Maintenance in an IT environment

Some items requiring maintenance in an IT environment would be:

Printers- Printouts may be streaky or faded. The printer may need either cleaning or
new cartridge.
Monitors- Fingerprints may make the text difficult to read.
PC's- A PC may not boot correctly. In investigation required and possible re-
installation of the operating system.
Peripherals- A scanner or bar code reader may not be functioning properly.
Floppy disk Drive- The system may not read floppy disks. The drive may need
cleaning.
Replacing paper- Printers, photocopiers and fax machines may run out of paper.

Cleaning Peripherals
Monitors

Carefully clean dust away from the vents in the monitor's enclosure using a vacuum cleaner.
Anything other than a vacuum cleaner (e.g. a rag or air blower) is likely to push the dust inside the
enclosure where it can lie on electrical components, causing failure. You should clean the glass screen
with one of the cleaners described previously.

If you use a spray to clean a monitor you should be careful to spray the wipe.

Printers

You will get the greatest benefit from cleaning a printer if you can remove any dust from the paths of
moving parts. To do this you may need to remove covers or paper trays.

However, at all times refer to the printer manual. It will contain the instructions for removing
parts and may even have some tips on cleaning. Do not use any liquid cleaner on a printer unless the
manufacturer recommends it.

Laser Printers

To clean laser printers:

1. Switch off and unplug the printer, and wait at least 30 minutes for it to cool.

2. Wear disposable plastics gloves.

3. Clean the outer casing of the printer using a dampened paper towel or a lint-free cloth with a
little detergent on it.

4. Check for, and remove any loose bits of paper.

5. Vacuum inside the printer using a static-safe vacuum cleaner.

6. Use a lint-free swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol to clean the corona wire.
Keyboards

The keyboard tends to not only accumulate a lot of dust and skin residue but also some hair and lint
form clothing. Loose matter can generally be removed with the vacuum cleaner.

Mouse

The mouse tends to accumulate a mixture of dust and skin residue from the surface it rolls on. Therefore
to properly clean the mouse:

1. Turn the mouse upside down and push down and away the roller-opening hatch with two fingers
until you see the panels open.

2. Use a soft, dry, lint free cloth to wipe the ball clean. Never use cleaning fluid or solvent. Gently blow
into the mouse housing to remove any dust.

3. To clean the steel rollers carefully use a cotton swab to remove the material buildup.

4. Replace the ball in it its housing, and then re-insert the retaining panel. When the panel is in place
push it down and backwards until it locks firmly.

Scanners and photocopiers

The glass top flatbed scanners, like those of monitors and photocopiers, can get pretty dirty with finger
marks. Usually you would use a lint-free cloth dabbed with whatever chemical the manufacture
recommends to wipe it clean.

Power Supplies

Maintenance for the power supply to PCs includes:

Vacuuming dust from the vent holes

Checking that the cables coming out of them are not worn or broken
Checking that the power socket is clear of dust and dirt

Tape Drives

Because tape drives are usually used for backing up data, it is important that they are kept clean, so that
data is not corrupted by oils and other contaminants during the backup process. You can purchase
cleaning tapes, or you can usually use a lint-free bud

Software maintenance
Software maintenance is the process of changing, modifying, and updating software to keep up
with customer needs. Software maintenance is done after the product has launched for several
reasons including improving the software overall, correcting issues or bugs, to boost
performance, and more.  

Software maintenance is a natural part of SDLC (software development life cycle). Software
developers do not have the luxury of launching a product and letting it run, they constantly need
to be on the lookout to both correct and improve their software to remain competitive and
relevant.

Using the right software maintenance techniques and strategies is a critical part of keeping any
software running for a long period and keeping customers and users happy. 

Why is software maintenance important?

Creating a new piece of software and launching it into the world is an exciting step for any
company. A lot goes into creating your software and its launch including the actual building and
coding, licensing models, marketing, and more. However, any great piece of software must be
able to adapt to the times. 

This means monitoring and maintaining properly. As technology is changing at the speed of
light, software must keep up with the market changes and demands. 

