May 4, 2020 | 4 min read Helping your team get started with a mobile CMMS app By: Lisa Huang Back to blog So you bought a CMMS (opens in new tab). Maybe you’ve been using the system for a while now, or maybe you only just stood it up — either way, you’re not taking full advantage of the system if your team isn’t using the mobile maintenance app that comes with most modern cloud solutions. The majority of maintenance teams we work with at Fiix don’t spend their days in the office. Technicians, contractors, and tradespeople are generally out in the field or in far corners of the facility getting the job done. This is where mobile maintenance apps can really step up, but getting your team to download and use a new app isn’t always a walk in the park. That’s why we specifically designed our mobile CMMS app (opens in new tab) for folks who are in the field, doing the work. This means 4 things: The app works offline: We know that WiFi doesn’t necessarily work everywhere you do, so our CMMS app seamlessly transitions from online to offline mode, automatically syncing your data once you’re back online. You can pull up asset information and log work without having to waste time waiting for data to load. It works intuitively and securely: The app takes advantage of built-in device features like QR code scanning, speech-to-text dictation, and capturing and uploading images. Not to mention, it also ensures your data is secure. It lets users personalize their data: The app lets users filter and view their own work order list to prioritize work better. Admins can also configure feature access for users, such as who gets to edit assets, who can view work requests, and more. It’s built with your feedback in mind: From new features such as the work request portal and inspection tasks, to custom fields and even e-signatures (coming soon!), we are always listening to the feedback and introducing new functionality to simplify and improve your experience. Tips for getting your team to download and use a CMMS app As you go through the process of getting your team up and running on the app, there are three major steps you should think about: Devices Training Continued adoption 1. Make sure you have the right devices There are generally two scenarios here: either your company is providing devices for the team to use, or team members are using the app on their personal devices. If your company is providing devices: Make sure there are enough devices for the whole team. Does every team member require their own device, or do you just need enough devices for each shift? Check with IT for any requirements from their side. Will they set up the app for you? Make sure you set a date for the IT team to download the new app so that your team will know when to expect to start using it. Do they use a mobile device management tool (MDM) on corporate devices? If they do, make sure that it is configured to work with the Fiix app. If the team are using their own devices: Our app is built for Android and iOS devices, so make sure your team is using those devices and they have the latest updates and operating system installed. See if you can get one or two spare devices in case something happens to someone’s device and you need a spare. 2. Invest in training When you introduce new technology to your team, it’s important to invest in training to make sure everyone uses the technology the same way. Even something as small as a mobile app requires training to ensure your team is aligned on which processes to follow. There are two types of training you can run — group training or ‘train the trainer’. Both are equally effective, so choosing the right method is dependent on your team’s working style. Remember: before you start training your team, make sure everyone has a device in hand to follow along. Group training We recommend training your team in a group if you can get everyone in the room at the same time. Group training is particularly helpful to use as a goalpost for everyone to start using the new app at the same time. Get everyone together in a meeting room (pro tip: bring pizza and/or donuts to increase participation) and make sure everyone downloads the new app at the same time (if it’s not downloaded already). Walk everyone through the app (you can sign up for a training session here (opens in new tab) or get some inspiration for topics from our Help Center (opens in new tab). Bonus: Assign a mock work order to each person attending the training and get them to all follow through the steps of updating the work order. Make sure to provide hand-outs at the training session. One training session is generally not enough for anyone to fully learn a new system, so handouts will give your team something to refer to as they get used to working with the app. Feel free to use some of these handouts we’ve created: How to download (opens in new tab) Quick start guide to mobile (opens in new tab) Train the trainer This type of training is typically used when your maintenance team is running in shifts and you can’t get everyone in the same classroom for a training session. Select one person from each shift or group to be the lead trainer (most often this will be the shift lead). This person is responsible for making sure everyone has downloaded and is trained on the new mobile app. Train this trainer. You can sign them up for one of the Fiix training sessions (opens in new tab), or get them familiarized with the mobile app through our Help Center topics. Make sure this trainer is familiar with the processes you want to follow as they use the app. They will then do the training session with their group. Remind them to walk everyone through downloading the app and print those hand-outs for future reference. They can also create a mock work order and get them to follow steps of updating the work order. 3. Focus on continued adoption The Fiix app is dynamic and we are constantly improving and adding new functionality based on feedback from our customers. On top of that, your team also changes, so we recommend doing a refresher every once in a while. This will help get new team members up and running and provide a helpful refresher for anyone else, which will ensure everyone is using the app in the same way, and taking advantage of updates as they come out. We recommended doing a refresher at least every year, and maybe even every six months depending on your team. Keep your eyes peeled for in-app messages and Fiix release notes (opens in new tab) for new functionality being added every month! To sum it up Start with a mobile app that actually works for your team, then focus on devices, setup and ongoing training for successful app adoption. And for more information on Fiix’s mobile app and how you can take advantage of it, join our mobile training webinar today (opens in new tab). (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)