How to use it
Answer with data from the last quarter, not with your impression. If you cannot check an answer in under ten minutes, count it as “no.” That missing data point is already a result.
Do it with two people: whoever runs maintenance and whoever handles billing. They often give different answers to the same question, and that gap says a lot too.
Part 1. Work orders
- How are work orders filled in today? On paper, in a spreadsheet, in a homegrown app or in management software. If several coexist, note the most common one.
- On average, how many days pass between the job and the work order reaching the office? More than two days usually means late invoicing and hours written down from memory.
- What share of work orders arrives incomplete? Missing parts, hours, signature, or unreadable. If you do not know, count one week’s worth.
- Do you collect the customer’s signature and photos of the job? Without them, any dispute about what was done is lost.
Part 2. Preventive maintenance
- Is there a formal preventive plan, with a date and an owner for each inspection? An intention is not a plan.
- What share of the plan gets done on time? And the key question: do you know it or estimate it? If you estimate it, the answer is “we do not know.”
- What is the split between corrective and preventive work, in hours? If corrective work rises every quarter, the plan is falling apart.
- Does a finding from an inspection become a work order with a date? If it stays as a note, it is lost.
Part 3. KPIs
- Do you calculate MTBF or MTTR for any equipment? And if so, on a complete history?
- Do you know the maintenance cost per asset, including parts? Without it, repair-or-replace is decided by gut feeling.
- Do you know the profitability of each customer or contract? If you service third-party equipment, this is the question with the most surprises.
Part 4. Tools
- How many different programs are involved between the service request and the invoice? Every jump between programs is data typed twice.
- Have you tried to switch tools and given up? If so, write down why. It is the first thing to solve next time.
- Can technicians work without coverage? Basements, rooftops and walk-in coolers have no signal.
- What is the main barrier to going digital? Budget, time, pushback from the team or nobody to lead it. The answer decides where to start.
How to read the result
Count the answers you can back with verified data and that do not point to a problem.
| Score | What it means | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | The operation runs on people’s memory. | The work order: it should arrive the same day, complete and signed. |
| 6 to 10 | There are records, but they are not used to decide. | The preventive plan and the corrective-to-preventive ratio. |
| 11 to 15 | The data exists and gets used. | Cost per asset and profitability by customer. |
Question 6 is usually the most revealing. If you do not know what share of your plan gets done, you already know where to start: how to build a plan that gets done.
Three mistakes when taking it
- Answering with what should happen. The test only works if it describes what actually happens.
- Trying to fix everything at once. Pick one part and work on it for a quarter.
- Starting with the tool. First decide which data you want to have. Then pick the program that gives it to you.
Take the test again in six months with the same people. The comparison will tell you more than the first result.
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