What are the four types of software maintenance? 

The four different types of software maintenance are each performed for different reasons and
purposes. A given piece of software may have to undergo one, two, or all types of maintenance
throughout its lifespan.

The four types are:

Corrective Software Maintenance
Preventative Software Maintenance 
Perfective Software Maintenance
Adaptive Software Maintenance

Corrective Software Maintenance

Corrective software maintenance is the typical, classic form of maintenance (for software and
anything else for that matter). Corrective software maintenance is necessary when something
goes wrong in a piece of software including faults and errors. These can have a widespread
impact on the functionality of the software in general and therefore must be addressed as quickly
as possible. 

Many times, software vendors can address issues that require corrective maintenance due to bug
reports that users send in. If a company can recognize and take care of faults before users
discover them, this is an added advantage that will make your company seem more reputable and
reliable (no one likes an error message after all).
Preventative Software Maintenance

Preventative software maintenance is looking into the future so that your software can keep
working as desired for as long as possible. 

This includes making necessary changes, upgrades, adaptations and more. Preventative software
maintenance may address small issues which at the given time may lack significance but may
turn into larger problems in the future. These are called latent faults which need to be detected
and corrected to make sure that they won’t turn into effective faults. 

Perfective Software Maintenance

As with any product on the market, once the software is released to the public, new issues and
ideas come to the surface. Users may see the need for new features or requirements that they
would like to see in the software to make it the best tool available for their needs. This is when
perfective software maintenance comes into play. 

Perfective software maintenance aims to adjust software by adding new features as necessary
and removing features that are irrelevant or not effective in the given software. This process
keeps software relevant as the market, and user needs, change. 

Adaptive Software Maintenance

Adaptive software maintenance has to do with the changing technologies as well as policies and
rules regarding your software. These include operating system changes, cloud storage, hardware,
etc. When these changes are performed, your software must adapt in order to properly meet new
requirements and continue to run well. 

The Software Maintenance Process

The software maintenance process involves various software maintenance techniques that can
change according to the type of maintenance and the software maintenance plan in place. 

Most software maintenance process models include the following steps:

1.    Identification & Tracing – The process of determining what part of the software needs to be
modified (or maintained). This can be user-generated or identified by the software developer
itself depending on the situation and specific fault.
2.    Analysis – The process of analyzing the suggested modification including understanding the
potential effects of such a change. This step typically includes cost analysis to understand if the
change is financially worthwhile.
3.    Design – Designing the new changes using requirement specifications 
4.    Implementation – The process of implementing the new modules by programmers.
5.    System Testing – Before being launched, the software and system must be tested. This
includes the module itself, the system and the module, and the whole system at once. 
6.    Acceptance Testing- Users test the modification for acceptance. This is an important step as
users can identify ongoing issues and generate recommendations for more effective
implementation and changes. 
7.    Delivery – Software updates or in some cases new installation of the software. This is when
the changes arrive at the customers. 

Software Maintenance Cost

The cost of software maintenance can be high. However, this doesn’t negate the importance of
software maintenance. In certain cases, software maintenance can cost up to two-thirds of the
entire software process cycle or more than 50% of the SDLC processes. 

The costs involved in software maintenance are due to multiple factors and vary depending on
the specific situation. The older the software, the more maintenance will cost, as technologies
(and coding languages) change over time. Revamping an old piece of software to meet today’s
technology can be an exceptionally expensive process in certain situations. 

In addition, engineers may not always be able to target the exact issues when looking to upgrade
or maintain a specific piece of software. This causes them to use a trial and error method, which
can result in many hours of work. 

There are certain ways to try and bring down software maintenance costs. These include
optimizing the top of programming used in the software, strong typing, and functional
programming. 

When creating new software as well as taking on maintenance projects for older models,
software companies must take software maintenance costs into consideration. Without
maintenance, any software will be obsolete and essentially useless over time. 

Software maintenance strategies

All software companies should have a specific strategy in place to tackle software maintenance
in an effective and complete manner. 

