The benefits of taking a pro-active approach to engineering maintenance have been known to Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ Westin division for years. “We started implementing MAC’s Chief product line twelve years ago,” says Claudia Jensen, Engineering Program Manager for Starwood, “and focused on taking advantage of the productivity improvements right away. Different properties put a different focus on the various modules within Chief, and so saw different degrees of benefit, but all properties realized efficiency improvements and reduced operating costs.”

All of the Chief systems were migrated to PSDI’s Maximo line when PSDI purchased MAC four years ago. Starwood has now selected Maximo for Facilities as its standard Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) worldwide. What’s the key to getting the best from these systems? “Unquestionably teamwork, combined with a pro-active approach,” says Jensen. “It can be hard to move out of a reactive mode, where you just respond to every guest call that comes in, but if you put a strong focus on pro-active preventive maintenance, the guest calls drop off dramatically.”

Teamwork comes into play between the Engineering Coordinator, who pulls the schedules together and makes sure that parts and supplies are in inventory, the Engineering Supervisor(s) who set priorities, and the Engineers who actually perform the work. Above all, management commitment makes the biggest difference, starting with the Director of Engineering, whose support is essential.

When everyone pulls together the results can be spectacular, reports Jensen. “One of the first hotels to implement planning and scheduling reported that productivity increased so much it was as if they’d hired four more engineers – when they’d actually lost one of their staff of 18!”

“It’s important to remember,” says Jensen, “that while engineering is not a revenue generating department, every dollar of avoided cost goes directly to the bottom line. The potential impact on Gross Operating Revenue can be really significant!” The same can be said for all members of the Backstage Crew.

Back to Main Article