Technology is one of the highest fixed costs in a modern business in Kenya today. That is understandable since a modern business is likely to use many different technologies to run each area of operations. That means a single business will have many technology systems installed. Business technology needs regular maintenance to continue working without breaking down.
If professionally installed, like a new car your new technology will usually run smoothly, with no frills. But nothing remains the same forever. Like a car after several runs in Kenya’s upcountry, your technology will also start needing a mechanic.
Ensuring your company gets the full value worth of its technology investment should be on top of your mind, after all, good technology costs a good sum of money.
Start with proper training
First of all, as a manager or CIO, you should ensure all everyone involved with a particular technology system of appropriate training. For operators, the training should be thorough enough so they can not only keep it running reliably but also help others to use it. The day-to-day user training should identify and cover proper usage procedures, as well as improper activities.
Keep your technical team skills up-to-date
When a new technology system is first installed, most likely an internal maintenance technician will receive training in its operation and maintenance. Over time things change. The technicians will have forgotten at least a few of these learned procedures or for good technicians, they may have figured out a way to improve their daily system learning enough to replace them with more desirable ones.
Refresh and upskill your technical team skills
It is also possible the original technicians would have been reshuffled or moved on and replaced with new technicians. To ensure your technology systems keep working reliably and that everyone is working the systems properly, you should schedule periodic refresher courses for your technicians and where possible upskilling to keep up with new advanced technologies.
Create inspection schedule
Well, knowing how to do it properly and doing it is mostly different, especially in large enterprises. It’s easier said than done. Managers should ensure technicians regularly inspect the equipment, firmware, and software that runs the system. With modern internet-based systems, this may create potential vulnerabilities in cybersecurity incidents. Regular checks on systems software ensure they stay updated with the latest software version.
Keep working conditions right
They should also ensure the environment in which this equipment is located has the right conditions for optimal performance. It’s often to find that with time the areas or equipment collect dust and dirt while aeration and ventilation become inadequate.
Your technicians should regularly inspect and service systems to make certain that their working environment is maintained. For example, storage cabinets should remain closed to keep dust and dirt from accumulating on the equipment and interfering with their cooling.
After inspecting the core equipment it is critical to regularly inspect all cables and connections that are part of the system. It is also equally important to ensure their trunking and conduit provisions are in good condition. Inadequately supported wiring and connectors put stress on cables that can cause breakage and failures.
Check the output
All the above is done to ensure the system hardware integrity is maintained. How about its output? Technicians must regularly test the functionality of systems. A test may show the system is slowing down or have errors that affect the integrity of its output.
The best maintenance programs should have two things. One, they should be preventative to ensure potential faults are prevented and caught on time and responded to before they disrupt operations. Secondly, they should ensure there are proper records and documentation for every maintenance activity. Managers should ensure reports are made for every inspection and that these reports are documented.
Give your team a voice in decision making
Maintenance technicians should be more than policy enforcers. It is good to give them a voice when it comes to making future technology decisions. Since they understand the system better, they are the best personnel to make recommendations on upgrades and even full retirement of a system once it starts not meeting the business requirements.