Documentation is one important strategy in software development. If software documentation

isn’t up to date, upgrading can be seemingly impossible. The documentation should include info
about how the code works, solutions to potential problems, etc. 

QA is also an important part of a software maintenance plan. While QA is important before an

initial software launch, it can also be integrated much earlier in the process (as early as the
planning stage) to make sure that the software is developed correctly and to give insight into
making changes when necessary. 
Different Types of Equipment Maintenance Practices
Companies hold several assets, both high and low in value. If you choose a single restorative
plan, you might end up spending a lot more on an asset than what it is actually worth.

To filter out items, which can be easily replaced instead of being repaired, a company should run
several types of repair and service events. Different organizational workflows need different
types of maintenance:

1. Planned maintenance

It refers to scheduled maintenance to cope with equipment failures before they actually occur. It
can be further broken down into preventive and predictive maintenance.

Preventive maintenance is carried out at predetermined intervals by following

prescribed criteria. It is time-driven and based on the assumption that usability of a
mechanical component will decline over its useful life cycle.
Predictive maintenance is different from preventive maintenance such that it depends
on the working condition of the machinery rather than its average life expectancy. It
requires monitoring equipment during its normal operations to see if it’s working at its
best. Some companies use periodic vibration analysis to continuously monitor high value
assets and simply check them in for maintenance when their vibration fluctuates.

2. Corrective maintenance

This type of maintenance restores any failed pieces of equipment. It is typically performed at
irregular intervals since technicians do not know when a certain machine will break down. The
main aim here is to fix a problem in the shortest possible time using three steps: diagnosis,
repair and verification.

3. Routine maintenance

Not dependent on any broken parts or downtime, it includes some necessary activities such as
cleaning, lubricating and replacing small-scale assets or equipment. This is generally performed
on a weekly basis.

Steps of a Maintenance Program  

When setting up a maintenance plan, companies are likely to focus on major breakdown issues
whilst ignoring smaller problems. This isn’t advisable in the long-term. Even the least harmful
problem areas can eventually lead to production errors, asset damage and injuries at work if not
resolved in time.

Here are a few simple steps you can follow to help you design a proactive maintenance routine:
1. Create a team

First, you need to create the right maintenance team. Recruit maintenance managers, technicians
and relevant people from the operations department. Then lay down the goals you want your
team to achieve.  These might include minimizing corrective repair costs and reducing downtime
of the equipment. Motivate your team members to make the maintenance program a success!

2. Record your equipment

Documenting your assets is necessary. You need to have an accurate asset count in order  to
know how many require maintenance. Add asset information like make/model, manufacturer ID,
asset specification, and location. It is easy to update prerecorded data, and it allows you to
prioritize maintenance activities.

3. Establish maintenance procedures

Once you have a well-grounded inventory list, you need to determine how frequently you should
service the assets. This can be done on a weekly, monthly, quarterly or a semi-annual basis
depending on the item type.

Additionally, you need to outline the procedures for repair including the standard operating and
repair guidelines or safety measures. Finally, prepare a list of internal or outsourced maintenance
tools that you need.

4. Prioritize maintenance tasks

For smooth daily operation, you need to categorize high, medium and low-priority repair tasks.
Service sessions can take a lot of time so you need to choose your battles wisely. Start with high
value equipment and begin scheduling maintenance tasks with longer intervals first (annual then
bi-annual) as they take up the most time and resources. You can then focus on low-priority items
that require less effort.

5. Train your team

Developing and implementing a maintenance system is a lengthy process and proper adoption of
the program is key! To optimize their management strategy, companies should devise training
schedules so that their team knows exactly how to deploy repair practices within different
departments. Optimal use of the restorative plan will eventually lead you to higher return on
investment.

6. Seek improvements

Businesses evolve along with their assets over time. Due to this constant transition, it is
important to analyze progress for future growth.
You might notice that some equipment gets checked-in for maintenance more often than others.
This can be concerning if the repair and replacement costs of the item exceed its actual worth. To
tackle such incidents, assess your maintenance plan after regular intervals, and make any
changes as necessary.  

