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Operations & Maintenance
Guide to Preventive Maintenance Checklist And Repair Program
A preventive maintenance checklist is a structured list of tasks and inspections designed to be performed on equipment or assets to prevent potential issues, maintain optimal performance, and extend operational lifespan. It typically includes scheduled maintenance activities such as lubrication, cleaning, visual inspections, component replacements, and other necessary actions to identify and address potential problems […]
A preventive maintenance checklist is a structured list of tasks and inspections designed to be performed on equipment or assets to prevent potential issues, maintain optimal performance, and extend operational lifespan.
It typically includes scheduled maintenance activities such as lubrication, cleaning, visual inspections, component replacements, and other necessary actions to identify and address potential problems before they escalate into costly breakdowns or failures.
The checklist ensures that maintenance tasks are systematically carried out according to a predetermined schedule, reducing the likelihood of unexpected downtime and maximizing equipment reliability and efficiency.
If you're a facility manager, you've probably heard a variation of the phrase, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." This mentality may work in the short term, but ongoing reactive maintenance may fail due to a lack of consistency, and proactive repairs cost thousands of euros each year.
Unplanned equipment failures are stressful and time-consuming for facility teams to fix. If your team is still taking a reactive approach to maintenance, it's time to make a change. A solid preventive maintenance program is critical to keeping equipment safe and functioning correctly.
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What Is Preventive Maintenance?
Preventive maintenance is a systematic approach to building operations designed to predict and prevent catastrophic equipment failures before they occur. To achieve this, facility personnel routinely inspect, maintain, and repair equipment to ensure that it performs as expected by the manufacturer.
As a general rule, it is better to prevent problems than to react to them. A preventive maintenance plan can help maintenance managers better predict costs and improve key performance indicators.
Preventive maintenance reduces the likelihood of unexpected issues by optimizing equipment performance. The following list outlines a few ways maintenance teams can stay on top of preventive maintenance in their departments:
Schedule and perform regular equipment inspections.
Regularly clean buildings, grounds, and property.
Lubricate moving parts to reduce wear.
Amplified controls for optimal performance and energy efficiency.
Repair and replace any defective piece of equipment.
Develop clear PM Checklists.
Define maintenance processes
This article will introduce you to the ultimate equipment preventive maintenance checklist that will ensure your equipment's seamless and efficient operation.
Importance of Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance (PM) involves regular, planned maintenance tasks designed to prevent equipment failure before it occurs. Unlike reactive maintenance, which addresses problems after they arise, preventive maintenance proactively addresses potential issues, ensuring equipment operates smoothly and efficiently.
Benefits of Preventive Maintenance
Reduced Equipment Downtime: Routine maintenance tasks help identify and fix issues before they escalate into significant problems, reducing unplanned equipment downtime.
Extended Equipment Lifespan: Regular inspections and maintenance activities can significantly extend the lifespan of equipment, ensuring it remains operational for more extended periods.
Cost Savings: Preventive maintenance reduces the need for costly repairs and replacements, ultimately saving the organization money.
Improved Safety: Routine checks and maintenance of safety-critical systems, such as fire alarm systems and carbon monoxide detectors, ensure the safety of personnel and infrastructure.
Enhanced Efficiency: Well-maintained equipment operates more efficiently, improving productivity and reducing energy consumption.
Source: WorkTrek
Preventive Maintenance Checklist
Equipment/Asset Name: [Insert Equipment/Asset Name]
Date of Inspection: [Insert Date]
Inspector: [Insert Name]
Item Description: [Describe the equipment or asset being inspected]
Preventive Maintenance Checklist Tasks:
Visual Inspection:
Check for any signs of abnormal wear or damage.
Inspect for leaks, cracks, or corrosion.
Verify proper alignment and positioning.
Lubrication:
Lubricate moving parts as per the manufacturer's recommendations.
Ensure proper grease or oil levels.
Replace lubricants if necessary.
Cleaning:
Remove any debris, dirt, or buildup.
Clean filters, vents, and cooling systems.
Ensure equipment surfaces are free from dust and grime.
Functional Checks:
Test equipment functionality according to its operational specifications.
Verify safety features such as emergency stops and alarms.
Conduct performance tests if applicable.
Electrical Components:
Inspect electrical connections for signs of wear or damage.
Check for loose connections and tighten if necessary.
Test electrical systems for proper functioning.
Fluid Levels:
Check fluid levels such as oil, coolant, hydraulic fluid, etc.
Top up fluids as needed.
Inspect for any leaks or abnormalities in fluid condition.
Parts Replacement:
Replace worn or damaged components identified during inspection.
Follow the manufacturer's guidelines for part replacement intervals.
Keep a record of replaced parts for future reference.
Calibration:
Verify equipment calibration if applicable.
Perform calibration adjustments as needed.
Ensure accuracy and precision of measurements.
Documentation:
Record inspection findings, maintenance tasks performed, and any issues identified.
Maintain a log of maintenance activities for tracking and reference purposes.
Source: WorkTrek
Utilizing CMMS Software for Preventive Maintenance Checklists
Implementing Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) software can simplify and automate the creation and management of preventive maintenance checklists. This digital tool allows maintenance managers to automate the scheduling of regular inspections and maintenance tasks, ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks.
With CMMS, you can automate the creation of preventive maintenance checklists, generate task lists for specific equipment and assign them to technicians, set up recurring work orders, and track the completion of each item on your checklist.
This level of organization and automation increases equipment reliability and streamlines the workflow, allowing technicians to focus on their work without worrying about administrative tasks.
Moreover, CMMS software provides a centralized database for all maintenance records, making it easy to access historical data and track the frequency of maintenance activities. This data can be invaluable for refining your preventive maintenance checklists over time, as it reveals patterns and trends that may necessitate adjustments in maintenance frequency or procedures.
Additionally, CMMS can alert managers to upcoming maintenance tasks, help prioritize work based on criticality, and ensure that the necessary parts and tools are available when needed, thus further enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of preventive maintenance programs.
What Are The Different Types Of Preventive Maintenance?
There are seven types of preventive maintenance:
Preventive Maintenance
Predictive Maintenance
Corrective Maintenance
Condition Based Maintenance
Planned Maintenance
Reactive or Emergency Maintenance
Deferred Maintenance
Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance is carried out at predetermined intervals or according to prescribed criteria to reduce the likelihood of failure or the degradation of the functioning of an item. This strategy is based on performing maintenance at scheduled intervals, regardless of whether the equipment has shown signs of deterioration. The goal is to prevent unexpected breakdowns and extend the lifespan of the machinery.
Benefits:
Reduces the likelihood of unexpected breakdowns.
Extends equipment lifespan.
Enhances operational efficiency by minimizing downtime.
