EPISD maintenance audit finds long work-order backlogs; operations cite system rollout

An operational audit of El Paso ISD's maintenance function found inefficiencies in work-order processing and preventive maintenance that the district plans to address via a new work-order system and staffing adjustments.

"We found that 64% of work orders missed the 2 week benchmark based on our analysis of over 22,000 work orders," Myra Martinez told the audit committee, and she said the average completion time was about "44 days".

Trustees questioned the cause of the delays. Joel Valencia, director of operations, and David Ayala, executive director of operations support services, said causes include work orders not immediately assigned, missing completion log entries, delays waiting for parts (including delays over winter break), and logging problems when staff are offline in the field.

Ayala described the district's response process on the new FMX system and said the district is organized into three regions (Northeast, South Central and West Side) so staff can be deployed from multiple teams. "We take everything on a case by case basis...all of our student occupied facilities are our top priority," Ayala said.

Martinez and operations leaders said better fidelity of use for the FMX system should improve tracking of staff utilization and supply costs and allow the district to shift toward more preventive maintenance rather than reactive fixes.

The directors present (Valencia, Ayala, Garcia) answered trustees' questions and agreed to continue coordinating corrective-action-plan work with the audit office.