24/7 Software Blog

“Several parts of the federal government have been shut down for about a month now, and cybersecurity professionals say government websites are becoming more vulnerable to security breaches each day the shutdown lasts,” writes Laura Sydell in their recent NPR article entitled “Shutdown Makes Government Websites More Vulnerable To Hackers, Experts Say.”

Sydell writes that “Visitors to manufacturing.gov, for instance, are finding that the site has become unusable — its information about the manufacturing sector is no longer accessible. Instead, it features this message at the top of the homepage: NOTICE: Due to a lapse in appropriations, Manufacturing.gov and all associated online activities will be unavailable until further notice.”

“Security certificates help keep websites secure, but last week the British security firm Netcraft reported that more than 130 certificates used by U.S. government websites had expired,” the NPR article continues.

According to Sydell, “These certificates make sure users know ‘this is really the government resource that I'm trying to access and not some bad guy,” explains Dan Kaminsky, the chief scientist at the security firm White Ops in the article.

“The lack of a certificate makes it easier for a bad actor to trick you into going to a fake site. Even though there's a warning when you click on a site without an updated certificate, Kaminsky says in the article, ‘people might get used to ignoring the browser warnings’ because of the shutdown. ‘Then you think you're really walking into this site and you're really not."

“He offers a worst-case scenario: Imagine if the security certificate was down for the Social Security Administration website and a bad actor set up a fake site. Someone could go to the bogus site, enter their password, and give the hackers access to personal information,” shares Sydell.

Question: do you have everything in place to make your property less vulnerable?

Or, are you running things constantly behind the eight ball?

Does your operation have deficiencies that lead to you and your team being vulnerable?

If so, let’s change that today.

Keep reading; whether you’ve got the right things in place to keep your vulnerability down, we’ve got insight in this article you can use.

It’s Monday at 6:30 AM.

You’re finishing up the final report on last night’s event.

But, there are still a few items to check off.

You need to review reports from last night.

You’ve got to check everything on your spreadsheet, record the information on your Monday morning report, and prepare for the meeting.

“Almost there,” you mutter to yourself.

“Only one protein spill,” you continue.

“OK, that's pretty good,” you think to yourself.

“One fight,” you read aloud.

“Two fixed chairs?” you ask.

You’re confused, so you pick up the pace and scan through the reports.

But, you quickly realize there’s something wrong here.

You stop and stare at the spreadsheet.

“What’s this,” you scream across your office.

Something’s wrong here.

Do you know what it is?

Each department recorded incidents, requests, tasks, and work orders as different types.

You begin seeing the variations.

• Vomit
• Puke
• Protein spill
• Rainbow spill
• Throw up

The list goes on and on.

• ‘Fixed’ as a resolution for a broken cup holder

What does ‘fixed’ mean at your facility?

Was the cup holder replaced?

Or was a new chair moved to the location in its place?

Today’s report can’t be accurate unless you fix this significant error.

This epiphany leaves you with a sick feeling in your stomach as you realize none of the reports have been accurate as a result of this language issue.

But, it’s now 7:08 AM and your meeting will start in 22 minutes.

You were hoping to get ahead of the game today.

That’s not happening.

You’ve got to ensure your numbers are accurate.

Your property needs a common language.

It needs it now.

“Two weeks ago, MIT's David Autor gave the prestigious Richard T. Ely lecture at the annual meeting of American economists in Atlanta. Introduced by the former chair of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke as a "first-class thinker" who was doing "path-breaking" work on the central economic issues of automation, globalization, and inequality, Autor strolled up to the microphone with a big smile,” writes Greg Rosalsky in their recent NPR article entitled “What The Future Of Work Means For Cities.”

“His talk was about the past and future of work, and he focused especially on cities,” explains Rosalsky.

According to the article, “Every decade the U.S. Census Bureau asks people what they do for work. If enough people report a certain job title, the bureau adds it to a list of jobs.”

“Autor and Anna Salomons, an economist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, analyzed the last few decades of this data and tracked the types of jobs that have been created. They identify three trends that help explain where employment in the U.S. may be headed,” writes Rosalsky.

The first trend is called “frontier work,” which is all about technology-related jobs.

Well, that got us thinking.

Not necessarily about tech jobs.

The thinking process evolved for us into going down a rabbit hole of everything related to the future of properties.

