GreenState Credit Union: An Overview
Established in 1938, GreenState Credit Union has grown exponentially to become Iowa’s most prominent credit union. With over 430,000 members and 33 branch locations, GreenState has expanded its footprint to include Illinois and Nebraska.
The Facilities Management Challenge: Paving a Path Through Struggles
Before the incorporation of eSSETS in 2013, GreenState’s facilities management processes were heavily reliant on email and paper notes. A few attempted solutions included the IT help desk system and Microsoft Outlook for preventive maintenance scheduling. Unfortunately, the former proved too IT-centric and lacked the requisite flexibility for facility management, while the latter fell short in effectively handling the interrelationships of staff technicians, contractors, and the many facilities under management.
eSSETS: Transformative Solution to Facilities Management
eSSETS offered a series of features designed to streamline GreenState’s facilities management processes:
- A facility-centric service request system, accessible to all locations, enabled employees to submit issues directly to the dispatch queue.
- The introduction of a dispatch management console allowed the tracking of all incoming requests. It facilitated further elaboration, prioritization, and assignments to staff technicians and contractors.
- A comprehensive preventive maintenance definition and scheduling function offered multi-step inspections and PM actions with flexible scheduling and assignment possibilities.
- An upgraded work order management system allowed for notifications of new assignments and enabled staff technicians and contractors to document their work in detail, including the ability to attach photos and documents directly from their smartphones.
- Lastly, the software provided an easily navigable database for electronic records about buildings and equipment accessible from both desktop and mobile devices.
A Day in the Life: Proactive Management in Action
The Senior Regional Facilities Coordinator, Travis Rentschler, and his team, diligently monitor the incoming request queue. Their Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is the swift and effective response to requests from their internal customers. While most requests are handled internally, some tasks are delegated to contractors. Thanks to the robust dispatch system, no request goes unnoticed or unaddressed.
Beyond merely responding to requests, the team engages in strategic planning and preemptive action to minimize issues and adverse events. This proactive management is made possible through scheduled inspections and preventive maintenance facilitated by eSSETS.
The Journey: Implementation, Training, Support, and Software Updates
The journey to efficient facilities management didn’t happen overnight. The eSSETS team offered invaluable support throughout the implementation phase, from setting up “Places” (buildings, rooms, etc.) to guiding the setup of major building-related assets. They also conducted numerous remote training sessions for the facilities team and management staff, all included in the annual subscription fees. According to Travis, “the support has been responsive, with no significant service outages since the partnership began in 2013. Additionally, every software release update has been an improvement, requiring little more than reading the “release notes” to grasp the new features.”
The Road Ahead
In late 2022, eSSETS released a significant upgrade to its work order functions. GreenState is keen to explore these expanded capabilities to further enhance efficiency and responsiveness.
Conclusion: The Triumph of Continuous Improvement
With a decade-long history of eSSETS usage, GreenState has accumulated an extensive database of their facilities’ details, service request patterns, and operational response times. These tools, coupled with Travis’s proactive approach, lay the foundation for a journey of continuous improvement in facilities management.