Computer maintenance is the art of ensuring that computers are in a good state of repair.

 This art include computer cleaning, backup, disk maintenance and software update
maintenance
 The main aim of doing equipment maintenance revolves around maintaining top
functionality and minimizing breakdowns.
 Maintenance management of mechanical equipment includes repair, replacement and
servicing of tools.
 It ensures their operational viability (ability to work) and prevents fluctuations in the
production process.

The evolving nature of many industries is calling out for better equipment maintenance practices.
In today’s age, even a minor downtime can lower the overall efficiency of machines and lead to
major production losses. Thus, it is critical for organizations to design a robust maintenance
strategy.

Maintaining a computer involves three things

keeping it physically clean and internally clean (such us defragmenting

and disk clean up)
protecting it from male ware, and
backing up your important files

If not properly maintained, computers can become very slow, overheat easily and otherwise
become more of a hassle or problem to use and operate it.

Failure to do so can result in the following consequences:

 Loss in production and resources

 Possibility of project subcontracting
 Rescheduling of entire projects
 Material wastage from unused resources
 Overtime labor due to unexpected downtime
 Early disposal of machinery and equipment

However, there is a way out! You can avoid these shortcomings by laying down a few basic
objectives for your equipment maintenance program.

o Set internal quality and usage standards: This helps the staff to streamline
maintenance based on the asset type, so that assets are operated in the right
manner and there are fewer chances of misuse and downtime.

o Develop consultation practice: Carry out any rigorous repairs only after proper
consultation from the concerned department. This helps in laying out a proper
schedule for maintenance projects and determines whether there is a need for
subcontracting.
 o Document all such activities thoroughly: This will allow you to track repair
history and calculate depreciation for timely disposal. An online system that
instinctively updates asset records is essential for this.


o Stick to deadlines: To complete daily tasks within deadlines, adhere to your
maintenance plan. Completing tasks also minimizes any waste of repair resources.

Setting up the aforementioned objectives can greatly cut large-scale replacement costs and
generate higher revenues by raising total productivity.

Different Types of Equipment Maintenance Practices

Companies hold several assets, both high and low in value. If you choose a single restorative
plan, you might end up spending a lot more on an asset than what it is actually worth.

To filter out items, which can be easily replaced instead of being repaired, a company should run
several types of repair and service events. Different organizational workflows need different
types of maintenance:

1. Planned maintenance

It refers to scheduled maintenance to cope with equipment failures before they actually occur. It
can be further broken down into preventive and predictive maintenance.

Preventive maintenance is carried out at predetermined intervals by following

prescribed criteria. It is time-driven and based on the assumption that usability of a
mechanical component will decline over its useful life cycle.
Predictive maintenance is different from preventive maintenance such that it depends
on the working condition of the machinery rather than its average life expectancy. It
requires monitoring equipment during its normal operations to see if it’s working at its
best. Some companies use periodic vibration analysis to continuously monitor high value
assets and simply check them in for maintenance when their vibration fluctuates.

2. Corrective maintenance

This type of maintenance restores any failed pieces of equipment. It is typically performed at
irregular intervals since technicians do not know when a certain machine will break down. The
main aim here is to fix a problem in the shortest possible time using three steps: diagnosis,
repair and verification.

3. Routine maintenance

Not dependent on any broken parts or downtime, it includes some necessary activities such as
cleaning, lubricating and replacing small-scale assets or equipment. This is generally performed
on a weekly basis.
Steps of a Maintenance Program  

When setting up a maintenance plan, companies are likely to focus on major breakdown issues
whilst ignoring smaller problems. This is not advisable in the long-term. Even the least harmful
problem areas can eventually lead to production errors, asset damage and injuries at work if not
resolved in time.

Here are a few simple steps you can follow to help you design a proactive maintenance routine:

1. Create a team

First, you need to create the right maintenance team. Recruit maintenance managers, technicians
and relevant people from the operations department. Then lay down the goals you want your
team to achieve.  These might include minimizing corrective repair costs and reducing downtime
of the equipment. Motivate your team members to make the maintenance program a success!