Helps in planning and budgeting for maintenance activities.
Predictive Maintenance
Predictive maintenance is a more sophisticated approach that relies on condition-monitoring equipment and techniques to assess real-time machinery performance. By analyzing sensor data and statistical methods, maintenance can be more accurately scheduled to address issues before they fail, thus reducing unnecessary maintenance tasks and costs.
Benefits:
Minimizes unplanned downtime by predicting failures.
Reduces maintenance costs by addressing issues before they escalate.
Improves equipment performance and reliability.
Enables better planning and resource allocation.
Corrective Maintenance
Corrective maintenance is performed to rectify identified faults, and restore the equipment to an acceptable condition. Unlike reactive maintenance, which occurs after a breakdown, corrective maintenance is often the result of inspections or monitoring that detect issues before they lead to failure.
Benefits:
Addresses issues that were not anticipated, ensuring equipment can be repaired promptly.
It can be more cost-effective for non-critical equipment with lower failure impact.
It helps identify underlying issues that might not have been apparent during routine checks.
Planned Maintenance
Planned maintenance is carried out at predetermined intervals or according to prescribed criteria to reduce the likelihood of failure or the degradation of the functioning of an item. This strategy is based on performing maintenance at scheduled intervals, regardless of whether the equipment has shown signs of deterioration. The goal is to prevent unexpected breakdowns and extend the lifespan of the machinery.
Benefits:
Allows for efficient use of maintenance resources.
Minimizes disruption to operations by scheduling maintenance during non-peak times.
Ensures systematic and comprehensive equipment care.
Helps in long-term maintenance planning and budgeting.
Emergency Maintenance
Reactive or emergency maintenance, sometimes called breakdown maintenance, is the most basic form. It involves repairs only after a machine has failed or broken down. While this approach may seem cost-effective in the short term, it can lead to increased downtime and higher repair costs due to the unpredictability of equipment failures. Reducing the volume of emergency maintenance is best to improve equipment reliability and reduce maintenance costs.
Benefits:
Addresses critical failures promptly to minimize operational impact.
Enhances safety by quickly mitigating hazardous conditions.
Reduces the duration of unplanned downtime.
Essential for maintaining business continuity during emergencies.
Deferred Maintenance
Deferred maintenance refers to postponing maintenance activities on buildings, equipment, and machinery due to budget constraints, prioritization, or resource allocation decisions. While this may offer short-term financial relief, it can increase long-term costs, safety risks, and potential system failures.
Benefits:
Allows for prioritization of critical maintenance tasks when resources are limited.
It can be used as a temporary measure to manage budget constraints.
Provides flexibility in maintenance scheduling.
Condition-based maintenance
Condition-based maintenance is similar to predictive maintenance but specifically focuses on the equipment's physical condition. It involves monitoring specific variables, such as vibration, temperature, or lubrication properties, to determine when maintenance should be performed. This approach ensures that maintenance is only done when warranted by the equipment's condition, thus avoiding unnecessary interventions.
Benefits:
Optimizes maintenance activities by focusing on actual equipment conditions.
Reduces unnecessary maintenance tasks and associated costs.
Enhances equipment availability and reliability.
Increases the accuracy of maintenance interventions.
Source: WorkTrek
What Are The Four Key Preventive Maintenance Actions?
Preventive maintenance adopts the active maintenance method, which mainly includes four significant actions: inspection, detection, correction, and prevention. Let's examine each concept in more detail to see how it can be the foundation of a successful preventive maintenance program and help the maintenance team.
Inspections
Inspections are necessary for preventive maintenance and help the organization in two ways. First, facility inspections ensure that equipment is safe to use. Regular inspections help avoid workplace accidents and provide the company with more liability protection. The second is to inspect and protect assets regularly. Check to make sure the equipment is operating as intended by the manufacturer.
Detection
Running in a "run-to-fail" fashion ultimately incurs facility service costs, which is why many facility managers opt for a preventive maintenance approach. Predictive maintenance allows facility managers to identify problems early, which are relatively easy and inexpensive to fix.
Correction
Preventive maintenance encourages facility managers to maintain equipment proactively and fix problems before they occur. When a problem (or potential problem) is identified, facility managers take action to resolve it before it escalates or disrupts operations quickly.
Prevention
Facility managers can combine inspection records and maintenance alerts to learn from past mistakes and resolve recurring equipment issues. Preventing equipment downtime reduces stress and increases facility team productivity. When equipment is performed according to inspections, personnel can focus on proactive (rather than reactive) maintenance tasks.
What Are The Benefits Of Preventive Maintenance?
The most obvious benefit of implementing preventive maintenance is to get ahead of problems before equipment failure. Some of the benefits include:
Preventive maintenance reduces downtime and business shutdowns due to unexpected equipment failures.
Using preventive maintenance checklists can improve overall efficiency
Preventive maintenance will increase equipment life, saving you money in the long run.
Preventive maintenance ensures that all equipment and employees work only during scheduled hours, eliminating the need for overtime pay due to unplanned machinery breakdowns, etc.
Preventive maintenance will significantly reduce safety risks for employees and customers, reducing the risk of costly lawsuits and workers' compensation.
Preventive maintenance helps reduce the energy consumption of your assets and equipment through high levels of operational efficiency, which will lower your utility bills.
Preventive maintenance can help maintenance teams reduce urgent repairs
Preventive maintenance can give maintenance technicians a well-defined maintenance strategy
These are just a few of the specific benefits of regular preventive maintenance. Preventive maintenance can reduce accidents and costly damage even if you own a small retail store or food stand and don't work with heavy machinery or equipment.
What Are Repairs?
Repairs are actions taken to restore an asset to normal function. It's about restoring a broken thing to its optimal working condition. The extent of repairs required depends on the nature of the equipment failure. There are two main types of errors:
Complete failure
This refers to an outage that causes the asset to become unusable. The asset cannot perform its function until someone takes care of it. For example, an engine failure can stall your car and make it undrivable until you take it to a mechanic. Equipment failure often results in unplanned downtime, which is often costly and requires urgent maintenance.
Partial failure
In this case, the asset works to some extent despite the error. You can still use the gear, but it's either unsafe or extremely ineffective. For example, a driver might drive a vehicle with a dirty air filter. But he might notice that the air conditioner isn't as cold as it used to be, or he might sneeze because of the poor air quality. Often, you want to fix partial failures as quickly as possible before they lead to complete failures at the wrong time.
Some repairs are more expensive than others. How much you spend on repairs depends on the root cause of the failure.
While failures are inevitable, most equipment failures are avoidable. This is where maintenance comes into play. Proactive maintenance can help you avoid major and expensive repairs.
Source: Huston Dynamic Service, Inc.
