Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) can help fill this requirement, these software applications can take the guesswork out of regular maintenance and give your maintenance team the assistance they require, allowing them to focus on more pressing tasks.
What is CMMS?
A Computerized Maintenance Management Systems or CMMS software is designed to take care of almost all platform maintenance requirements. These software applications have some core features like;
Work Order Software
Work Order Software or Work Order Tracking is one of the most useful features of any CMMS. This feature allows maintenance managers to monitor the progress of all work orders and maintenance work being undertaken across an organization. This ensures that work orders are being executed according to schedule.
Work Order Software also allows maintenance managers to update work orders to streamline regular maintenance of the platform. The Work Order Software within a CMMS allows maintenance managers to set up automation, alerts, and notifications to ensure that all work orders and scheduled maintenance tasks are being executed on time.
Task Templates for Regular Maintenance
Task templates for regular maintenance tasks like the monthly inspection of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) of a facility ensure that such critical maintenance tasks are never missed by the maintenance team.
These reusable task templates allow maintenance managers to pass on instructions such as best practices to their team in one shot and saves them the time of having to re-enter work instructions for regularly occurring maintenance activities.
CMMS Reporting Module
The CMMS reporting module allows maintenance managers to provide reports and statistics of maintenance activities to the upper management of an organization. There are a number of maintenance statistics like machine downtime, preventive maintenance reports, pending and active work orders, etc., that the upper management would be interested in as these reports help them gauge the status of maintenance and figure out areas of improvement.
Equipment Downtime Reports
More often than not, the maintenance problems faced by an organization are caused by the breakdown of a piece of equipment. CMMS allows maintenance managers to create individual equipment downtime reports and provides historical data on the maintenance and breakdowns a specific piece of equipment has faced in the past. This allows maintenance managers to determine whether a piece of equipment is faulty and needs to be replaced, this can save an organization a considerable amount of time and money.
Streamline Workflow for Maintenance Technicians
A web-based CMMS can be extremely helpful for maintenance managers and maintenance technicians to track the status of work orders. Using a web-based CMMS, maintenance technicians can see their pending work orders and even close work orders remotely from a desktop, laptop or even a mobile device. This allows maintenance managers to get the real-time status of various maintenance tasks being undertaken and allows maintenance technicians to update the status of maintenance tasks in real-time.
Preventive Maintenance
A robust Preventive Maintenance program is crucial to the longevity of an organization’s assets. CMMS help organizations implement strong preventive maintenance programs, thereby, minimizing downtime of equipment and critical infrastructure. A strong preventive maintenance program also minimizes emergency repairs on equipment and can save an organization a considerable amount of time and money.
Inventory Management
Effective CMMS also help organizations with inventory management. The CMMS will gauge which parts or pieces of equipment are reaching the end of their lifecycle and will automatically send an alert to order replacements. The inventory management within a CMMS will also intimate all relevant parties when a new part needs to be ordered or replaced. This automated inventory management can save an organization a lot of time and money and drastically reduce the downtime of equipment.
Vendor and Resource Management
A good CMMS will allow maintenance managers to send requests or work orders to vendors with the click of a button. The CMMS will also be able to assign appropriate resources to the right people to complete maintenance tasks on time, this effective targeting of resources can drastically reduce the operational costs of an organization and will improve overall operational efficiencies.
Real-Time Site and Floor Plans
A crucial feature of a well-designed CMMS is the presence of a real-time site and floor plan, which allows for easy management and maintenance. The real-time site and floor plans allow maintenance managers to monitor which pieces of equipment require maintenance or repair and where they are located. This allows organizations to predict when a piece of equipment might need to be replaced and allows them to arrange for a replacement in advance.
Barcode Scanning
CMMS software that comes equipped with a barcode scanning facility allows storeroom supervisors to retrieve data on work orders, purchase orders, replacement parts, spare parts, and equipment with ease. This helps storeroom managers and accountants monitor the cost of events and extraordinary expenditures, allowing them to make necessary adjustments to the cash flow.
Conclusion
A robust CMMS software can be an invaluable tool for any organization, as it helps improve overall operational efficiencies. The features that most of these software applications carry can be used across departments to improve workflow and minimize downtime of any processes. So if you are wondering how you can reduce your overheads and maximize your returns taking a look at some CMMS software might be a great idea.
