District Profile

Location: Midlothian, IL
Student Enrollment: Serves over 5,000 students
Campus Footprint: 4 High Schools (grades 9-12)

Super User Profile

Name: Kevin Baffoe
Title: Director of Facilities

Life Before ML Work Orders^®

Before ML Work Orders, Bremen High School District 228 (BHSD228) was utilizing a competitive CMMS software program. Their previous CMMS system, however, presented problems to the district and its users. For Kevin’s team, who were limited in their computer experience, the program was complicated and folks struggled to utilize and adopt it. There were too many steps in some of the processes and it proved difficult to navigate through work order and PM history. “I realized that our service techs and maintenance personnel were not using the system to our benefit because it was hard for them to use,” stated Kevin, “I knew that’s when we needed to try another system.”

The Selection Process

When looking for a new solution, Kevin had a few key criteria in mind. The most important criteria was that it was easy to use for his team, otherwise he would run into the same problems he was experiencing with his old solution. The solution also needed to be evolving and offer areas to expand, like adding document storage (ML Binders). Finally, the cost needed to be affordable for his school district.

​“We were looking for a solution that was easy to use and a simple concept,” explains Kevin, “We are a school district and some of the systems we were looking at were tailored more toward other industries than schools.” At the end of their search, Kevin and BHSD228 decided that ML Work Orders was the best fit based on their search criteria. ​“ML Work Orders fit our needs based on the simplicity of it. Our maintenance personnel were able to easily learn how to use it.”

Life with ML Work Orders

BHSD228 has been using ML Work Orders now for just over a year. The onboarding process was smooth and Kevin was happy to see that his team easily got used to using the system and that MasterLibrary provided training tutorials for new employees to get acclimated with the product. “You don’t need to be a computer whiz to navigate the system,” states Kevin.  In their previous solution, navigating through work order and PM history was a challenge. Now they are properly utilizing the PM portion of the system, automating a lot of previously manual processes. Being able to easily access data and history is another welcome benefit for Kevin in his role as manager.
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As a manager, Kevin’s favorite part of ML Work Orders are the Labor and Summary Dashboards. These areas show Kevin data that is critical for managing his team. “One specific way it helped me the most was that I could use the data collected through these dashboards to justify the need to hire an additional in-house electrician for our school district. I could track the amount of electrical work we required based on labor hours and work order totals. I showed the data to my superior and he could easily see my justification for hiring another electrician,” explains Kevin.

Another area that has delighted Kevin with ML Work Orders has been the support that he has received from the company. “The customer service that MasterLibrary provides is second to none.  The response times to my questions and needs are great.  I usually hear back in less than 30 minutes with either a response to my question or at a minimum a response telling me they are working on it and will get back to me ASAP which has always been the same day.  The customer experience seems to be a high priority with ML which is always appreciated from my end.”

In the end, Kevin and his team at BHSD228 have been able to evolve their facility management processes and service to the buildings with a tool in ML Work Orders that is less expensive than their old CMMS solution. The value with ML Work Orders is extremely apparent to Kevin. “Honestly, the low cost compared to other systems is a huge benefit to school districts. We always struggle with funds, specifically for the maintenance department, and that was a big part of our decision when choosing ML Work Orders. Another reason would be how simple it is to train people on ML systems. They are very user friendly.”