How to protect your operations budget during inflation

During periods of inflation, everything from regular inventory to special parts or emergency repairs costs more. Maintenance and operations (M&O) leaders must be strategic to ensure department needs are covered and expenses can be anticipated.

Facilities managers working on budgets understand that if a machine, HVAC system, or sewer system goes down, or a part is unavailable, day-to-day functions can screech to a halt, which is not ideal, well ever, but especially when every penny matters. In today’s battles with inflation, you need every tool up and running to keep your assets and operations serving your organization instead of chasing replacement or repair costs for failed assets.

Luckily, if you can think holistically when financially planning, there are many ways M&O can contend with inflation. From getting proactive with maintenance to leveraging funding opportunities, a little bit of data can go a very long way.

So long as you have the right tools to help you capture and utilize your asset data.

Stop spending money on utility waste

Ever wish you had a 360-degree view of your organization's energy usage so you could spot inefficiencies or make more informed decisions?

Energy management software can centralize utility management to help facility and energy managers use data to identify utility waste, cut utility bills and take steps to operate smarter with an energy management strategy.

Using utility data helps identify opportunities for efficiencies, such as asset upgrades or replacements and makes it easier to identify where and when to focus on energy procurement alternatives. Developing an energy management strategy can also lead to decreased utility costs, extend the life cycle of assets and help organizations of all types to track sustainability initiatives.

Unlock the benefits of centralizing your operational data

In the current atmosphere of “do more with less,” M&O departments are certainly feeling the pinch. Whether it’s the crux of a generation retiring at a time when hiring is challenging, managing a cache of assets at various stages of their life cycles, or supply chain issues that don’t seem to quit, many leaders will tell you, something needs to change.

One shift that can have a lasting impact well into the future is the centralizing of operational data. A computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) can help transform a disjointed M&O department that once relied on spreadsheets and manual methods for tracking into a well-oiled machine that functions at maximum efficiency.

Other benefits of adopting a CMMS include: 

• Capturing legacy knowledge for future generations of workers 
• Streamlining workflows for more efficient operations
• Leveraging preventive and predictive maintenance to stay on top of asset health
• Dashboards that help you keep on top of maintenance data and operational costs

A CMMS solution designed to streamline asset management can help M&O managers stay on top of everything from facility maintenance scheduling to projecting where budgets can best be directed.

Discover how getting proactive can pay dividends

If your organization employs an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach, chances are that when things break, they cost a lot more to repair (especially with inflation and supply chain challenges). Preventive maintenance can be a game changer if you want to minimize downtime and extend asset life.

Just like visiting the doctor regularly for check-ups can help catch things before they become serious, preventive maintenance can help M&O professionals spot easily solvable issues before they become expensive and time-consuming nightmares.

Preventive maintenance can help operation departments realize:

• Lower long-term costs
• Healthier assets and machines with longer life cycles
• More reliability in the day-to-day
• Less time required by technicians when it's not an emergency
• Better prediction for needed inventory or parts

Preventive maintenance helps reduce expenses due to rushed jobs or expedited parts ordering to avoid downtime and can help make M&O departments more productive. A modern CMMS or enterprise asset management (EAM) solution can help facilities managers create a sustainable preventive maintenance strategy.

Use your operational data to illuminate funding needs

There are opportunities for data-driven grants, such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which focuses mainly on safety, transportation and sustainability.

Though applying for such funding can feel like a risk for operations managers, who might not have staff to complete the application or insufficient data to back requests, technology can help strategically collect, share and utilize information to help make it easier to secure grants like IIJA.

Utilizing an EAM or CMMS solution can bring your strategic asset management up-to-date and help access the data required to apply for grants or funding such as the IIJA.  

Inflation? Look on the Brightly side

Instead of looking at the lemon that is inflation, operations and facilities leaders must remember that with the right tools, you can turn this sour fruit into a delightful lemonade.

Investing in smart technology can help maximize budgets by more effective utility management, enabling smarter asset management, reducing long-term or emergency costs from preventive maintenance, and even helping ease challenges with the changing of the guards that's happening as workforce demographics change.

Brightly helps M&O teams leverage data to optimize operations. Our solutions connect people, assets, and workflows and offer visibility into the information associated with lifecycle costing, ESG assessments, climate resiliency and many other evaluations to prepare institutions for proper allocation and requesting funds.

Ready to see how capturing a little of your operational data can give your budget a boost? Connect with a Brightly expert today.