Computer-assisted environmental services: how applying information management technology to housekeeping, maintenance and laundry can enhance performance.As long-term care long-term care (LTC), n the provision of medical, social, and personal care services on a recurring or continuing basis to persons with chronic physical or mental disorders. advances into managed care and other financing changes, we will be responsible for providing the same high-quality care we currently give but with smaller operating budgets Noun 1. operating budget - a budget for current expenses as distinct from financial transactions or permanent improvements budget items, operating cost, operating expense, overhead - the expense of maintaining property (e.g. . One way we can "get the edge back" is to develop accountable, organized, statistic-based management programs for our environmental services The various combinations of scientific, technical, and advisory activities (including modification processes, i.e., the influence of manmade and natural factors) required to acquire, produce, and supply information on the past, present, and future states of space, atmospheric, departments. This means customizing each department, such as Housekeeping, Maintenance or Laundry, to its optimal operating limits while providing the data-based information that is key to fiscal-year and long-range financial planning Financial planning Evaluating the investing and financing options available to a firm. Planning includes attempting to make optimal decisions, projecting the consequences of these decisions for the firm in the form of a financial plan, and then comparing future performance against . Once this information has been gathered, organized and properly applied, environmental services will be on the road to the future. Here, in alphabetical order, are factors to take into account: Communication Listen to your staff. Encourage them to grow and support them in doing so. An open dialogue lets your staff know up front that they will be held accountable for their particular positions. This is monitored in our system by weekly work schedules and performance standards checks generated by the software. Providing your staff with an accountable weekly work task will not only achieve your goals, but also will increase your employees' sense of self-worth through their measurable weekly achievements. Computers Purchasing a computer See how to select a computer. system for your environmental services is a relatively small investment when you consider the potential timesaving time·sav·ing adj. Serving to save time through an efficient method or a shorter route; expeditious. time and organizational benefits. One software program that I have used extensively to perform equipment management and departmental organization is the Lotus Approach 3.0 relational database relational database Database in which all data are represented in tabular form. The description of a particular entity is provided by the set of its attribute values, stored as one row or record of the table, called a tuple. , which ties in with the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet. This is an easy-to-learn program that will meet most of your data management needs - I have used it to custom-build the information management system I describe throughout this article. Or you may choose to purchase software designed for plant maintenance and engineering, such as Chief Advantage from Maintenance Automation Corporation of Hallandale Beach, FL, or for housekeeping and/or laundry, such as Environmental Software from Huntington Laboratories, Inc., Huntington, IN. No one program that I am aware of, other than the one I designed for our facility, covers all three departments. Outsourcing (1) Contracting with outside consultants, software houses or service bureaus to perform systems analysis, programming and datacenter operations. Contrast with insourcing. See netsourcing, ASP, SSP and facilities management. Having contracted vendors bidding against each other every time a contractual renewal comes up is only one small facet facet /fac·et/ (fas´it) a small plane surface on a hard body, as on a bone. fac·et n. 1. A small smooth area on a bone or other firm structure. 2. of outsourcing. A vendor can be a good source of information and support, but never rely on your vendor to provide you with your only means of cost accounting. It is up to you, for example, to balance the costs of a service contract plus external repairs for a piece of equipment versus your organization's internal capabilities and costs. Knowing "at the touch of a button" where your costs are in each environmental department at any given time is the power you need for managing your accounts. In our system we can call up pricing information immediately for each vendor, as well as get the vendor's pricing history over time for comparison. Project Management Managing multiple projects can be a difficult task, but applying some basic management principles can ease this process. For example, an accounting for "PF&D" can be added to your productive hours calculations ("PF&D" being Personal time [breaks, restroom stops, etc.], Fatigue [physical and mental stress, etc.] and unavoidable Delays [random interruptions, instruction time, pre-job preparations, quality assurance inspections]). Allowance factors for these can be determined by use of time study handbooks (e.g., those authored by C. L. Smith, Jr.) or by historical data collection and work sampling. Using a handwritten hand·write tr.v. hand·wrote , hand·writ·ten , hand·writ·ing, hand·writes To write by hand. [Back-formation from handwritten.] Adj. 1. or computer-generated Gantt chart (which lays out a time line for a project) can aid you in meeting your deadlines and goals of cost containment cost containment, n the features of a dental benefits program or of the administration of the program designed to reduce or eliminate certain charges to the plan. and control. Risk Management Incorporating into your preventive maintenance The routine checking of hardware that is performed by a field engineer on a