Resolving facility emergencies begins with knowing what assets you have and where they are. Without a clear map of shutoff valves, emergency exits, and breaker boxes, you’ll struggle to mitigate issues quickly and minimize damage.
That’s why effective risk mitigation and emergency preparedness starts with mapping your assets.
Asset mapping software overlays asset location data on top of your digital floor plans. If you haven’t already mapped all of your assets (or your existing maps are paper-based), asset mapping software creates a living map that:
- Shows all of your assets in one place
- Is accessible to your entire team
- Can be easily updated
Let’s explore 5 ways asset mapping software can help you lessen risk in your facilities.
Reduces Response Time
Your server room is flooding due to a burst pipe. Now is not the time to have to run to the plan room, rifle through file folders looking for the location of the nearest shutoff, then struggle to locate said shutoff because your shutoff valve map is outdated. By the time you finally shut off the water, it’s too late – your servers are toast. If you’d been able to respond more quickly, you might have saved millions of dollars of valuable equipment and data – not to mention prevented a lot of business downtime.
Mapping all of your assets to your floor plans with software makes it easy to locate necessary items in an emergency. You can even create separate maps just for evacuation routes, emergency exits, shutoff valves, or control panels.
Because asset mapping software does all this in the digital realm:
- It’s easy to update your maps as your building changes
- All asset maps live in one central location
- The maps are accessible via mobile devices so team members can carry them wherever they go
- Your entire team can access the maps, so even brand new techs know where everything is right away
Shows Asset Relationships
Considering how interconnected many building systems are, it’s rare that taking a specific action won’t have an effect on multiple items in your facility. You definitely don’t want to find out the hard way that flipping the switch on control panel 6 not only turns off the med gas panel in a decommissioned OR, but also shuts off the panel in a live OR in the middle of a surgery.
Not knowing the impacts of taking certain actions can actually make existing emergencies worse.
Asset mapping software captures how your building systems are interconnected. For example, your asset map can show the location of all of your electrical panels as well as indicate what each panel is connected to and impacts. It’s a simple way to illustrate what’s upstream and downstream from each asset. Your team will know exactly what’ll happen if they push a button or pull a lever, preventing any unintended consequences.
Makes Vital Information Accessible to All
Every facilities team has an “Ed.” Ed’s been around since the building was first constructed. He’s witnessed multiple remodels and improvements. He knows where everything is.
So in a state of emergency, everyone turns to Ed. Maybe that’s gotten you out of tight spots before, but it’s only a matter of time before Ed retires or goes on vacation (or has poor cellphone reception). Then what?
Relying on one person’s memory (especially in an emergency when seconds count) is incredibly risky. Asset mapping software takes everything out of Ed’s head and puts it in a single location and in a format that everyone on the team can use. Now instead of Ed’s memory being the centralized repository of facility knowledge and asset locations, your asset mapping software is.
Supports Inspections & Compliance
A large part of risk mitigation is ensuring your facilities maintain compliance with any applicable regulations and are inspected regularly. Asset mapping software can be a huge help here as well:
- Marks the location of every asset that needs to be inspected
- Allows you to create inspection routes to ensure every asset is looked at
- Serves as an easy-to-follow guide for external inspectors to find their way around
Depending on what asset mapping software you use, it can integrate with your inspection software and your maintenance management tool for full visibility into the inspection/compliance lifecycle.
Say you use AkitaBox for asset mapping, maintenance management, and inspections. These three components of the software platform seamlessly work together, enabling you to:
- Map your assets and create inspection routes
- Create checklists of what to inspect on each type of asset
- Assign inspection routes to team members
- Track that every asset has been inspected, when, and by whom
- Create and assign work orders to remediate any assets that fail inspection
- Confidently prove that your facilities pass all safety and compliance inspections
And maybe most importantly? You can easily produce all inspections results and resolution actions taken when regulatory agencies demand them. Because even the most robust compliance program in the world won’t help you if the regulatory folks can’t access the information they need.
Assists Emergency Response Personnel
When law enforcement, emergency personnel, or a repair person needs to work in your facilities, be ready to direct them with clear, up-to-date facility maps. This can dramatically improve response times and help these external partners develop their plan of action.
Asset mapping software can also be used to create maps of exit locations and evacuation routes for anyone who’s not familiar with your facilities.
Map Your Way to Better Risk Mitigation with AkitaBox
Robert Louis Stephenson said: “I’m told there are people who don’t care for maps, and I find it hard to believe.” We agree.
As you’ve seen, asset maps play a vital role in helping you reduce property damage, lost productivity, and safety concerns in your facility. They can also support your maintenance management and inspections programs.
Watch the video below to see how easy it is to map your assets using AkitaBox. Like what you see? Book a demo and let’s talk!
