Digitally Logging Cleaning Details
Photos Courtesy of DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, Inc.
Yosemite National Park, known for majestic scenery featuring breath-taking waterfalls, deep valleys, and high mountain peaks, spans nearly 1,200 square miles in California’s High Sierra region. First protected in 1864, the park continues to serve as a haven for fishing, hiking, biking, camping, and more. Because the four-million people who visit annually come to enjoy this national treasure, maintenance is a high priority and a job taken seriously by the park’s authorized concessioner, Delaware North Companies (DNC) Parks & Resorts. DNC has complete responsibility for ongoing maintenance and management of the park’s lodging, dining, guest recreation, and transportation.
Yosemite features over 1,000 buildings, bridges, lodging, and camping facilities that are maintained to the highest standards of the National Park Service. This includes over 250 miles of paved and graded roads, along with 1,000 miles of trails. Yosemite is the size of Rhode Island, which means that assets are spread throughout the vast expanse of the park. All maintenance activity has to be tracked, reported, and managed.
Upgrading Technology
Initially, DNC relied on a manual system to handle the park’s maintenance. But it quickly proved to be cumbersome, time-consuming, and limiting. Recognizing the need for a software system capable of capturing information, planning and analyzing data, and reporting on maintenance activity, DNC chose a computerized maintenance management system/enterprise asset management (CMMS/EAM) vendor as a solution.
By implementing the new CMMS/EAM system, DNC set goals for more proactive maintenance to eliminate the costly aspects of deferred maintenance. The initial implementation involved establishing asset and equipment codes along with the construction of a master equipment list. This now serves as the core system scheduling, tracking, and managing activity that involves painting, carpet replacement, remodeling, and similar ongoing maintenance activities.
“We rely on the CMMS/EAM software system for all of our work-order activity, which includes over 7,000 individual [preventative maintenance] work orders scheduled weekly, monthly, bi-annually, and annually,” states Steve Ullman, Director of Facility Services. “Because of the large number of assets we maintain, the system generates over 30,000 work orders a year, including planned, routine, and emergency work orders.”
Tracking Progress
Maintenance work at Yosemite is performed by a crew and staff of nearly 100 members that includes project managers, schedulers, inventory-control specialists, systems administrators, and IT personnel. All crew members are specifically identified in the system for tracking the work completed, which allows DNC to conduct year-end analyses to determine how well certain skilled labor has performed.
Most of the work at Yosemite is centered on maintaining critical assets and equipment that is tracked by the CMMS/EAM system. The application software allows DNC to document work performed on more than 400 buildings and critical systems, including roads, sidewalks, and pathways. Because of the comprehensive structure of the work-order system, everything related to maintenance is recorded.
The CMMS/EAM function for creating work orders is also used routinely, allowing DNC to generate a request for any type of work, including emergency repairs, quick work or jobs, special projects, and dispatch work. A weekly work-order report is available to unit managers to review and evaluate jobs that are scheduled and completed. Costs associated with work orders—including labor, materials, spares, etc.—are included within the report for detailed analysis.
Keeping An Eye On Inventory
Given the remote locations of many of Yosemite’s offices and buildings, inventory levels must be accurately maintained. DNC has to track all spare parts and materials for the various jobs. The “spares” inventory is valued at nearly half a million dollars, which requires careful cost management in the CMMS/EAM system.
“We can’t just run out and grab a part from a local supplier if we’re working on a job that is 100 miles away from the nearest dealer,” states Ullman. “The CMMS/EAM system gives us up-to-date inventory balances and a valuation of our materials. This allows us to instantly know where we stand with our spare parts and when we are nearing a re-order point.”
Planning Ahead
At the close of each year, DNC leverages the CMMS/EAM system to generate report data used for planning and budgeting purposes. These reports help determine what staffing and supporting resource needs are required for the next fiscal year based on historical data of various costs. This important, crucial, and comprehensive report provides an analysis of all maintenance activity performed at Yosemite. It includes work that is scheduled, in progress, and completed, and the associated costs to satisfy the National Park Service’s requirement for demonstrating that all maintenance is being done properly and on time.
“We have to have the system—it’s a must given our requirement to maintain our facilities for the National Park Service,” states Ullman. “Without it, we would never be able to properly track everything we do.”
DNC makes it a priority to operate the latest version of the vendor’s CMMS/EAM system. As a result, YosemiteNational Park will continue to be maintained to the highest standards that not only satisfy the National Park Service, but millions of annual visitors who embrace the natural beauty and inspiring scenery of this extraordinary treasure.
William Russell is managing partner of The Marketing Beacon who develops, executes and manages custom-designed marketing strategies centered on growing upstate and Carolinas-based businesses. Reach him at wrussell@themarketingbeacon.com .