2. Record your equipment

Documenting your assets is necessary. You need to have an accurate asset count in order  to
know how many require maintenance. Add asset information like make/model, manufacturer ID,
asset specification, and location. It is easy to update prerecorded data, and it allows you to
prioritize maintenance activities.

3. Establish maintenance procedures

Once you have a well-grounded inventory list, you need to determine how frequently you should
service the assets. This can be done on a weekly, monthly, quarterly or a semi-annual basis
depending on the item type.

Additionally, you need to outline the procedures for repair including the standard operating and
repair guidelines or safety measures. Finally, prepare a list of internal or outsourced maintenance
tools that you need.

4. Prioritize maintenance tasks

For smooth daily operation, you need to categorize high, medium and low-priority repair tasks.
Service sessions can take a lot of time so you need to choose your battles wisely. Start with high
value equipment and begin scheduling maintenance tasks with longer intervals first (annual then
bi-annual) as they take up the most time and resources. You can then focus on low-priority items
that require less effort.

5. Train your team

Developing and implementing a maintenance system is a lengthy process and proper adoption of
the program is key! To optimize their management strategy, companies should devise training
schedules so that their team knows exactly how to deploy repair practices within different
departments. Optimal use of the restorative plan will eventually lead you to higher return on
investment.

6. Seek improvements

Businesses evolve along with their assets over time. Due to this constant transition, it is
important to analyze progress for future growth.

You might notice that some equipment gets checked-in for maintenance more often than others.
This can be concerning if the repair and replacement costs of the item exceed its actual worth. To
tackle such incidents, assess your maintenance plan after regular intervals, and make any
changes as necessary.  

Implement Best Practices of Equipment Maintenance

The most important factor to consider while implementing a restorative strategy is to adjust it as
your assets evolve. Over time, some equipment becomes obsolete while some shows a higher
usage demand. To deal with these fluctuations in resource utilization, it is helpful to outline some
basic guidelines.

Here are a few best practices, which can raise efficiency levels for your maintenance program:

1. Gather baseline information

After collecting all necessary data on your capital assets, you can estimate the approximate
equipment usage. Before you start off checking-in assets for repair, it is important to assess the
scale of the challenge.

Collect information for machine downtime, average time between failures, replacement cost of
parts, and response time of technicians etc. The aim is to calculate the average cost of one hour
of downtime and then use this statistic to design a viable maintenance strategy.

2. Choose an appropriate support system

Companies can opt for either a manual or a computerized system when it comes to picking an
equipment maintenance software. A software might seem costly as it  needs some upfront
investment involving subscription fees, but it comes along with many benefits.

Equipment maintenance software allows you to mass import asset data on to a cloud based
platform. You can schedule each item for recurring service periods. This automates repair
reminders and makes items unavailable for check-out to your employees.
In comparison to a manual maintenance system, an online system has quick response time and
easy access to all asset information, in turn, reducing average downtime duration.

3. Put Together Maintenance Checklists

Carrying out service and repair sessions means scheduling service tickets to reduce the impact of
downtime.  A maintenance strategy should be well defined and reviewed on a regular basis. To
ensure the correct implementation of the program, it helps to have service events listed down.

You can also develop a preventive maintenance checklist to monitor repairs and adjustments
without missing out on critical assets. Generally, organizations write down checklists for the
following activities:

o Lightinng

o Electrica

o Safety

o HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning

o Buildings
o Fixtures and furniture

During every service event, technicians can check off points  from the checklist that were
covered. If any equipment requires extra maintenance, then it can be scheduled on notice.

4. Develop Consistency in Inspection

An excellent maintenance program might not produce the right outcome if you slack off in
following it. It is quite possible for technicians to miss out on certain repair events in case of
tight deadlines.

