Many companies believe that an EAM software consists only of choosing the software and carrying out the implementation, where once these two stages have been passed, the benefits that this software is able to bring to the company will begin to be received.

However, to achieve maximum results, once the entire implementation process has been completed, it is necessary to carry out supervision tasks to ensure that the system works correctly, as well as support and maintenance tasks, which must be carried out throughout the life of the software.

Helpdesk service

The helpdesk or ServiceDesk support is a set of technological and human resources to provide services that help manage and solve all possible incidents and requirements related to the EAM in a comprehensive manner.

The communication of the different agents with the helpdesk service can be done through several channels, such as telephone numbers, which can be free, websites, instant messaging or e-mail, among others.

The helpdesk service can provide assistance both to internal users of the organisation and to external users, such as suppliers or maintainers involved in the management of assets.

Importance of the helpdesk

When acquiring a technological service, such as EAM software, it is essential to hire a company that also provides adequate technical and functional support. Supervising a product or service in the technological area is always a great challenge, and if it is managed by people who do not have the necessary technical knowledge, errors could be generated that even slow down the growth and operation of the company.

When a company acquires a technological system, it seeks to implement improvements in its processes related to its business, customer service and/or internal public.  To do so, it is necessary to have an adequate technical team, training for the personnel that will make use of these new implementations and a follow-up of the performance of the equipment.

IT technical support services for businesses are vital to ensure the continuity and stability of your operations. A quality technical service facilitates the correct use of the system by the end user and therefore the company.

Functioning of the helpdesk support

The helpdesk service receives and prioritizes the requests according to the urgency of the end user and they are automatically assigned to the specialized technician in that area, according to his skills.

Service level agreements (SLA) in technical support are always related to response times and task priority. For example, registering a new location in the EAM may be a minor request, but if this request is required for data collection registration, the priority changes. The impact on the business is a key criterion and the most skilled and experienced technicians are usually assigned to resolve it.

The process of incident management by the helpdesk must be defined and agreed by the client company and the service provider before the start of the activity. A simple example of this process could be the following:

  • The user notifies his problem through one of the access channels such as telephone number, website, portal, email service or online chat.
  • Each support notification issues a ticket containing the details of the problem.
  • The service coordinator analyses the problem and tries to solve it. If so, the ticket is closed and updated with the solution documentation. This allows other service technicians to have a reference.
  • If the problem needs to be escalated, it will be referred to a specialist (e.g. a functional analyst or development engineer).
  • Finally, the specialist will analyse and solve the problem by closing the corresponding ticket and updating it with the solution documentation to allow other service technicians to have a reference.

Three benefits of the helpdesk in an EAM

An adequate support service for an EAM software directly affects productivity, quality and safety, since these programs are in charge of carrying out all the maintenance management of the company’s assets.

Some of the main benefits that the helpdesk brings to the system are:

1. Reducing unplanned downtime

Despite all the efforts made in the design and implementation phases of the software, there are multiple reasons why the MES may not work or may not work as expected. These situations can greatly affect a company’s operations since asset maintenance management is carried out through the MES.

In other words, if the EAM software should fail, it may not be possible to perform a maintenance support calls, view equipment inventory information or view daily maintenance management data, just to mention a few problems.

Therefore, when these problems appear, it is important to have a service that can carry out technical support in order to solve the conflict quickly and efficiently. In this way, the company will be able to continue with its normal operation in the shortest possible time.

2. Reliability

By performing constant maintenance on the programs, the company’s managers are able to know at all times the status of the EMA, as well as its operating conditions.

In addition, the risk of software failure at key moments in the company’s operation is greatly reduced.

3. Reduction of maintenance costs

Thanks to the helpdesk service you can optimise costs, increase the quality of service and maintain the flexibility of your MES. By carrying out constant maintenance, the costs of repairs made when fatal system failures occur, which might otherwise require disproportionate development effort, can be reduced by up to 50%.

Retain helpdesk support

At Retain we offer you a modular EAM software, capable of adapting to different needs, and which is complemented by value-added services such as training, support, software customisation and implementation services.

In order to provide the best service, we have a helpdesk under a common platform, where technicians can document the processes, step by step, to solve incidents. All new aspects and their solutions are updated in a general knowledge base, so that other technicians can make use of this content and solve similar problems as quickly and efficiently as possible.

In this way Retain clients are accompanied not only at the time of the software implementation, but throughout the life of the project, to always have their EAM working in optimal conditions according to the needs of the company.

Do you want more information? Contact us and a specialist will analyse your case without any obligation to offer you the best solution for the management of your company’s assets.