Conclusion
A comprehensive preventive maintenance program ensures equipment and assets' longevity, efficiency, and reliability and reduces maintenance costs. Organizations can significantly reduce the risk of unexpected breakdowns, minimize production downtime, and improve key performance indicators by creating preventative maintenance checklists and following good preventive maintenance processes.
Following a structured preventive maintenance checklist, which includes regular inspections, condition monitoring, predictive maintenance techniques, and timely corrective actions, can also reduce costly repairs.
The benefits of preventive maintenance extend beyond just minimizing downtime; it also enhances overall operational efficiency, improves safety, lowers energy consumption, and ultimately leads to substantial cost savings in the long run.
By embracing a proactive approach to maintenance and leveraging tools like CMMS software, facility managers can streamline their maintenance workflows, make data-driven decisions, and foster a culture of continuous improvement within their organizations.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is a Preventive Maintenance Checklist?
A preventive maintenance checklist is a structured list of tasks and inspections designed to be regularly performed on equipment or assets. It includes scheduled maintenance activities like lubrication, cleaning, visual inspections, and component replacements to identify and address potential problems before they escalate into costly breakdowns or failures.
What are the Different Types of Preventive Maintenance?
The three main types of preventive maintenance are:
Preventive Maintenance
Predictive Maintenance
Corrective Maintenance
Condition Based Maintenance
Planned Maintenance
Reactive or Emergency Maintenance
Deferred Maintenance
What are the Four Key Preventive Maintenance Actions?
The four critical preventive maintenance actions are:
Inspections: Regularly inspecting equipment for safety and proper operation.
Detection: Identifying problems early through predictive maintenance techniques.
Correction: Proactively fix identified issues before they escalate.
Prevention: Learning from past issues to prevent recurring equipment problems.
What are the Benefits of Preventive Maintenance?
Some key benefits of preventive maintenance include:
Reduced downtime and business shutdowns due to unexpected failures
Improved overall efficiency and equipment life
Cost savings from avoiding expensive repairs and replacements
Reduced safety risks and potential legal liabilities
Lower energy consumption and utility costs
What is the Difference Between Repairs and Maintenance?
Repairs are actions taken to restore an asset to normal function after a failure. Maintenance, on the other hand, refers to proactive actions like inspections, adjustments, and replacements performed to prevent failures from happening in the first place. Proper maintenance can help avoid major and expensive repairs.
Operations & Maintenance
Top 10 Facility Management Software
Facility management software is designed to help facility managers and contractors ensure that buildings, whether construction sites, factories, educational buildings, or corporate headquarters, are well-maintained and utilized to their fullest potential. These software solutions are essential in managing the numerous maintenance and organizational issues common in various types of buildings. You may already have an investment management system, but that's not enough for complex assets.
If you think it's time to invest in a facility management platform, but aren't sure where to start, this article should help. We've compiled a list of the top 10 facilities management software to help you find the right one. This should give you a better idea of what to expect when looking.
What is Facilities Management?
A "facility" is a tangible thing constructed or installed for a specific purpose. Facility support organizations, eg. buildings, IT infrastructure and services, lighting, furniture, and grounds maintenance.
Facilities Management (FM) focuses on how these facilities are managed. It can be defined as a management discipline that ensures effective and efficient support services to various organizations. It is a function within an organization that integrates people, processes, places, and technology into the existing environment and focuses on improving the productivity of the organization and people's quality of life.
What Does A Facility Manager Do?
The facilities manager is considered a "strategic leader critical to the organization's continued success." They are responsible for maintaining the "workplace" (such as offices, retail stores, and warehouses) and running business operations.
The University now offers advanced degrees in Facilities Management, which has evolved from a "craftsman" position to a professional management discipline requiring initiative, foresight, and planning.
Not to be confused with property management, facilities management is less concerned with the buildings and the processes and people needed to ensure safety. For example, they can organize regular fire inspections and communicate with electricians when needed.
Inventory Of All Assets At the Facility, Maintained
To set up an optimal plan for the facility, it is first necessary to carry out an inventory of all the tools on which maintenance must be carried out not to omit any asset essential to the proper functioning of the production chain. Depending on the size of the industrial or agricultural company and the number of installations in its possession, the complexity of the maintenance plan can vary greatly. In the most complex cases, it is strongly recommended that this inventory be segmented by sector or production unit to manage sets of acceptable complexity.
Definition And Prioritization Of Facility Maintenance Tasks
To ensure effective facility maintenance, defining all tasks required for each asset, including their frequency and necessary skill level, is crucial. This enables technicians to assign tasks to technicians with the appropriate skills.
Prioritizing tasks can also be helpful in complex situations, where tasks can be ranked to determine which should be completed first and which can be postponed if resources are lacking (such as due to unforeseen events or absences).
Therefore, the purpose of this prioritization is to organize the maintenance work better, leading to better efficiency, reduced stress in the teams, and easier management of unforeseen events.
Computer-Aided Facilities Management Software
Computer-aided facility management (CAFM) software assists facility managers in planning, executing, and monitoring activities, including preventive maintenance, space and migration management, asset management, and facility service operations.
Implementing software is also a relatively quick way to reduce facility management expenses. In addition to the cost-cutting benefits, using a software manager can help save time on documentation, leaving more time to think about preventive measures. Preventative measures can also help save money by reducing breakdowns, repairs, and unnecessary equipment replacements.
Another type of facility management software is computerized maintenance management software (CMMS). This software is similar to CAFM software but provides greater insight into a company's maintenance planning and execution. It includes automated maintenance schedules with a greater focus on preventive maintenance.
With the increasing use of CAFM software and CMMS, facility managers must be aware of technological changes. They should understand the system and keep up with rapid software changes. They should also be flexible and able to adapt to these changes.
Choose A Facility Management Solution
While there are a dizzying array of variables that can influence your choice of any particular facility management software, general advice can still be given on choosing the right type for your particular business. Using this logic, we managed to formulate three recommendations:
Determine the features you need.Different types of facility management software tend to create a lot of confusion, mainly because their features overlap. Fortunately, certain characteristics differentiate the various types of facilities management systems. For example, EAM solutions are known for their rich functionality for managing disparate assets from a single point of access. CMMS software, on the other hand, has a more limited feature list and is usually only usable with physical assets and a range of medium-sized facilities. That's not to say that these types of software aren't mutually exclusive, it's not uncommon for them to coexist and even integrate to work better.
Define the main goals of the solution.Knowing exactly what your facilities management software will be used for is an important selection part. Single-site installations usually only require basic maintenance management software, and a CMMS is best. Other more complex examples may require a hybrid solution or something more specific since the increase in complexity doesn't always correlate to the size or number of installations. For example, if your equipment includes mobile assets such as public sector vehicles, these assets will be grouped separately from your company's stationary equipment.