While it becomes tough to follow the inspection strategy in an ongoing project, make sure that
you do not skip the routine completely. In such situations, track records to ensure there are no
discrepancies. To speed up processes, you can switch to electronic monitoring which takes up
less time than paper logs.

5. Send out Custom Reminders

Organizations working with various types of assets often find it hard to keep track of their last
maintenance session. Employees might forget the timeline and even end up using faulty
equipment which could lead to safety hazards.
To prevent such incidents, maintain a service log which allows you to send out email alerts. With
the ability to customize notifications as per requirements, you can remind the concerned
department about the schedule. This way, you can ensure a seamless inspection routine.  

Enhance your Production Efficiency with a Well-grounded Maintenance

Strategy

A robust maintenance strategy can boost your production efficiency by optimizing equipment
usage. To achieve this, you need to periodically track progress and make necessary amendments.
There are two kinds of key performance indicators which companies can track for monitoring the
effectiveness of their equipment maintenance strategy.

 Estimated versus actual performance and compliance;

 Past events such as mean time to repair, overall equipment effectiveness and mean time
between failure.

By documenting these metrics, you can generate valuable insights which can signal future
business growth. Actionable reports help dictate movement in the right direction and tackle any
maintenance challenges along the way. This not only reduces your costs but drives you to
achieve maximum operational efficiency.

About EZOfficeInventory!
EZOfficeInventory is an online maintenance software that helps thousands of companies manage
services and maintenance workflows, cut costs, and streamline processes over the world. We
offer a free 15 day trial – no credit card required!

The curation of this content is at the discretion of the author, and not necessarily reflective of the views
of Encyclopaedia Britannica or its editorial staff. For the most accurate and up-to-date information,
consult individual encyclopedia entries about the topics.

The computer age introduced a new element to businesses, universities, and a multitude of other
organizations: a set of components called the information system, which deals with collecting and
organizing data and information. An information system is described as having five components.

Computer hardware
This is the physical technology that works with information. Hardware can be as small as a
smartphone that fits in a pocket or as large as a supercomputer that fills a building. Hardware
also includes the peripheral devices that work with computers, such as keyboards, external disk
drives, and routers. With the rise of the Internet of things, in which anything from home
appliances to cars to clothes will be able to receive and transmit data, sensors that interact with
computers are permeating the human environment.
Computer software
The hardware needs to know what to do, and that is the role of software. Software can be divided
into two types: system software and application software. The primary piece of system software
is the operating system, such as Windows or iOS, which manages the hardware’s operation.
Application software is designed for specific tasks, such as handling a spreadsheet, creating a
document, or designing a Web page.

Telecommunications
This component connects the hardware together to form a network. Connections can be through
wires, such as Ethernet cables or fibre optics, or wireless, such as through Wi-Fi. A network can
be designed to tie together computers in a specific area, such as an office or a school, through a
local area network (LAN). If computers are more dispersed, the network is called a wide area
network (WAN). The Internet itself can be considered a network of networks.

Databases and data warehouses

This component is where the “material” that the other components work with resides. A database
is a place where data is collected and from which it can be retrieved by querying it using one or
more specific criteria. A data warehouse contains all of the data in whatever form that an
organization needs. Databases and data warehouses have assumed even greater importance in
information systems with the emergence of “big data,” a term for the truly massive amounts of
data that can be collected and analyzed.

Human resources and procedures

The final, and possibly most important, component of information systems is the human element:
the people that are needed to run the system and the procedures they follow so that the
knowledge in the huge databases and data warehouses can be turned into learning that can
interpret what has happened in the past and guide future action.

What Is a Warranty?
A warranty is a type of guarantee that a manufacturer or similar party makes regarding the
condition of its product. It also refers to the terms and situations in which repairs or exchanges
will be made if the product does not function as originally described or intended.

