Utilizing numerous technological tools, such as a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS), can help minimize the negative effects of the coronavirus in your community. CMMS can also help you prepare for future catastrophic events. Protecting caregivers, seniors and their loved ones from the devastating effects of COVID-19 is of paramount importance. It is a proven fact that this new strain of the coronavirus disproportionately affects older adults and people who have compromised immune systems. As owners and operators of residential assisted living homes, it’s crucial that you take the most extreme precautions to protect seniors and employees. How can CMMS support senior living community management during the pandemic?
What Details Do CMMS Consist Of?
When disaster strikes, a digital response is usually quicker and more efficient for saving lives. CMMS is a software package that maintains a computer database of information about your residential living home. The information in this database is intended to assist your on-site maintenance and staff to do their jobs more effectively and efficiently. A CMMS can help your staff quickly identify which machines require maintenance, while also providing details of the exact storage location that contains needed spare parts. A CMMS can help keep track of regular inventory supplies as well as aid your management team in making informed decisions such as calculating the cost of appliance/machine breakdown repair versus preventive maintenance. In order to keep up with ever-changing technology, more companies are switching to CMMS. The antiquated manual systems of tracking and organizing information is outdated and fails to provide the best service for seniors.
Ten Core Maintenance Functionalities of a CMMS
- Preventive maintenance
- Equipment data management
- Predictive maintenance
- Labor
- Work order system
- Scheduling/planning
- Vendor management
- Inventory control
- Purchasing and Budgeting
- Asset tracking
Ultimately, CMMS can benefit your residential assisted living home by ensuring that you have a solid foundation geared toward prevention and fast recovery.
What Can A CMMS Do To Make Ral Homes Safer?
1. Preventive Maintenance
It is essential that your RAL home is functional and safe for staff, residents, and visitors on a daily basis. The goal of regular preventive maintenance is to keep all systems fully operational. Having a well-maintained community during a natural disaster or pandemic allows you to respond quickly. It enables caregivers to focus on intervention measures while maintaining a healthy medical approach for residents.
2. Reporting and Task Management
In an emergency situation, CMMS are fully-equipped to help you react fast, communicate in real time, and monitor your team’s actions. A CMMS gives you the ability to check inventory reports or schedule sanitization and housekeeping tasks. CMMS also makes operations management a breeze. It helps you to coordinate your teams with effortlessness by offering progress tracking and remote task delegation for mobility on the job. App access to documentation ensures that pertinent information such as instruction manuals and inventory reports are promptly delivered to the staff members who need it most. Maintenance Care also offers customizable options that enable you to set up tasks, reports, and complete databases as required.
3. Emergency preparedness
Timing is everything. CMMS has features for emergency plans that allows owners and operators to arrange proactive and strategic action plans for high-risk situations. You can use CMMS to make action plans for a multitude of threats: wildfire, storms, disease outbreaks, and pandemics such as COVID-19. This feature also enables you to set up a line of command and provides specific instructions for team members or job descriptions. Your entire team will have access to resources and communication anytime and anywhere. An emergency preparedness plan also is very useful to identify weaknesses in your existing disaster response plan. Use the current pandemic as a cautionary tale to ensure that your community is prepared whenever disaster strikes. How has your CMMS assisted you in keeping your community safe during this pandemic?
Partnerships Matter To Ral National Association
The Residential Assisted Living National Association is here to provide information, resources and support for RAL owners and staff. We provide the kind of support that empowers owners and operators to administer quality senior care. Visit: www.RALNA.org to learn more. RALNA advocates for residential assisted living business owners and operators supporting them with guidance to legal expertise, continued education, national marketing, group purchasing power and a continual positive voice for the industry.