Research possible deployment options.Facility management system deployment methods often vary widely. There are three general approaches to deploying a facility management system: cloud, on-premises, and hybrid. Cloud deployments are relatively cheap, but prices can rise quickly for larger organizations with larger workforces or many customization preferences. Also, since it is the cloud service provider that protects your data in this case, it is not uncommon for them to have the most advanced data protection solutions on the market. On-site facility management uses your hardware as the primary storage for the entire system. On-premises offers more customization than the cloud, but where the data is, you also have to worry about network security.
You can expect many different features from a building management system, including but not limited to:
The ability to analyze expenses, as facilities management systems need to be able to process information in many different ways—including benchmarking, overviews of historical data, trend detection, and more.
Greatly simplifies access to all contractor information - certifications, payment information, insurance tracking, and more.
Eases the difficulty of managing work orders, especially for facility maintenance requests.
The ability to install software that integrates with various business platforms (payment systems, accounting systems, etc.) to simplify the payment process and minimize data entry errors.
Comprehensive customer support is always available to help you manage your facility management tools.
Top 10 Facility Management Software
Facilities management solutions are designed to assist facility managers and contractors in ensuring that buildings, including construction sites, factories, educational buildings, or corporate headquarters, are always in top condition and utilized best. These solutions are essential in addressing the many maintenance and organizational issues in various types of buildings.
You may already have an investment management system, but that's insufficient for complex assets.
We've compiled a list of the top 10 facilities management software to help you find the right one. This should give you a better idea of what to expect when looking.
1. WorkTrek
That's us!
The most important thing is to find the solution that best suits your needs, which means that the best CMMS software is often the one that best meets your expectations. And we try to fulfill those expectations!
Easily manage requests across multiple business locations and perform crucial maintenance tasks, including creating, assigning, and tracking work orders.
Benefits of WorkTrek Facility Management:
Greater transparency and control: Use one platform to track work orders and tasks and monitor your technicians’ locations in real-time.
Reduce the number of interventions: Plan interventions and handle work orders promptly.
Improve understanding of processes: Create internal knowledge to keep a centralized work history record and better understand maintenance activities.
Built-in safety and compliance: Give your technicians easy access to health and safety information about specific work orders, ensuring your organization adheres to the highest safety standards across all activities.
Digitize your workflows: Our solution replaces paper and spreadsheets with a centralized repository of electronic documents.
Increase customer satisfaction: Meet and exceed your client’s expectations by shortening response times.
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2. Infraspeak
Infraspeak is a cloud-based maintenance management solution designed to help small and medium-sized businesses manage preventive and corrective maintenance, audits, inventory, and more. The platform offers dedicated apps with custom features for facility managers and technical assistants.
It offers a wide range of features, including a centralized dashboard, NFC (Near Field Communication) beacons, asset management, task calendar, agenda, economic analysis, IoT sensors, and electronic signatures. The platform includes a fault-reporting interface that allows staff members, maintenance managers, employees, custodians, and customers to report faults directly. Users can check various failure statuses and plan interventions with information about resolved and open queries, as well as upcoming preventive maintenance tasks.
Infraspeak offers a building management module that allows managers to organize infrastructure across multiple sites, identify and trace assets, and view real-time information regarding maintenance, inventory, costs, and productivity.
3. FMS: Workplace
FMS: Workplace is a facility management solution designed to help companies get the most out of their workspace and assets. It provides users with powerful visualization and planning tools, as well as reporting options to help you gain data-driven insights into how your facility is being used. Capabilities include scenario planning, sustainability financial forecasting, environmental impact analysis, building assessment tracking, and lifecycle planning. Additionally, it has a built-in solution for service request management.
Benefits of FMS: Workplace?
Workplace planning and optimization: It has functions such as scene modeling, visualization, two-way drawing, and model integration. These features allow users to plan and optimize the use of office space and identify unused space that can be rented out.
End-to-end inventory management: FMS: Workplace allows users full control over asset inventory management. It helps you monitor your assets across locations, tasks, and owners. The solution also records maintenance history so you know if they are still up to date.
Centralized facilities management process: The platform consists of eight components, namely Regional, Relocation, Maintenance, Real Estate, Projects, Sustainability, Wealth, and Strategic Management: From one hub, users can easily handle all processes related to facility management. Plus, with its integration capabilities, the platform is designed to work with your existing software ecosystem.
4. eMaint CMMS
eMaint Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) software helps increase asset reliability and extend equipment life with excellent customer support. You can minimize labor costs by standardizing workflows and optimizing operations with eMaint. Use the system to manage work orders, automate PM schedules, and ensure spare parts availability. Cloud-based technology enables teams to access crucial data from anywhere, whether on-site, in the field, or working remotely.
eMaint is part of the Fluke family and is an award-winning CMMS solution designed with the idea of partnership in mind, both in its software and delivery model. Its adaptive interface enables users to connect data for actionable insights, connect teams for streamlined operations, and connect systems for extended ROI.
5. UpKeep
UpKeep is a mobile computer-aided maintenance management system (CMMS) that utilizes cloud technology, allowing it to be used on mobile devices.
In various sectors, such as manufacturing, construction, distribution, warehousing, utilities, hotels, restaurants, the food industry, churches, education, and more, UpKeep offers a mobile computer-aided maintenance management system (CMMS) that uses cloud technology and is accessible on mobile devices.
The system allows users to manage maintenance scheduling and work orders, with tools for creating work orders, prioritization, signature capture, image annotation, importing asset data, inventory management, barcode scanning, chat and collaboration, invoice creation, and more.
UpKeep allows users to create custom work orders for multiple purposes, such as creating checklists and measuring values, using templates and form elements. Users can add files, images, and parts to tasks and prioritize work orders based on their urgency. Asset data can be imported into UpKeep from existing files, and barcodes can be assigned to parts or assets, which can be scanned and included in work orders. Inventory can be managed by location, and part history tracking provides users with information on where each part has been used.
6. Hippo CMMS
Hippo CMMS is a maintenance management software tool for businesses of all sizes. It is fast and easy to implement SaaS solutions. Hippo CMMS offers a custom interface designed according to users' operational maintenance needs.
Since 2004, Hippo CMMS has provided user-friendly maintenance software to companies in the following industries: manufacturing, healthcare, education, hospitality, sports and recreation, property management, and municipalities. This CMMS can be used by everyone in an organization, whether it's a VP, CIO, or non-technical employee. The system allows all employees (regardless of hierarchical rank) to process work orders, process maintenance requests, and manage preventive maintenance and spare parts.
Hippo CMMS is coming with all the modules and functionalities needed to streamline maintenance operations: maintenance request portal, on-demand work order management, preventive maintenance, inventory management, fleet maintenance, and maintenance order management. mobile work, reporting, and extraction tools. Each subscription offers an unlimited number of users.