regularly scheduled basis. See remedial maintenance. preventive maintenance - (PM) To bring down a machine for inspection or test purposes. See provocative maintenance, scratch monkey. programs a weekly systematic approach to inspecting physical plant needs, environmental surroundings and medical devices will increase your organization's awareness of safety and reduce the risk of injury. Example: Weekly physical inspection of all patient lift equipment includes observation of all friction and wear points and possible metal fatigue metal fatigue Weakened condition of metal parts of machines, vehicles, or structures caused by repeated stresses or loadings, ultimately resulting in fracture under a stress much weaker than that necessary to cause fracture in a single application. , as well as plans for continued safe operation when the equipment is pulled out of service for immediate repair. A device's repair history can be continually updated and tracked on-line to alert you when reinspection or testing might be needed. Taking Stock, which incorporates: Capital Equipment Procurement The fancy word for "purchasing." The procurement department within an organization manages all the major purchases. . This process is essentially the art of knowing whether to replace or repair. A product's life-cycle cost, including total operating run times, equipment repair records and accumulated repair costs, versus replacement cost over the product's estimated payback period Payback Period The length of time required to recover the cost of an investment. Calculated as: - all this information can and should be collected for your analysis through your maintenance management programs. Maintenance Cost-Effectiveness. One method I've used for this has been employed for some time now in the manufacturing industry: It's called RAV (Replacement Asset Value). For example, if your organization was established in 1960, review all your accumulated physical assets since then and ask, what would their replacement costs be for 1998? (You may use your insured value of assets for this calculation.) Multiply the total by 1 to 1.5%. This would be your estimated equipment repair or replacement expense per year, to include: building repairs, capital repairs, equipment repairs and cost of maintenance supplies and services. If your actual costs are within this estimated range, you are operating efficiently. If not, reevaluate your maintenance management program and figure out why you are spending so much - inefficiency? old equipment needing replacement? - and make necessary adjustments. A good software program will help you do this accurately and in detail. Finally, software can help you organize and integrate your environmental service departments (see "Departmental Organization," below). RELATED ARTICLE: Departmental Organization For optimal customer service and coordination of information, it is best to have one general manager for all three environmental support service departments - housekeeping, maintenance and laundry - though each would still have its own specific manager. The general manager would be able to monitor and devise reports based on specific pieces of information used by each department, as follows: Housekeeping * Computer-aided database room management * 52-week rotational floor care program * Written work performance standards * Computer-aided product specification files * Recorded product-testing program * Product utilization training program * Wheelchair assignment program * Admissions and discharge programs * Quality assurance management programs * Universal precautions universal precautions, n.pl 1. approaches to infection control designed to prevent transmission of bloodborne diseases, such as AIDS and hepatitis B in health care settings. programs * Infection-control procedures * Risk management systems * Procurement program * Inventory control programs Laundry * Computer-aided database management program * Written work performance programs * Computer-aided product specification files * Inventory-control programs * Infection-control procedures * Universal precautions programs * Detergent detergent (dētûr`jənt, dĭ–), substance that aids in the removal of dirt. Detergents act mainly on the oily films that trap dirt particles. cost-effectiveness analysis cost-effectiveness analysis Cost-utility analysis Clinical trials A form of economic analysis in which alternative interventions are compared in terms of the cost per unit of clinical effect–eg cost per life saved, per mm Hg of lowered BP, per yr of * Laundry process ergonomics ergonomics, the engineering science concerned with the physical and psychological relationship between machines and the people who use them. The ergonomicist takes an empirical approach to the study of human-machine interactions. analysis * Risk management systems * Procurement program Plant Operations * Reliability base management programs (to assure equipment reliability or safe and continued usage) * Computer-aided predictive maintenance Predictive maintenance (PdM) techniques help determine the condition of in-service equipment in order to predict when maintenance should be performed. This approach offers cost savings over routine or time-based preventive maintenance because tasks are performed only when programs (measuring equipment before it fails) * Computer-aided equipment database files * Computer-aided repair procedure cards * Daily generated repair requisitions * Written work performance programs * Computer-aided product specification files * Procurement management programs * Risk management systems * Computer-aided vendor resource index * Computer-aided master projects programs (spreadsheets to automatically calculate labor hours, material cost, priority, start dates and lead times) * Utility monitoring systems * Computer-aided utilities analysis * Capital equipment purchasing programs * Computer-aided fiscal year planning programs. Glen Holsather Glen Holsather is plant operations director for the Elim Home, Princeton, MN. For further information, (612) 389-1171. |
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