reading for the five things to look for in an asset management mobile app.
1. Ability to inspect assets and facilities in real time
One of the most important things to look for in an asset management mobile app is the ability to inspect assets and facilities in real time. After all, timely asset inspections are crucial for preventing emergency breakdowns and decreasing downtime that will potentially cost you significant amounts of money.
Therefore, by choosing an app that allows you to inspect your assets and facilities in real time, you can have your teams immediately report any issues. These reports can then be automatically converted into Work Orders. In fact, you will also be able to include in the reports rich data (such as photos and video) and tools that pinpoint the issues on the site. This will make the whole process a lot smoother for everyone involved.
2. User-friendly and versatile
The last thing you want is an asset management mobile app that has all the features you want, but that is not very easy for your team to use. Therefore, you want to ensure you are selecting one that is user-friendly, and that allows teams to create, change, and monitor requests on the phone and on the go.
They should also be able to raise requests by merely typing in text, taking photos, or recording a voice message. Moreover, you want the app to have user-friendly drop-down menus that are easily navigable for all members of the team. All of these extra features will make it a lot easier for your team to use, meaning it will be more likely that they will rely on it for core maintenance activities.
3. Easy-to-access and input data
Speaking of your team, it is crucial that all members can deal with Work Orders on the go, which requires them to have all the necessary information at their fingertips. For this reason, you want an asset management mobile app that is designed to maximize your employee productivity and ensure that they can respond to requests and Work Orders as quickly as possible.
To ensure this happens, the app you utilize needs to make it easy for the team to access and input relevant data. Therefore, the app needs to be well-designed, uncluttered, and easy to navigate. The best app can be used with one hand, as this makes it a breeze for team members to view existing Work Orders, read new ones, scan QR codes, and upload photos. Plus, the capability of recording start and end times for each project or work order helps boost accountability and ensure that all members are working efficiently and on schedule.
4. Suitable for your maintenance and asset managers
When it comes to overseeing your assets, it is your Maintenance and Asset managers who have the most challenging job as it is up to them to ensure that everything is authorized, managed, and monitored. It falls under their responsibility to ensure that Work Requests are responded to promptly and that all Crew teams are appropriately dispersed. Therefore, you want to ensure that the app you are considering is going to help make their lives easier.
The right app will ensure that these managers always have access to the information they need to make strategic scheduling decisions and communicate with their workers in real time. Additionally, they need to be able to review Work Requests, assign Work Orders, schedule maintenance tasks, check inventory, and more. Look for an app that helps them to stay on top of all these responsibilities while also delivering high-quality services.
5. Adaptable to multiple platforms
Last but not least, you want to ensure that the asset management mobile app you choose is adaptable to various platforms. The best option will run on a hybrid platform. This means that it was developed to be used across multiple platforms (both iOS and Android platforms). This also means it has a faster development time than native apps, as only one development process is required.
Built similarly to websites, hybrid mobile applications utilize a combination of technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. However, rather than targeting a mobile browser, hybrid applications target a WebView hosted inside a native container. Therefore, this type of mobile app allows you to have features such as accessing the hardware capabilities of the mobile device.
Does your company utilize an asset management mobile app? Why or why not? If not, is it something you are considering introducing this year? Let us know your thoughts, comments, and any relevant insights in the comments below.
About Author:-
Andrew Piechowiak is the General Manager – Asset Management Business at SGE Group International, a multidisciplinary group of companies with core business interests in Asset Lifecycle Management, Land Development and Software. Aladdin is SGE’s proprietary Asset Lifecycle Management software, designed to empower FM, Maintenance and Asset teams across multiple industry sectors.