7. Quickbase
Quickbase is an app-building platform that allows users to create custom business apps without programming. This out-of-the-box solution offers tools including workflow automation, notifications and reminders, task management, team collaboration, interactive dashboards, and more.
Quickbase includes simple web forms to speed up data collection, point-and-click integration into other cloud apps and data sources, robust APIs, unlimited reports and dashboards, and landing pages customizable, and appropriate governance, with role-based access control.
It includes asset tracking, inventory management, and maintenance request management features, making it one of the most comprehensive applications for facility management systems.
8. ServiceNow Facility Management
ServiceNow Facility Management software provides tools that maximize resources, improve preventive maintenance, and align services with company priorities. This system, which is part of ServiceNow's selection of top-of-the-line products, is designed to offer innovative solutions for facility managers. Using the platform, you can address corporate goals for sustainability, operational efficiency, staff productivity, and even cost control.
9. POC System
POC System is a cloud-based facilities management solution that helps medium to large businesses manage commercial real estate and seating assignments. The platform provides a real-time view of inventory and work areas, allowing managers to design seating plans and optimize utilization.
It comes with an interactive space management tool designed to manage the layout of cubicles, access points, and conference rooms. A graphical interface allows teams to create table plan simulations, view empty boxes, and manage assignments. Users can use color codes to divide floor plans into different types such as vacant areas, common areas, parking lots, etc. The POC System includes a marketing tool for administrators to select marketing placements using metrics and zoning.
POC System's drag-and-drop functionality helps large companies streamline the entire moving process. The platform automatically backs up data and stores activity logs and changes for later reference. POC System integrates with various HR systems and third-party applications like Namely, Active Directory, SAP, and Oracle.
10. OfficeSpace
OfficeSpace Software is a cloud-based facilities management solution that allows users to create and allocate workspaces for critical administrative tasks using a wide range of features including desktop reservation, resource tracking, as well as travel, space and demand management, etc. Many industries, including government entities, healthcare, banking, telecommunications, and real estate, use the visual tool. The tool automates and simplifies the complex task of managing large-scale organizational moves and day-to-day employee transfers.
Users can employ OfficeSpace Software to manage rooms and track boxes with their assets and attribute information. They can access the software via the web using single sign-on (SSO). A mobile visual directory allows them to find people on the go. Thanks to the space management module, they can fully control their office space. They can also view space usage and view a real-time floor plan. Powerful reporting tools help them make smart decisions about space usage. OfficeSpace Software includes an Asset Tracker, which helps users quickly identify enterprise-wide assets and equipment. They can easily find, monitor and share organizational resources from conference rooms to printers and more. They can also access critical medical and safety reports or generate accurate and up-to-date reports related to attributes and equipment.
Which Facility Management Software Should You Choose?
Facilities management software is an incredible tool that can improve a business's productivity in many ways. Selecting facility management software requires careful consideration of several key factors. When evaluating software options, consider the software's features and functionality, ease of use, ability to integrate with other systems
Also evaluate the level of software training required, data security measures, and customer support options.
The most important thing is to find the solution that best suits your needs, which means that the best CMMS or facility management software is often the one that best meets your expectations. And WorkTrek tries to fulfill those expectations!
CMMS
CMMS for Food and Beverage Industry
The food and beverage industry has to deal with many levels of complexity. Downtime is costly, and food safety and quality management are key to the health and safety of customers. Regulatory compliance issues and audits can be time-consuming. Keeping up with all these processes and associated documentation and data requires effective maintenance management systems and real-time insight into operating conditions.
Using CMMS in the food and beverage industry
With the advent of cloud-based software, food and beverage processors are increasingly using CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) software to achieve this goal, which not only enables workforce management but also centralizes and aggregates data from multiple source data. By integrating with software across the enterprise, such as SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems or ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems, and connecting to condition monitoring sensors, modern maintenance software is changing the way maintenance teams work.
Performing maintenance based on asset health improves the effectiveness and efficiency of maintenance planning. For example, analytics software can identify issues as data from condition monitoring sensors comes in, and a CMMS can aggregate condition monitoring alerts. Maintenance teams can then respond instantly when and where they are needed most. Data-driven maintenance decisions can reduce unplanned downtime and overall maintenance costs. Combined with machine-installed sensors, today's software solutions can reduce the risk of recalls, streamline compliance processes, and maximize asset availability.
Read also 20 benefits of CMMS for businesses
In addition to maintaining equipment, food, and beverage processors must monitor the safety and nutritional quality of their products. You must comply with the proper handling and storage of raw materials and finished products. To avoid waste, effective inventory management is essential. Standardized processes and workflows ensure the safety of food and beverages produced and the safety of workers during production.
Benefits of CMMS for the food and beverage industry
The integration of software and sensors opens up new possibilities. Many food and beverage processing plants use SCADA systems to monitor their production lines in real-time. A CMMS can collect SCADA data and combine it with automatically generated condition monitoring alerts to help teams respond quickly and make informed decisions about equipment repairs. The integration of multiple data sources enables faster and better maintenance decisions and maximizes the use of maintenance resources. With staffing constraints faced by many organizations today, the ability to remotely monitor assets using sensors is beneficial.
Planning And Management Of Industrial Maintenance
How to achieve effective maintenance management?
Effective maintenance management should primarily focus on eliminating failures through good control and analysis. Then you have to work hard to ensure and extend the life of your equipment, especially those that play an important role in your plant's production process.
In addition to containing and reducing breakdowns, it is also important to implement a preventive maintenance strategy. When we act before failures occur, we can increase equipment reliability and reduce costs.
In this way, resources can be gradually shifted from corrective maintenance to preventive and predictive maintenance. The latter is maintenance based on the analysis of certain variables of the equipment that can tell us when a machine is about to break down.
What are the most common challenges industrial companies face in managing asset maintenance?
We often find that organizations are very focused on dealing with failures, but not actively managing them or analyzing them thoroughly to prevent them from happening again.
On the other hand, we have found that in most cases there is a clear lack of time and resources to design and implement a good preventative maintenance program. This prevents companies from prioritizing preventive actions, which are always less costly than corrective actions.
Implementation Of CMMS Software
What are the key benefits of implementing CMMS software in an industrial business?
CMMS software enables industrial companies to collect, manage, and store vast amounts of data about plant maintenance processes. This enables organizations to easily visualize relevant information in real time and make decisions more effectively and quickly.
Additionally, CMMS solutions help companies focus on the most important issues, keep maintenance costs to a minimum, and manage spare parts efficiently.
What are the initial concerns of industrial companies when introducing CMMS software?
