You would be forgiven for assuming that every company now uses technology to track their maintenance operations – because it seems like that is where the world has gone. However, if you start to dig into it, you’ll find that there is still a non-trivial proportion that relies instead on pen and paper systems that are leaving a lot of value on the table.
Research suggests that somewhere between 26% and 49% of companies are still using pen and paper – which is a staggering statistic if you think about it. In this article, we’ll explore why this is happening, and then make a case for why those companies that haven’t made the transition to software are missing a trick.
This is often the refrain you’ll hear when you ask someone why they’re still using pen and paper to manage their asset maintenance and the additional context surrounding it. They’ve done it just like this for a long time and see no reason to change a system that has worked for them in the past.
One of the possible reasons that this is so prevalent in the space is the fact that often your asset maintenance is an ongoing task happening over years. The long lifespan means that you don’t get many opportunities to reflect on what you’re doing and assess whether it is still the best way to do it.
What this argument misses is the opportunity cost of using pen and paper. While it might be serving some of your needs, software and technology, in general, open up a whole new realm of opportunities that simply aren’t possible with some paper on a clipboard.
When you make use of software like FieldOS to manage your asset maintenance, you gain in a number of important ways:
All of these benefits are simply not possible with a pen and paper solution – and so you should be able to see why a software implementation can transform your asset maintenance and keep you relevant for years to come.
If you’d like to explore what FieldOS can do for your organization, be sure to get in touch today. We’d love to hear from you and see how we can help you move from pen and paper to a sophisticated, mobile-first asset management platform.