How a Warranty Works

Warranties usually have exceptions that limit the conditions in which a manufacturer will be
obligated to rectify a problem. For example, many warranties for common household items only
cover the product for up to one year from the date of purchase and usually only if the product in
question contains problems resulting from defective parts or workmanship.

As a result of these limited manufacturer warranties, many vendors offer extended warranties.
These extended warranties are essentially insurance policies for products that consumers pay for
upfront. Coverage will usually last for several years above and beyond the manufacturer's
warranty and is often more lenient in terms of limited terms and conditions.

Home warranties can provide discounted repair and replacement services for household
appliances and systems, and the best home warranties offer a range of plans depending on the
coverage you want.

Types of Warranties
There are two main categories of warranties, expressed and implied. Within each category exists
different types of warranties, with their own terms, conditions, and guarantees.

Express Warranty

As its name suggests, an express warranty is an expressed guarantee from a seller to a buyer that
the purchased product performs according to certain specifications. If defects are present, the
seller will repair or replace the defective product. The warranty can be expressed in writing or
verbally in advertising, on the product, or by some other means.

All expressed guarantees are not warranties. For example, puffery is not considered an express
warranty. It is an exaggerated language used to advertise a product and attract customers. If a
retailer claims that its mattresses will give you the "best night's sleep ever," they are no issuing a
guarantee that it will deliver upon that statement. It can be reasonably assumed that this claim is
based only on the opinion of the person making the statement in an attempt to promote the
product.

Implied Warranty

An implied warranty, or implied warranty of merchantability, is a guarantee that the purchased

product functions in the manner designed. It need not be expressed to be valid. This guarantee is
implied unless it is explicitly excluded, as is with "as is" sales.

Implied warranties also apply when sellers present and sell a product fit to fulfill a specific
purpose. The buyer relies on the seller's expertise to purchase the product. Any statements made
by the seller regarding the product can be considered assurances.

Extended Warranty

An extended warranty is a type of warranty that covers the repair and maintenance of a product
beyond the manufacturer's warranty. It is more of a service contract than a warranty as it is
optional coverage purchased by the buyer covering service-related claims. Like expressed
warranties, extended warranties have terms and conditions, and coverage can be denied if the
buyer breaches the agreement.

Most commonly, extended warranties are available on products of substantial value, such as cars,
electronics, and appliances. Although sold by the retailer, the manufacturer is responsible for
executing the extended warranty on behalf of the customer.

Special Warranty Deed

A special warranty deed is specific to real estate transactions whereby the seller issues a
guarantee against title defects occurring during their ownership of the property. This deed
transfers ownership to the grantee with an expressed warranty about the title.

Special warranty deeds transfer property ownership from one person to another and assures the
buyer that the title, during the seller's ownership, is free of encumbrances, liens, or claims.

Reasons Why a Warranty Could Be Denied

Warranties typically only apply to products that have not been altered or modified after they
were purchased. For example, a warranty on an automobile could be invalidated if the owner
added nonstandard parts that substantially altered the functionality, performance, reliability, and
stability of the vehicle.

Although it is popular for car aficionados to change engines or make other enhancements to the
drivetrain to coax a particular type of performance out of the vehicle, such modifications, in most
cases, would nullify the warranty. When such aftermarket adjustments are made, it can affect the
reliability of the vehicle in ways that the dealer and manufacturer are not responsible for.

Each company has its own process for addressing warranties. Even if a product is still within the
timeframe designated by a warranty, the company may require multiple points of proof to show
that the product failed in the normal course of operational use. If the product failed because of
the actions of the owner rather than because of any fault in the design or manufacturing, the
warranty is not likely to be honored. For instance, the owner of the product might have placed
the product in an extreme environment that was too hot or too cold for its reasonable use. 

Terms of warranties can vary from free repairs on the defective product to an entire replacement
of the product. The owner of the product may be instructed to bring the product to the nearest
authorized repairman, back to the seller, or shipped directly to the manufacturer.

