Heating Dashboard Provides Metrics for Success

The Heating Management Department provides dependable and consistent heat and hot water to our residents. Our 438 front-line personnel manage and maintain 1,979 boilers and 1,799 tank rooms that secure our equipment.

Until now, we were limited to measuring our department’s performance based on resident-initiated complaints. Since every complaint did not result in a repair, and repairs that were made were not captured in metrics, this assessment was not adequate. Additionally, we did not investigate the underlying cause for the equipment failure when service was restored.

Now, with our newly created Heating Dashboard, we have the ability to capture and repair deficiencies before they cause outages on essential equipment. The dashboard also provides metrics of quality that allow us to measure important aspects of performance. These include:

• Rates of outages which, when measured on a boiler, for example, can help determine not only how often it breaks down but why. This allows us to develop a permanent repair with a preventive measure that eliminates a similar outage.

• Percentage of preventive maintenance completed. Our department’s busiest time is during non-heating months, when front-line staff ensure that every piece of equipment is overhauled and prepared for the next heating season.

• Metrics of specefic pieces of equipment so we can determine whether to advance or complete the overhaul more frequently.

• Customer satisfaction survey. Still in development, this survey will let us know how we’re doing as a supporting department through questions distributed to key property management staff.

We conducted training for all Heating Services and Operations Department supervisors on managing and tracking workflow and uses for the information.

Our department should have baseline data by the fourth quarter of this year and report on our operational metrics by mid-December.