Most importantly, the solution was implemented but not used. After all, CMMS software is only useful if you know how to use it effectively and take advantage of all CMMS features. It does nothing by itself; it must be an aid to good management.
What factors should be considered when choosing a CMMS?
When choosing a CMMS for Food and Beverage Industry, we should look for a solution that is powerful, easy to use, intuitive, user-friendly, and simple. It is more important than ever that it is cross-platform and includes versions for mobile devices.
Finally, and interestingly, a CMMS can be connected to other production and quality management software to provide a global view of the plant.
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Food Sector
In the specific case of the food sector, the needs for innovation and digital transformation derive mainly from two needs: to improve one's performance and optimize processes (as in any other sector) and to respond effectively to the requirements of regulations and regulatory provisions. Process improvement is reported as a priority by most companies, while it is a fact that the food sector has to juggle multiple rules and standards, some mandatory, others optional, but still challenging.
This is how the interweaving of documentation, practices, and registrations begins, necessary to meet the requirements of European standards, such as the Food Law CE 178/2002, the ISO 9001 standard for Quality Management Systems, the HCCP system, also incorporated in ISO 22000 for food safety management systems, ISO 22005 for traceability systems in the food and feed chain and, finally, GMP good manufacturing practices. This list is certainly not exhaustive, but indicative of the main peculiarities of the sector. The entire "company ecosystem" is involved, with rules for the management of human resources and training, risk analysis, product quality levels, process monitoring, and so on.
Read more about, European standards and Food law.
The process of managing the production infrastructure necessary for the manufacturing, packaging, and transport of food and materials and objects in contact with food is no exception. In reality, the obligation of correct maintenance arises upstream of the food sector, as also envisaged for Health and Safety at Work, which in a certain sense represents the basic level from which to start. There are many more steps to take.
In fact, maintenance is also a key activity for product quality, process efficiency, and – especially in the food sector – product safety.
This is how, in order to achieve truly remarkable results, technology becomes an indispensable tool for these production realities. Many companies have already implemented a computerized maintenance process management system (CMMS).
See also, how to implement CMMS software.
Food Industry Problems
Equipment reliability
Without regular maintenance, equipment failure, human error or measurement errors can affect throughput and profits.
Food waste management
Machine failure or failure not only disrupts production but also increases food waste.
Asset management decisions
While absolutely necessary, without easy access to asset history and maintenance data, management may not be able to allocate upfront funding for asset replacement.
Managing food safety regulations
Many food companies find it difficult to demonstrate FDA, USDA, and ISO 22000 compliance with the required documentation.
Maintenance operations
Spreadsheet-based work order management has limitations and is extremely inefficient when workloads are high.
What Are Some Common Tasks In Food And Beverage Manufacturing?
Because food and beverages are consumables and contamination can be life-threatening, many manufacturing tasks involve the safe handling and processing of raw materials and final products.
Raw material handling
For example, most ingredients are perishable, requiring precise and careful management of ingredient sourcing, transport, storage, dates, and labeling. Safe processing and minimizing waste requires ensuring that inventory is properly ordered, used, and stored.
Combination process
The next stage usually involves tasks such as washing produce, cutting meat and vegetables, and mixing them with spices and other items to make food. It is important that processed foods remain consistent in taste, appearance, and quantity from batch to batch.
Much food production is done in batches and labeled accordingly, so if something goes wrong, a recall can be initiated to warn consumers of a potential problem.
Packaging and storage
Once the finished product is ready, it needs to be packaged into properly sized-containers for sale. Available in single-serving packs, family packs, or bulk packs. Regardless of size, effective packaging protects food and beverage products from contamination and spoilage and communicates a company's brand and reputation.
Regulations and oversight
Many tasks in food and beverage manufacturing are related to compliance and regulation due to potential risks to human health. Ensuring food is produced in a safe, compliant, and hygienic manner can reduce the likelihood of foodborne illness. Employees must keep equipment and surfaces clean and sanitized and comply with all FDA and state regulations.
What Are The Benefits Of CMMS For Food Processing and Packaging?
Comply with food safety regulations
There are many agencies that regulate the food industry. To ensure that food manufacturers comply with health and safety regulations, these companies conduct inspections and audits. A compliance CMMS is capable of storing detailed documents such as safety manuals, standard operating procedures, and critical equipment and asset records. Just a few clicks (or one if you're using a mobile device) are enough to retrieve the relevant data needed to demonstrate compliance. With a CMMS for food manufacturing, you can even create custom reports for inspectors and auditors.
Maintenance to reduce food waste
In addition to affecting production, disruptions in the food manufacturing process can also create a lot of waste. Food that cannot be processed on time due to malfunction or equipment failure must be discarded for health and safety reasons. CMMS for Food and Beverage Industry reduces the likelihood of equipment failure by ensuring regular preventive maintenance. This helps maintenance teams work more efficiently and reduce waste. Access to real-time information also enables employees to track inventory levels more efficiently, which helps prevent over-ordering.
Maximize equipment reliability
To be successful, food manufacturers need reliable equipment. Any disruption in food processing can severely impact production and, more importantly, profits. To maximize equipment reliability, regular preventive maintenance is required. CMMS for Food and Beverage Industry allows users to efficiently plan, schedule, and document preventive maintenance activities on any piece of equipment. Maintenance software helps maximize uptime and keep equipment running at its best.
Make smarter asset management decisions
Access to a comprehensive history of each asset, including data on failures and repairs, helps management make more informed asset management decisions. For example, each asset has an average lifespan, and budgets typically allocate funds for replacement when the asset reaches the end of its lifespan. However, with regular preventive maintenance and few unplanned repairs, assets can live well beyond their average lifespan. Management may choose to defer equipment replacement and allocate available funds to other urgent matters.
Modernize your maintenance process
If you're still using spreadsheets to organize maintenance operations, it's time for a change. While spreadsheets have limited functionality, CMMS software features offer task automation, data centralization, detailed analysis, advanced reporting, and more. Most reputable maintenance software solutions offer the ability to access the program on any web-based device, including mobile. Maintenance staff can easily manage work orders, work requests, and parts inventory while on the go. Dashboard functionality in CMMS software enables organizations to graphically view real-time data for a range of key performance indicators (KPIs) at any time. This allows management to keep their finger on the pulse of the organization, identify trends, and drive efficiencies.
Conclusion
CMMS for Food and Beverage Industry offers you the opportunity to improve and enhance your goals in the industry. The industry's demand for products, supply, and distribution, and the cost of delivering pharmaceuticals to each customer are high.
Every CMMS employee can deliver work to clients with the highest reliability, conduct inspections, and execute preventive programs to ensure the best quality. A CMMS is not only for managing but also for controlling your industry clients.