Warranty vs. Guarantee

Warranty and guarantee are often used interchangeably, but they have subtle differences. Both
require sellers to act on certain promises regarding their offerings. However, the difference lies
with the level of confidence expressed by the manufacturer regarding the product's quality and
functionality.

A warranty is a guarantee from a seller that if their product fails to meet certain specifications, a
remedy is available. A warranty describes the conditions in which the seller is liable, as well as
what conditions are excluded. Although the buyer does not pay a separate cost for the warranty,
the price of the warranty is included in the price of the product.

A guarantee is a promise or assurance from the manufacturer or seller that the product will work
as described or meet certain quality standards. If not, it will be fixed or replaced. Guarantees are
of no cost to the buyer and can be offered on products and services.

Special Considerations
To protect consumers from fraud and misrepresentations, the U.S. Congress passed the
Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975 to set standards and rules for consumer product
warranties.1 It stipulates that, when warranties are given, its terms and conditions must be fully
and clearly disclosed to the buyer prior to purchase, including whether it is a full or limited
warranty. It also prohibits deceptive practices, such as the inclusion of misleading or false terms
and requiring the buyer to purchase another product to validate the warranty.

A system architecture is the conceptual model that defines the structure, behavior, and more views of
a system. An architecture description is a formal description and representation of a system, organized
in a way that supports reasoning about the structures and behaviors of the system.

The term configuration documentation characterizes the information that defines the performance,
functional and physical attributes of a product. As described in EIA Standard 649, all other product
documentation (such as operation and maintenance manuals, illustrated parts breakdowns, test plans
and procedures) are based on and relate to information in the configuration documentation. The
configuration documentation associated with each configuration item provides the basis for
configuration control logistics support, post-deployment software support, and re-procurement

Critical component

A system element that, if compromised, damaged, or failed, could cause a mission or business failure.

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)

What Does Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Mean?

Occupational health and safety (OHS) is a branch of public health aimed at improving workplace
health and safety standards. It studies injury and illness trends in the worker population and
offers suggestions for mitigating the risks and hazards they encounter on the job.

Every occupation has health or safety risks associated with it, and it is every employer’s
responsibility to ensure that their employees can carry out their work as safely as possible.
How to Stay Safe on the Job
Some of the topics covered by OHS include the following:

 Appropriate use of PPE - It is the employer's responsibility to ensure that workers have the
personal protective equipment required to work safely. Depending on the job and work
environment, this can include fall protection devices, hard hats, high-visibility clothing, or safety
gloves.
 Safe operation of the work equipment - Safety procedures ensure that employees can use
heavy machinery, power tools, and other work equipment with minimal risk of injury. This
includes not only the appropriate handling of the equipment, but also regular inspections and
maintenance to ensure that it functions optimally.
 Maintaining hydration - Since they are at work for extended periods of time, workers are at risk
of dehydration if clean drinking water isn't provided for them. While this affects all workers, it is
especially important for those who do intense physical labor, wear heavy PPE, or work in high-
heat environments.
 Good bodily movements - Musculoskeletal disorders are an extremely common type of
workplace injury. To prevent them, workers need to follow ergonomic best practices. This
includes safe lifting techniques, good posture, and avoiding repetitive motions while carrying
out their work tasks.

Creating a Safe Workspace

Avoiding Strain(Not comfortable) and Injury

 In addition to keeping your computer healthy, it's important to think about your own health.
 Using a computer involves a lot of repetitive motions such as typing and using the mouse.
 Over time, these motions can begin to take their toll on your body, especially your wrists, neck,
and your back bones.
 Staring at a monitor for long periods of time can also cause eye strain.
 To minimize this, you should take a few moments to make sure your workspace is arranged in a
comfortable and healthy way.

Computer Ergonomics

 It is the science of equipment design and how specific equipment usage and placement
can reduce the user's discomfort and increase productivity.
 Some equipment is designed with special attention to ergonomics, such as ergonomic
keyboards or ergonomic chairs.