| |
 |
Case
Study
|
"A new director ushers in a different
mind set: an open door policy and a facilities automation system
that offers unprecedented efficiencies throughout the Facilities
Department, and a new sense of worker ownership for 90 worker/craftsmen."
|
| | |
|
| | |
| Focus on |
Higher Education |
| |
|
| Customer |
Canisius College |
| |
|
| Customer Profile |
Founded by the Jesuits in 1870,
Canisius College is located in Western New York and
has approximately 5,000 students at the undergraduate
and graduate levels. Its Facilities Department of 100
staff members manages 25 buildings, 25 residences, and
all of the College's grounds, equipment, and vehicle
fleet. |
| |
|
| Issue |
Canisius' Facilities Maintenance Department had always
run its operations using a number of paper-based procedures.
Essentially, a work order would be generated by phone,
or entered directly onto a faxed 3-part carbon copy form,
which would be reviewed, and once approved, dispatched.
Meanwhile, the forms would be collected and entered into
a legacy DOS-based system. A combination of form pile-ups
and system inadequacies prevented facilities management
from retrieving even the most basic statistics about work
order progress or productivity. There was no centralized
way of knowing what work had been completed, nor what
was still pending.
When Ed Cogan, the new Director of Facilities, joined
Canisius College in 2004, automating the College's Facilities
operations processes became a key priority. "It was
clear that I needed to eliminate the paper-based inefficiencies,
better track maintenance activities, and compile productivity
indicators to improve process management," said Cogan.
With a facilities management background extending over
25 years, Cogan also new precisely what he wanted in a
new system, so much so that he made a list of all the
necessary features. Nineteen bulleted points described
in exacting detail what his requirements were. The Campus
Facilities Manager from the eRPortal Software Group met
all nineteen of these requirements. |
| |
|
| Solution |
Web-based Requisitioning
and Assignment
eRPortal's Facilities Manager was the first of a two-phase
implementation at the Canisius Facilities Department.
A primary advantage of eRPortal's web-enabled design
is that it leverages the workstation hardware already
on the Canisius Campus.
A work order request can be generated from any web browser
on campus by a customer (faculty or staff) directly
from the College's Home Page. The request, entered via
an easy-to-use web application, captures detailed information
about the required work, is dispatched in seconds and
electronically delivered to Facilities, where it is
assigned to a worker/craftsman. From this point forward,
eRPortal provides full tracking capability of all information
relative to that work order. |
| |
|
| |
Work Order Completion
Canisius' customized Remote Work Order Completion Module
is designed to extend the loop of the automated work
order. A worker/craftsman from any browser on campus
logs into the system and reports on the work order,
including his or her hours, procedure notes, and date
of completion. Once the work order is logged in as complete,
an automatic customer survey is emailed to the customer.
This closes the work order loop.
"I came into this project with very high expectations,"
said Ed Cogan, "and they've been exceeded. We're
seeing timesavings and efficiency improvements in many
areas and we've eliminated some procedures altogether."
eRPortal was also very well received at Canisius. Ed
Cogan credits the software's ease of use and its flexibility
as the primary factors. |
| |
|
| |
Ease of Use
eRPortal is designed with an acute awareness of the fact
that many different types of users, with varying levels
of computer literacy will access the system. We address
this need for simplicity by enabling screens and menus
to be customized - in some cases a user "login home
page" can have only one or two functions. It ensures
that most users can learn eRPortal in only a few hours.
"We've been very happy with how reliable and user-friendly
eRPortal is," said Claudia Hojnacki, Facilities Office
Manager. This ease-of-use has created a sense of confidence
and support for the system throughout the department."
The response from Canisius Customers, including faculty
and staff, has also been very positive. At the same time,
a staff of 90 worker/craftsmen is using eRPortal Remote
Work Order Completion Module to log their time and work
progress. "The staff is thrilled about this, and
in our mind, eRPortal is providing a sense of ownership
and commitment to the maintenance process, "added
Claudia. |
| |
|
| |
The eRPortal Team
A team of sales and technical staff has been dedicated
to providing the best software solution available for
Canisius. "From the minute you engage with eRPortal
Software, you know you are not dealing with a one-size-fits-all
software giant," said Ed Cogan. "They worked
diligently to understand our needs, and have been extremely
responsive. We are made to feel like Canisius is their
only customer and that's great customer service,"
he added. |
| |
|
| Contact |
For information on this Case Study, please contact Fred
Tracy at ftracy@erportalsoftware.com |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
|