2 Education Clients Share How Brightly’s Asset Essentials Has Transformed Their Facilities Maintenance Programs

Prioritizing Maintenance Tasks

At Frederick County Public Schools, standard operating procedures have traditionally included requesting $7 million to $9 million per year for upgrades, such as new boilers or chillers, that staff members deemed “most pressing,” said Logan Gordon, CMMS administrator. But after implementing Asset Essentials three years ago, leaders realized they could rely on the data supplied by the software to predict the most necessary updates and repairs. 

Using that data, Frederick County has transitioned to a 75% preventive maintenance focus. By tending to the preventive tasks recommended by Asset Essentials, “we’re extending the life of our assets,” Gordon said. 

Rather than asking for a blanket request to make large repairs or requests in various buildings each year, Frederick County has implemented a new plan to provide all buildings with a mid-lifecycle renovation at 35 years, with an expected demolition date at 70 years for all buildings. Currently, the county has four buildings undergoing a mid-lifecycle renovation. “One year into this plan, it looks like our preventive maintenance is working, extending the useful life of our equipment,” Gordon said. “That’s a very tangible impact Brightly has provided our organization.” 

Data-Informed Funding Requests

Most public school districts and public institutions of higher learning must operate on limited funding. All three panelists expressed how the data available through Asset Essentials helps them to accurately demonstrate their needs to funding bodies. 

For example, Baltimore City Public Schools’ needs $150 million to get all preventive maintenance up to the industry standard, but the district only gets $30 million for maintenance efforts, said Patrick McGough, CMMS manager. “Asset Essentials has given us the ability to tell the story, through data and work orders and inventory, of how bad our situation is,” he said. “With Capital Predictor, we can show that if we continue along the current path, how much worse it will get—or how we can dig ourselves out of this situation if we can create a funding plan.” 

Staffing Decisions Based on Analytics

Frederick County was recently able to use the data provided by Asset Essentials to create an apprenticeship program in its district, adding nine HVAC apprentice positions and three plumbing apprentice positions, which will eventually evolve into journeyman and master craftsman positions. 

Frederick County was recently able to use the data provided by Asset Essentials to create an apprenticeship program in its district, adding nine HVAC apprentice positions and three plumbing apprentice positions, which will eventually evolve into journeyman and master craftsman positions. 

“I was able to show where work wasn’t being completed and our biggest need was staffing,” Gordon said. “We had been posting those positions and were unable to fill them, so leaders worked with us to create this apprenticeship program we have now. It was a direct return on our investment in Asset Essentials.” 

Logan Gordon

CMMS Administrator, Frederick County (Maryland) Public Schools

Because the CMMS is web-based, it’s easy for technicians to access the program from wherever they are. 

Partnering with Brightly

Not only does Asset Essentials provide the data analytics necessary to set and meet big-picture goals for educational institutions, but panelists said it also provides the everyday efficiencies and user-friendliness to simplify and track the day-to-day work of facilities maintenance.

“We have really loved the ease of navigation through the software. As we think of new things we want to capture, it’s easy to add. Rather than updating one work order at a time, you can export 50 work orders, make changes and import them back in. It’s mind-blowing.”

Patrick McGough

CMMS Manager, Baltimore City Public Schools 

Because the CMMS is web-based, it’s easy for technicians to access the program from wherever they are. Finally, both clients agree that the customer service and implementation teams make it easy to adopt and use Asset Essentials.

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