Streamlining Equipment Maintenance

 

 

Maintenance programs used to require hours of price quoting and shuffling reams of paper - both costly and time-consuming for Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, La.  With an expanding student population, Ed Gautier, purchasing director for the university, found it important to reduce spending in order to keep tuition within reach. 

 

“Through the recommendation of Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, La., we learned costs could be saved in equipment maintenance by consolidating our programs with Specialty Underwriters”, says Gautier.

 

The move to a comprehensive maintenance insurance plan helped the university centralize preventive maintenance and repair costs across campus.

 

The university began working with Specialty Underwriters under its technical equipment insurance program in July 1994.  “Immediately, we began saving significant time normally devoted to bidding out separate maintenance contracts for the multitude of office and scientific equipment dispersed over 60 buildings across campus,” says Gautier.

Southeastern is able to use their existing service vendors - people who already know the maintenance of the university’s equipment.  When a department needs remedial or preventive maintenance under the contract, they call it in to purchasing.  Purchasing contacts the vendor and then pays the vendor’s invoice.  The college gets reimbursed by Specialty Underwriters for the costs.  All the activity during the monthly period is summarized in a single invoice.

 

 

In addition to covering traditional repairs, Specialty Underwriters enhanced coverage includes human error and negligence.  Gautier says, “We are covered even if an employee accidentally spills coffee into a typewriter or a copier takes a surge from a lightning strike.”