Keeping office equipment running smoothly is one of those goals that all businesses have, but sadly, it’s something that many need to pay more attention to. It’s easy to forget about maintenance and services when everything works, but when office equipment stops working because it’s broken down, there goes productivity, sales, and profits. And nobody wants that.
The solution is simple: keep an eye on your printers, photocopiers, laptops, monitors, networking, and POS equipment, and call in service technicians when anything starts going a little wonky. That will save you time, effort, and heartache while preventing your profits from walking out the door.
To help you figure out a strategy for ensuring checks and maintenance are done regularly, here are some tips we’ve put together based on common sense and many years of experience in the IT industry.
Keep it clean
The simplest way to care for your office equipment is to keep it clean. Electronics do not like dust or moisture, and some, like printers, benefit greatly from the occasional manual cleaning (but be sure to follow the manufacturer’s advice).
Make it a point to look closely at the office equipment that sees the most use, and wipe them and keep the dust from gathering whenever you think about it. Or better yet, appoint someone as the designated dust spotter (or create a rota so everyone can have a turn) and have your people do spot cleans every week or so.
Get issues sorted ASAP
If you spot any defects or other physical problems with your office equipment, and it’s not something a quick clean can solve, report it to whoever supplied it to you immediately. Even small issues can become bigger problems over time, and it’s wisest to nip them in the bud before they get out of hand.
Your IT supplier shouldn’t have any trouble fixing the issue themselves or at least collecting the affected items from you and getting them repaired by qualified professionals.
Office equipment placement can avoid problems
This is fairly obvious, but bears repeating: don’t place your IT equipment in locations where there is a lot of moisture, vibrations, dust, or direct sunlight. Printers and scanners in particular are not big fans of sitting in the sun, so keep those somewhere dark and cool.
By carefully placing these sensitive devices around your offices in suitable locations, you can potentially avoid breakdowns caused by environmental conditions.
Consider a “don’t eat at your desk” policy
This is not necessarily the best idea, because people tend to eat at their desks in office environments, but you could insist that they only eat in a designated break room/area. This can help avoid liquid spills and food particles getting into places they can damage, like inside laptops, keyboards, desktops, printers, etc. Read the room before you do this, of course.
Pay someone to do it
This last suggestion is likely the best way to ensure preventive maintenance gets done: hire an IT company to do it for you. Or, update your contract with your current IT supplier to add it as part of their KPAs. Either way, having professionals come to your premises to do preventive maintenance on your office equipment that they’re paid to do is the best way to guarantee it’s getting done regularly. It could also save you money in the long run.
It’s not sexy, but it’s necessary
Yes, we know this isn’t the sexiest Stuff article you’ve ever read, but we’re pragmatists here at the Stuff offices. We know this kind of basic advice is worth repeating every now and then, because someone, somewhere, very likely needs to hear it again.
So, you’re welcome.