How to Avoid an Unplanned Outage Like the Statue of Liberty's

Stuff breaks.

Breakdowns and outages happen to everyone.

You’re going to have to ‘fix’ something on your property eventually, whether you oversee a small venue or large property, and whether it’s a minor issue or major failure.

We get it; it’s frustrating.

Even the Statue of Liberty recently had an unplanned outage. Yes, that’s right – the Statue of Liberty went dark Tuesday night. You can see the lights go back on here.

According to Bill Chappell’s NPR article entitled “Statue Of Liberty's Lights Went Dark — 'Likely' Due to Recent Work, Official Says” it was lights out for one of America’s most iconic monuments.

“Spotlights that illuminate the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor went dark for more than an hour Tuesday night, prompting speculation over the cause: Was it to do with a protest on International Women's Day, or perhaps America's immigration policies? A National Park Service official says they're still looking into it, but they suspect recent work on the electrical system is the cause,” Chappell writes.

The NPR article continues that "The outage was most likely due to work related to an ongoing project to activate a new emergency backup generator which is part of our last remaining Hurricane Sandy recovery projects," the NPS says. It added that the outage was ‘unplanned.”

Was this outage unexpected? Could it have been avoided? How could it have been avoided?

We’re sure you already know, this incident got us thinking.

Maybe the staff involved in the project to activate the emergency generator performed their work expertly, or maybe they skipped a step in the process.

No one will know the cause quite yet, though.

What we realize is the importance of understanding the importance of having the right solution employed to manage and overcome it.

Now, you might have the best process and people. But, when stuff breaks you are required to react.

We always use Proactive Operations to solve issues, which is why this event is a perfect scenario to consider the importance of CMMS software.

CMMS will help you be proactive on all accounts – preventing or fixing.

Keep reading; we’re going to explain.

Strive to Elude Breakdowns

You don’t oversee the Statue of Liberty.

But, you do run a property where stuff can potentially break.

CMMS software is ideal for managing your maintenance projects.

Now, in the scenario above there is an outage. Something broke and needed fixing.

The beauty of these systems is that you can put measures in place to prevent breakdowns of your equipment or processes.

We also understand that preventing stuff from breaking is a big challenge. A small slip up or missed step on a checklist can cause a minor or significant outage.

It’s a critical part of your process you need to control. And, you can.

But, it’s also one of the most troublesome aspects of what you do. Agree?

Preventive Maintenance (PM) can be involved which gives you the ability to reduce your equipment and operational downtime significantly.

Implementing a CMMS solution can help to reduce inefficiencies while increasing the effectiveness of your preventive maintenance initiatives.

You can minimize the number of ‘unplanned’ breakdowns, outages, and fixes. This ability keeps your staff on course to complete projects promptly as well.

PM lets you manage and track:

• Schedules
• Activities
• Tasks

You can keep the big picture on track.

Follow preventive maintenance in a calendar format with an ability to drag and drop schedules to change dates.

Manage your activities with ease, so nothing slows you down.

Could an activity or activity task have been missed when activating the Statue of Liberty’s emergency generator? Possibly.

View your scheduled activities on a global view too:

• Monthly
• Weekly
• Daily

See everything how you need to, that way you can ensure fewer breakdowns.

Be Ready to Handle Breakdowns Proactively

You’ve got everything under control.

Your employees are rock stars. They get work completed and on time.

Your PM efforts keep your property humming and looking good.

But let’s say, without notice, something does break during a project or regular workday.

What happens next? Does your operation fall apart? Have you relied on the confidence of your preventive maintenance efforts?

Of course not. You fix the equipment failure.

That’s why you have a CMMS.

You strive to prevent breakdowns, but you’re no dummy. You and your team are ready to handle things if they do ever break proactively.

You need a system where you can digitally create, track, edit, and communicate work orders with your team.

See everything from one screen and in one system – without paper:

• When, Where, What
• Timeline (Scheduled, Started, Completed)
• Status
• Staff Assignment
• Equipment
• Materials
• Labor
• Vendors
• Expenses

This centralization ensures nothing gets missed, but you also reduce the time it takes to handle work orders.

Be sure that things are getting done. Know who is responsible for a project and hold them accountable.

Don’t let unplanned outages slow down your operation.

Over to You

The Statue of Liberty outage is a good lesson. It shows us that any property is susceptible to mishaps. It’s how your operation handles everything that’s key to how your guests see you.

Use a CMMS to put proactive measures in place. Do everything possible to keep your property running smoothly.

But, if the ‘lights go dark,’ be ready. Be proactive.