In the industry, the price and quality of the products are very high. CMMS is an application that can only be used after repeated projections. A corrective prevention program can help you improve and eliminate this condition. In order to produce a product, you need to spend some time before starting work.
Operations & Maintenance
Top 5 Maintenance Metrics You Should Always Have In Mind
What is maintenance metric?
Maintenance metrics serve as essential performance indicators (KPIs) employed to monitor and gauge the efficacy of maintenance procedures. They offer valuable perspectives on the adequacy of asset maintenance, resource allocation, and the effectiveness of strategies in averting equipment breakdowns and operational downtime. Six asset maintenance metrics warrant your attention for comprehensive evaluation.
Any business that uses equipment invests in its maintenance to ensure that the equipment is safe to use and fit for purpose. However, at some point, you need to understand the effectiveness of your service processes and your team and what you can do to improve, which is why maintenance metrics are essential.
The article explains what these measures are and how they can benefit your business.
What Are Equipment Maintenance Metrics?
Metrics are measures you can use to understand how efficient or productive your resources, employees, or processes are. Companies use them to determine where they are doing well and to identify where there is room for improvement. Since equipment, production, and business often depend on resources, maintenance plays a vital role.
It is essential to have productive maintenance, use the correct maintenance method, and allocate resources wisely to ensure that problems are resolved quickly by eliminating downtime and protecting the health and safety of employees.
If you have the numbers to explain how well your team or processes are performing, you can compare them to the standards set for achieving your goal. Once that baseline is established, you can often measure some metrics to understand how well your team is developing over time.
Therefore, you can find the root of a problem and fix it to improve overall metrics and performance.
Leading vs. Lagging Metrics
A standard metrics division is the one between leading and lagging metrics. The first metrics refer to future goals and standards and indicate what needs to be solved to achieve them, while the second ones report results that have already been achieved and take time to measure. To be more precise, leading metrics refer to something that will affect future performance, and lagging metrics report past performance.
An example of a leading metric is the relationship between estimated and actual performance, which indicates what to expect from the article, employee, or process in the future. Downtime is an example of a lagging metric because it measures the hours of inactivity for a given asset or set of assets.
Why are maintenance metrics useful?
Once you have established maintenance metrics in your organization, you will reap many benefits. First, you and your team will understand how each employee's actions impact the bigger picture and increase efficiency. This knowledge helps keep employees more engaged, more productive, and less likely to leave the company, which is your goal. An employee may not understand the direct impact of their work on the company's objective. But once you have some metrics in place, it's easy to explain how, for example, the great work done by the team member on preventative maintenance has a positive impact on a project, on production, and on the company in general.
Maintenance statistics can also help you reduce downtime and improve health and safety. They help you understand how much downtime you have and what's causing it, so you can develop an improvement strategy. Some preventative service metrics help you determine how efficient you are at preventing damage or breakdowns that could impact the health of your employees.
Additionally, such metrics can help you understand if you are spending more money or time than necessary on certain parts of the process. You get numbers that show how much you're spending on processes, and you can compare them to the numbers that a new solution or process would bring.
Here are some important maintenance metrics you should track if you want to improve and optimize your maintenance operations:
Planned maintenance percentage (PMP)
As you know, there are two types of maintenance activities: planned and unplanned.
Planned maintenance is what’s done as part of your preventative maintenance program.
Unplanned maintenance is what’s done in response to a machine breaking down.
Your planned maintenance percentage is the percentage of total maintenance time that falls into the first category.
PMP = (Planned Maintenance Hours / Total Maintenance Hours) X 100
There is no such thing as 100% PMP — even the best-made machines will break down eventually, but your PMP should be at least 85%.
Inventory Turnover
Inventory turnover represents the rate of inventory flowing through your storerooms or warehouses in a specified period. This metric calculates the cost of purchased stock vs. the cost of items on hand. Tracking inventory turnover helps you evaluate sales and ensure you can meet customer demand.
Maintenance schedule compliance
Compliance with the maintenance schedule measures the amount of maintenance work performed as a percentage of the planned amount. It's not as easy as it sounds. Dr. Palmer, who wrote the book on maintenance planning, calls this "the most dangerous measure of planning." It's also essential, so here are some tips to get it right:
Don't go for 100%. It sounds like a good cause, but consider how easily it can be manipulated. If I plan two activities and complete two activities, my compliance is 100%, not to mention that two activities could only cost me 4 hours when you pay me 40. Palmer suggests loading weekly schedules with 100% of available working hours but only expecting between 40% and 90% compliance. The difference is the amount of unscheduled maintenance that must take place in a given week.
Measure compliance weekly, not daily. Anything can happen on a normal day and cause maintenance to be postponed. Palmer notes that "focusing on the week as a whole leads to high productivity without committing to the daily bottom line."
Measure work orders, not hours worked. Unless you're a brilliant estimator, working hours may not be indicative of real results, as tasks often take longer than expected. Work assignments are easier to understand and explain.
Don't reward or punish employees for extra work. Instead, focus on the success of the original scheme.
Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)
OEE takes three factors into account: availability, performance, and quality.
OEE % = Availability X Performance X Quality
A 100% OEE would mean your machines are always running at peak performance and every product that comes off your assembly line is perfect. As with 100% PMP, this outcome is impossible, but the calculation can help you assess gaps in your maintenance process.
Mean time between failures (MTBF) and mean time to repair (MTR)
We combined these two metrics because, as a group, they provide an overall picture of how much time manufacturers regularly lose to minor issues like device congestion. While these numbers may be small individually (on the order of minutes), over time they can add up to significant productivity and profit losses.
Mean time to repair
The MTTR metric concerns the time it takes for your service team to find the issue and solve it, and it helps you understand how successful you are at handling unexpected breakdowns. MTTR considers the time that passes between the moment that the problem occurs and the time when you can use the asset again. You can calculate MTTR by dividing the total hours spent on one asset’s upkeep by the number of its completed repairs: MTTR = total maintenance hours/number of repairs. This metric can indicate that an item needs to be replaced instead of wasting hours on repairs, saving you money. It can also be helpful to understand if any equipment had scheduled maintenance before the failure, as this is a clear indication that your maintenance process is flawed. The purpose of scheduled maintenance is to fix minor problems and prevent breakdowns and downtime. If you experience unexpected problems despite regular maintenance, you should investigate the cause of the problems.
