The True Cost Of Free
If you’re going the “free” route and doing it yourself, you do need to take the extra time you spend into account. The first thing you need to do is copy everything from your log sheets into a spreadsheet. Digitizing records is vital because it lets you verify that all of the work got done, analyze the data that your team has collected, and backup that information to show to others when needed, regulatory reasons, or just to use internally.
From talking to chief engineers and directors of facilities, we’ve learned that this takes about an hour and a half per week (including what it takes to clean the data, read messy logsheets, and make sure it’s organized inside of the sheet). On top of that, you’ll need to do the same monthly for PM tasks or checks that happen less often, such as sprinkler standpipe checks. Let’s say that takes half an hour.
How much does that really cost you? Assume that a chief engineer or assistant chief’s time costs $50/hour. Here how that looks over the course of a year:
| Task | Yearly Frequency | Time Spent (hours) | Cost Per Hour | Total Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copying readings into spreadsheet | 52 | 1.5 | $50 | $3,900 |
| Re-entering standpipe data | 12 | 0.5 | $50 | $300 |
Total cost of lost productivity: $4,200.
By using LogCheck instead of the “free” option of manually copying readings into a spreadsheet, you can save over $4,000 in lost productivity over the course of a year. Or to put it another way, you gain over 2 weeks of your engineer’s time back.
…And that’s not all
On top of that, you’d need to find a way to make up for the other benefits LogCheck provides. It also helps you:
- Gain visibility into work done
- Improve communication
- Streamline training
- Easily identify issues before they grow
- Instill accountability in your teams
- Make expensive equipment last longer
- Avoid problems rather than react to them
Sure, you could have your staff text you photos every time they check something, but they wouldn’t be tied to any particular record or include an automatically generated timestamp to keep you more organized.
You could have an operator send you a detailed email report at the end of each shift, documenting any issues and providing a real-time snapshot of your building, but that would take A LOT of costly time, and wouldn’t you prefer your engineers to be out in the field instead of in front of a computer?
You could do a lot of things without LogCheck. But don’t for a second think that you’re going to get those benefits for free.
If you do want something free, though, click the button below to try LogCheck for free. After you see the value it provides in your actual facility, it will be easy to see how LogCheck easily pays for itself compared to a DIY approach.
Facilities teams at Cushman & Wakefield, Vornado, Tishman Speyer, Forest City, and many more turn to LogCheck for their daily rounds. Claim your free trial today to see why.
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