Implement Best Practices of Equipment Maintenance

The most important factor to consider while implementing a restorative strategy is to adjust it as your
assets evolve. Over time, some equipment becomes obsolete while some shows a higher usage demand.
To deal with these fluctuations in resource utilization, it is helpful to outline some basic guidelines.

Here are a few best practices, which can raise efficiency levels for your maintenance program:

1. Gather baseline information

After collecting all necessary data on your capital assets, you can estimate the approximate equipment
usage. Before you start off checking-in assets for repair, it is important to assess the scale of the
challenge.

Collect information for machine downtime, average time between failures, replacement cost of parts,
and response time of technicians etc. The aim is to calculate the average cost of one hour of downtime
and then use this statistic to design a viable maintenance strategy.

2. Choose an appropriate support system

Companies can opt for either a manual or a computerized system when it comes to picking an
equipment maintenance software. A software might seem costly as it needs some upfront investment
involving subscription fees, but it comes along with many benefits.

Equipment maintenance software allows you to mass import asset data on to a cloud based platform.
You can schedule each item for recurring service periods. This automates repair reminders and makes
items unavailable for check-out to your employees.

In comparison to a manual maintenance system, an online system has quick response time and easy
access to all asset information, in turn, reducing average downtime duration.

3. Put Together Maintenance Checklists

Carrying out service and repair sessions means scheduling service tickets to reduce the impact of
downtime. A maintenance strategy should be well defined and reviewed on a regular basis. To ensure
the correct implementation of the program, it helps to have service events listed down.

You can also develop a preventive maintenance checklist to monitor repairs and adjustments without
missing out on critical assets. Generally, organizations write down checklists for the following activities:

o Lightinng

o Electrica
o Safety

o HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning

o Buildings

o Fixtures and furniture

During every service event, technicians can check off points from the checklist that were covered. If any
equipment requires extra maintenance, then it can be scheduled on notice.

4. Develop Consistency in Inspection

An excellent maintenance program might not produce the right outcome if you slack off in following it. It
is quite possible for technicians to miss out on certain repair events in case of tight deadlines.

While it becomes tough to follow the inspection strategy in an ongoing project, make sure that you do
not skip the routine completely. In such situations, track records to ensure there are no discrepancies.
To speed up processes, you can switch to electronic monitoring which takes up less time than paper
logs.

5. Send out Custom Reminders

Organizations working with various types of assets often find it hard to keep track of their last
maintenance session. Employees might forget the timeline and even end up using faulty equipment
which could lead to safety hazards.

To prevent such incidents, maintain a service log which allows you to send out email alerts. With the
ability to customize notifications as per requirements, you can remind the concerned department about
the schedule. This way, you can ensure a seamless inspection routine.

What is a Third-Party Vendor

A third party vendor is a person or company that provides services for another company (or that
company’s customers). 

What are some examples of third-party vendor goods and services?

Goods and services obtained from third-party vendors can include, but are not limited to:

 Cloud web hosting services. A cloud hosting vendor might provide everything from disk
space and bandwidth to encryption and high-tech security solutions. 
 Cloud-based software solutions. SaaS software vendors provide access to software
programs either for your business or your customers. For example, marketing automation
platforms, CRMs, accounting packages, etc.
 Equipment maintenance. The company that fixes your copy machine and the team that
manages your network security are third-party vendors.
 HVAC servicing. The local HVAC company that services your unit is providing third-
party vendor services.
 Contractors of any kind. Any contractor, short- or long-term, is a third-party vendor.
  Call center providers. If you host your call center with another company, it is considered
a third-party vendor.
 Bookkeeping/financial auditors. Any person or business hired to manage your finances,
budget or audit your finances is a third-party vendor.
 Lawyers. Sometimes it is necessary to consult a lawyer before signing contracts or
making big purchases. All legal services are considered third-party vendors.

What Is a Warranty?

A warranty is a type of guarantee that a manufacturer or similar party makes regarding the condition of
its product. It also refers to the terms and situations in which repairs or exchanges will be made if the
product does not function as originally described or intended.