Beyond work.

We get it; these trends are not directly (and only) related to property operations.

But the concept of how the work component affects future cities was intriguing.

And it led to this critical question:

What does the future of Proactive Operations mean for properties?

We took a step back and looked at the idea of “Jetson jobs” as Autor calls it in the article.

For us, the decision revolves around the future.

That’s where Proactive Operations fits so well.

It’s not frontier work but let’s call it a “Frontier Methodology.”

What’s its purpose?

Drive the future of property operations, inclusive of work, technology, security, risk, and experience.

In a nutshell, create better and better memories.

“We’re excellent at fixing broken equipment,” says Bobby, your senior engineer.

“Work orders get created, and my team gets the work done in no time,” he continues.

OK, that’s fair.

Bobby and the rest of your team are doing their job.

You should be happy.

But, you’re not.

Something is bothering you about your team’s performance, but it’s not them.

Your 15-year-old work order system is in place.

It’s getting the job done.

Work orders aren’t slipping through the cracks.

Then, what’s the problem?

Eureka!

It’s about your team always having work orders to complete.

That’s your problem.

One after another, work order after work order.

It’s all been completed and on time.

But, all your resources go to fixing problems rather than preventing them.

The entire department is a reaction unit.

“That’s my issue,” you respond to Bobby.

“You guys are great at fixing problems, but what about preventing them?” you ask.

"We’ve been thinking reactively – not with a Proactive Operations mindset.

Today that changes,” you declare.

Right now, your maintenance department is a cost center – a major one.

But we’ve got good news.

You can fix this problem before it gets the better of you.

It’s time for a modern CMMS that gets way more done than just work order tracking.

“Think about the last time you went to the supermarket. You probably spent no more than a few seconds choosing from all the different brands of toothpaste, frozen peas or oatmeal,” writes Alina Selyukh in their recent NPR article entitled “From Campbell's To Kellogg's, Classic Brands Are Feeling The Crunch.”

“Those few seconds used to be the holy grail for brands, the moment you would get hooked forever on that Tide detergent or Heinz ketchup — an event referred to as ‘the first moment of truth.’ But lately, the moment of truth has moved to the Internet. What's more, ripples from the 2008 recession have changed us as shoppers,” Selyukh explains.

According to Selyukh’s article, “More and more people have started saying: ‘I'm not a brand person."

“Those five fateful words come from Juliet McFadden, 23, an office manager in Boston. For consumer brands used to owning American cupboards and closets, that sentiment spells trouble and signals a turning point: evolve or wither,” writes Selyukh.

Those five fatal words could be devastating to a classic brand.

But, we’ve got four fatal words that might resonate with you more.

We’re confident you’d never want to hear these.

“I’m not coming back!”

We’d never want you to experience that from your customers – especially over and over until your property is forced to close its doors.

But, how do you avoid this crunch classic brands are starting to experience?

You employ Proactive Operations, and you never stop evolving.

You’re hyped.

“Today’s event is going rock,” you tell your team.

You’ve got sponsorship dollars coming in by the droves.

This makes the executive team jubilant.

Your boss’s bosses are happy, which means your department got extra money for this budget cycle.

Being proactive, you already had the money earmarked and spent as soon it was available.

Prior to today, you had only become aware of a ton of incidents after they happened.

So, you went out and got a text communication system.

You’re all trained and setup, and ready to get a handle on incidents while they’re happening.

Good for you!

Everyone is anticipating the increased efficiency.

“Once those gates open, get ready for an uptick in activity,” you remark for the final statement of your team meeting.

It’s 9 AM.

Gates open.

The common incidents come through the radio.

But you’re not noticing any increase in reporting.

You let it go and chalk it up as nothing critical.

12:30 PM rolls around.

Most fans are now rushing into the stadium bowl at this point, looking for their seats, and getting ready for the 1 PM game start.

You’re still getting the numerous radio calls from your team.

They’re dealing with incidents, but all seems status quo.

Where’s the increase from the text system?

Now, you’re wondering what’s going on – where are all the texts?

You’ve implemented such a great system.

Your team is well trained and ready.

You decide not to make any irrational changes and to wait it out through the first quarter.

It’s the end of the first quarter.

Your text communication was announced once over the speakers at the beginning of the game.

But you’ve received nothing.   

Why is this happening?