Measuring filters on the ladder, again
An engineer arrives at an office for the quarterly service on the air handling units and fan coils. He brought a pack of the filters he thinks fit. Two sizes are wrong, one unit needs bag filters nobody mentioned, and the belt on the supply fan looks worn but he has no spare. He measures everything, writes the sizes on a scrap of paper, fits what he can and books a return visit. The same thing happened last quarter.
Consumables are not on the asset
Asset registers often hold make, model and location but not the details that decide what goes in the van: filter dimensions and grades per unit, number of filters, belt sizes, specific cleaning products. Engineers remember some sites. When a different engineer attends, or a new contract starts, the knowledge is not there.
- Filter sizes are measured on each visit instead of recorded once.
- The van carries common sizes and hopes.
- Purchasing is done after visits, not before.
- Belt sizes and other wear parts are not recorded.
- Units replaced since the last visit have different consumables.
What the wrong van load costs
Return visits to finish a service, which cost engineer time and look poor to the client. Filters bought in a hurry at trade counter prices. Units left with old filters until the next quarter. And the frustration of engineers who know they measured the same filters last time.
Different sites also need different filter grades, and substituting what happens to be in the van may not match what the client or the building's specification expects. Recording the right grade once removes that guesswork.
It also affects the quality of PPM itself. A service completed with makeshift filters or no spare belt is not the service the client is paying for.
The consumables record we build
- Each asset record gets consumables fields: filter dimensions, grade and quantity, belt sizes, and any other parts your engineers change routinely.
- Engineers fill these once from their app on the next visit, with a photo of the label or filter, and confirm them on later visits.
- For each planned visit, the system produces a pick list totalling filters and parts across every unit due at that site.
- Pick lists for the coming week or fortnight are combined into a purchasing list by supplier, for a person to order in time.
- When a unit is replaced or modified, the engineer is prompted to update its consumables.
- Used consumables are recorded against the visit, which feeds job costing and the client's service report.
| Consumable question | Answered now | Answered with the record |
|---|---|---|
| What filters does this unit take? | Measure on site | On the asset record |
| What do we need for this visit? | Guess | Pick list per visit |
| What should we order this week? | After the visits | Purchasing list ahead |
| Did the unit change? | Found on the ladder | Prompted at replacement |
| What was used? | Not recorded | On the visit and the report |
Services finished in one visit
Engineers load their vans from a pick list and complete services first time. Purchasing buys ahead at normal prices. Clients receive reports that list what was changed. New engineers on a site arrive as prepared as the one who has visited for years.
Purchasing gets simpler too. Ordering by supplier for the week ahead is easier to negotiate and deliver than a string of urgent trade counter visits, and the store stops accumulating odd sizes nobody needs.
Signs you need a consumables record
- Engineers regularly measure filters on site.
- Services have needed a return visit for the right filters.
- Filters are bought at the trade counter in a hurry.
- Belt sizes and wear parts are not recorded.
- Service reports do not say what consumables were changed.