How a Warranty Works

Warranties usually have exceptions that limit the conditions in which a manufacturer will be obligated to
rectify a problem. For example, many warranties for common household items only cover the product
for up to one year from the date of purchase and usually only if the product in question contains
problems resulting from defective parts or workmanship.

As a result of these limited manufacturer warranties, many vendors offer extended warranties. These
extended warranties are essentially insurance policies for products that consumers pay for upfront.
Coverage will usually last for several years above and beyond the manufacturer's warranty and is often
more lenient in terms of limited terms and conditions.

Home warranties can provide discounted repair and replacement services for household appliances and
systems, and the best home warranties offer a range of plans depending on the coverage you want.

Types of Warranties

There are two main categories of warranties, expressed and implied. Within each category exists
different types of warranties, with their own terms, conditions, and guarantees.

Express Warranty

As its name suggests, an express warranty is an expressed guarantee from a seller to a buyer that the
purchased product performs according to certain specifications. If defects are present, the seller will
repair or replace the defective product. The warranty can be expressed in writing or verbally in
advertising, on the product, or by some other means.

All expressed guarantees are not warranties. For example, puffery is not considered an express
warranty. It is an exaggerated language used to advertise a product and attract customers. If a retailer
claims that its mattresses will give you the "best night's sleep ever," they are no issuing a guarantee that
it will deliver upon that statement. It can be reasonably assumed that this claim is based only on the
opinion of the person making the statement in an attempt to promote the product.

Implied Warranty
An implied warranty, or implied warranty of merchantability, is a guarantee that the purchased product
functions in the manner designed. It need not be expressed to be valid. This guarantee is implied unless
it is explicitly excluded, as is with "as is" sales.

Implied warranties also apply when sellers present and sell a product fit to fulfill a specific purpose. The
buyer relies on the seller's expertise to purchase the product. Any statements made by the seller
regarding the product can be considered assurances.

Extended Warranty

An extended warranty is a type of warranty that covers the repair and maintenance of a product beyond
the manufacturer's warranty. It is more of a service contract than a warranty as it is optional coverage
purchased by the buyer covering service-related claims. Like expressed warranties, extended warranties
have terms and conditions, and coverage can be denied if the buyer breaches the agreement.

Most commonly, extended warranties are available on products of substantial value, such as cars,
electronics, and appliances. Although sold by the retailer, the manufacturer is responsible for executing
the extended warranty on behalf of the customer.

Special Warranty Deed

A special warranty deed is specific to real estate transactions whereby the seller issues a guarantee
against title defects occurring during their ownership of the property. This deed transfers ownership to
the grantee with an expressed warranty about the title.

Special warranty deeds transfer property ownership from one person to another and assures the buyer
that the title, during the seller's ownership, is free of encumbrances, liens, or claims.

Reasons Why a Warranty Could Be Denied

Warranties typically only apply to products that have not been altered or modified after they were
purchased. For example, a warranty on an automobile could be invalidated if the owner added
nonstandard parts that substantially altered the functionality, performance, reliability, and stability of
the vehicle.

Although it is popular for car aficionados to change engines or make other enhancements to the
drivetrain to coax a particular type of performance out of the vehicle, such modifications, in most cases,
would nullify the warranty. When such aftermarket adjustments are made, it can affect the reliability of
the vehicle in ways that the dealer and manufacturer are not responsible for.

Each company has its own process for addressing warranties. Even if a product is still within the
timeframe designated by a warranty, the company may require multiple points of proof to show that
the product failed in the normal course of operational use. If the product failed because of the actions of
the owner rather than because of any fault in the design or manufacturing, the warranty is not likely to
be honored. For instance, the owner of the product might have placed the product in an extreme
environment that was too hot or too cold for its reasonable use.

Terms of warranties can vary from free repairs on the defective product to an entire replacement of the
product. The owner of the product may be instructed to bring the product to the nearest authorized
repairman, back to the seller, or shipped direct cvly to the manufacturer.