An innovative traffic signals preventative maintenance (PM) program implemented for Reno, NV and Hernando County, FL has resulted in increased productivity and efficiency. Public works professionals are familiar with pavement maintenance programs - making a continuous proactive maintenance investment, for instance, will be less expensive in the long run than having to reconstruct the roadway due to lack of maintenance causing the quality of the pavement to deteriorate.
Selecting the right maintenance management system can improve your operations
A properly implemented Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) can serve as a powerful management tool. Resources and activities can be justified and work history is documented. Public agencies may need to implement a CMMS for a number of reasons—mandates by federal, state and local agencies, results of internal or external audits, justifying resources, and establishing an automated system.
Big Success in a Small City: Implementing a New Maintenance Management Approach
The City of Emeryville, California recently implemented a new management approach in maintenance operations designed to enhance teamwork, morale, communication, and performance. The implemented maintenance management system was an innovative approach to improving not only operations, but also improving City officials' understanding of maintenance.
Six-Figure Savings with MMS Implementation and Citizen Involvement too!
Six-figure savings in the first six months of road and stormwater maintenance system implementation may sound too good to be true, but Charlotte County, Florida, got just that and more. An innovative Maintenance Management System (MMS) initiated for Charlotte County generated savings of more than $750,000 in the first six months of operation plus $500,000 in the following year. These savings were attributable to improved planning, work identification, scheduling, new crew configurations, and following maintenance activity guidelines.
Developing A Complete In-House Maintenance Management System
A Maintenance Management System (MMS) can help public agencies better manage their maintenance operations. One Florida County was not only able to able to accomplish this, but they did it with software they developed in-house. How could this be? Their success was a product of teamwork between the Department of Public Works (DPW) and the IT staff from Hernando County working together with a consultant to provide guidance and assistance.
Employee "buy-in", Education, Union Coordination Help Launch Successful Maintenance Management Program For Silicon Valley City
Coauthored with Maintenance Manager of City of Fremont, CA. Outlines how a maintenance management system was implemented to improve operations and resulted in six-figure annual savings.
Asset Management and G.A.S.B. Statement 34: The Basics Of Managing Your Infrastructure
Asset management has been generating a lot of public works industry ‘buzz’ this year, spurred on by Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 34. Perhaps one of the most influential policy trends facing public works managers today, asset management deserves a reality check.
Alternative Workweeks: Productivity vs. Employee Benefits
Public agency managers face increasingly limited public funds with demands for increased accountability and greater pressures for transparency of choices for employee work schedules. As a result, alternative work schedules (AWS) have become increasingly popular over the past several decades. AWS, in the area of public works, is a heated topic with the issue of productivity being a core question.
How a Maintenance Station Location Model Effectively Maintains Infrastructure Assets
One of the fundamental questions that we have in Public Works is where to locate maintenance yards to best serve the public and maintain infrastructure assets (i.e. roads, stormwater, sewer water, etc.) The location(s) can affect the service, cost, response time and ability to maintain assets. One way to evaluate maintenance yard locations is through the use of a Maintenance Station Location Model (MSLM).
Span of Control Impacts Public Works Efficiency
Span of control is defined as the number of people a manager can supervise effectively, and can be broadly categorized as either narrow or wide. The span of control and layers of management in an organization help determine the way public works operations assign tasks to employees. Improvement in work flow can often be impacted by these factors.
Overhead is Over our Head
In the public works field, our focus is often on just accomplishing work. Cost, of course, is a major issue, along with labor, equipment, material and contracts. However, the largest cost being incurred is often the one most misunderstood - overhead.
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Asset Management vs. Maintenance Management
In the public works industry, the practices of asset management and maintenance management are used interchangeably and synonymously. Although these practices have some common elements and are both valuable tools for a public works manager, they are both unique.
Orange County Proves Governments Can Compete
Jointly with County Maintenance Manager. Outlines how government can compete with the private sector. Discusses how the County with the aide of some private subcontractors was successful in direct competition with private contractors.