Mean time between failures
The MTBF metric helps you measure the time an asset spends working between two unexpected upkeeps. It determines how long you can use an asset before it breaks down again. It does not include scheduled maintenance, as this is not a failure, but a planned activity to avoid resource problems. This metric helps you understand how fruitful your maintenance process is by showing how much time elapses between two failures and how reliable the asset is. If a resource fails often, you won't be able to use it often and its availability will be low. MTBF can also serve as an indication of faulty equipment or assets that need to be replaced when the value is below normal. To find the average, don't rely solely on the manufacturer's manuals. Instead, consider industry standards, equipment health, and maintenance history, which can help you determine acceptable MTBF levels for your assets. Determine the MTBF hours by dividing the total number of operating hours of the asset by the number of failures that have occurred: MTFB = operational hours/failures. The higher the MTBF is, the longer you can expect your system to run without failures. If the number is deficient, you need to find the cause of the issue, whether in equipment or the upkeep process.
Maintenance cost per unit produced
Maintenance cost per unit produced is a simple equation that can tell a lot about the efficiency of your maintenance operations.
For a specific measurement period: Total Maintenance Cost / # Units Produced
If your maintenance costs are too high, check your PMP for the same measurement period - it's probably below the 85% target.
Conclusion
Maintenance metrics help you understand how productive your equipment or team is and how efficient your maintenance process is. When you perform these checks regularly, you can easily see progress or setbacks in certain areas. Using specific metrics, you can determine exactly where the problems are, so you can focus on that point and fix the problem.
Software that tracks the factors needed to calculate maintenance statistics is a much better solution than pen and paper. It gives the entire team access and understanding of processes, resources, and maintenance, making everyone more productive and informed.
CMMS
CMMS Reporting: Key Metrics and KPIs to Track
CMMS Reporting: Maintenance metrics and KPIs are essential elements to be able to monitor the performance of our assets and maintenance team. In this article, we offer a complete overview of the main metrics and KPIs, explaining how to choose them in relation to our goals and how to calculate them in the simplest way.
Stop Driving In The Dark
Imagine driving a car that doesn't have a fuel gauge. Or that it lacks a speedometer. To know the speed at which you are going, you would be forced to count the kilometers covered one by one and divide the total by the time it took you to cover them. And even so, it would be an extremely approximate finding.
Now imagine driving this same car every day for eight hours. It would be total chaos, wouldn't it? Continuously dry tank and speeding tickets would become the norm and all this because you are driving in the dark.
Here, now try to think of managing your plants, or even an entire facility in this way.
In short, it's impossible to improve what you can't measure.
Luckily, however, there are some metrics and KPIs that can help you, just like your car's speedometer or fuel gauge, help you achieve success.
Maintenance metrics and KPIs allow you to shed light on every process and operation that takes place within your facility. The best part is that these metrics aren't that complicated to calculate and track, at least if you have the right tool at your disposal, at the right time. However, is that – despite everything – today there are still many companies that do not bother to carry out this type of analysis seriously and constantly, often limiting themselves to acquiring approximate data and processing them inefficiently. This represents an excellent possibility to be able to acquire a competitive advantage over the competition.
What Is A Maintenance KPI: Data Anatomy
KPIs (key performance indicators) are performance indicators, i.e. measurements which, through their monitoring, give us a precise indication of our work with respect to the objectives we have set ourselves. We can thus measure the performance of a person, an asset, a process, or an entire company and how efficient they are in achieving the established objectives.
Maintenance, can for example be used to establish new strategies that minimize downtime, identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies, build better preventive maintenance plans, and optimize costs.
In other words, KPIs serve to show you the way to turn on the lights of your car, shedding light on the processes and helping you to design the fastest way to achieve the objectives you have chosen.
KPI vs. Maintenance Metrics: What Is The Difference?
Metrics and KPI maintenance are two terms often used interchangeably. In any case, there is a subtle difference between them.
Specifically, KPIs are numbers that we need to give a dimension to our progress in relation to the goals we have set. We need them to set a goal we want to strive for.
On the other hand, Metrics, are the building blocks with which we build KPIs and are used to connect our actions to the performance we want to monitor.
Example KPIs:
Let's say your goal is to increase revenue at the end of the year. To achieve this, you will want to increase the volume of merchandise produced and sold.
However, production capacity is strictly influenced by the number of machine downtimes encountered. Therefore, one of the KPIs that you will be interested in monitoring will be the total number of machine downtimes or, even better, the total downtime for a specific plant.
All actions that are linked to this KPI and can be quantified, from the number of corrective maintenance interventions to the operational time between two failures, represent maintenance metrics to be monitored.
Adopt a logic of continuous improvement
You've no doubt heard of TPM – Total Productive Maintenance. But what does TPM have to do with monitoring business KPIs and maintenance metrics?
Like all active maintenance policies, the TPM tries to solve the problems related to the decrease in the performance of machines and plants and make the processes related to asset management more efficient. The ultimate goal of TPM is therefore to increase overall productivity by optimizing these processes.
How can you improve a process if you are not able to monitor it? Any action you take, without tangible feedback, does not allow you to clearly and precisely identify and separate what works from what does not.
Our approach to maintenance metrics and KPIs
Metrics and KPIs tell you a lot about the how and why behind each event, providing you with a valuable diagnostic tool aimed at improving your operations and the results of the entire company. But being able to monitor these performance indicators comes at a cost if only in terms of time and resources to devote to them. This is why it is important to be able to choose the KPIs that interest us and focus on them.
To choose which metrics and KPIs are right for you, you need to start with the final goals you intend to achieve.
KPIs And Metrics To Track
Only you and your maintenance department can determine which KPIs are right for your organization and aligned with its strategic goals. But first, let's look at a few common maintenance performance KPIs.
Maintenance Backlog and Overtime
A maintenance backlog is the accumulation of maintenance work that needs to be performed for safety reasons or to avoid failures. This KPI is critical because the more unfinished work, the greater the chance of severe and costly downtime.
The goal is to control the backlog both in day-to-day operations and in times of crisis.
If there are too many work orders pending, it is an indication that more employees need to be hired. On the other hand, having no backlog may indicate that you can reduce headcount too much.
Managers can track overtime to see if their department is overly reliant on reactive maintenance. This can lead to technician burnout, high maintenance costs, costly downtime, and reduced productivity.
Equipment downtime
Equipment downtime is any period of time when equipment is not operating. Because of preventive maintenance, is sometimes planned as part of an overall maintenance plan.
In other cases, however, unplanned downtime may occur and production may stop due to equipment failure or inoperability. While this scenario is more likely for companies that rely on reactive rather than preventive maintenance, in either case, the costs can add up quickly, with industry estimates at around $50 billion a year due to downtime.
Mean Time To Repair (MTTR)
MTTR is the mean time it takes for failed equipment to recover and return to production. Accessing this metric gives you insight into how your organization needs to respond to planned repairs or unplanned equipment issues. EAM software can help you accurately calculate this metric.
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)
MTBF is the mean time between equipment failures. Measure this KPI for individual devices using CMMS software. It is one of the most effective ways to analyze asset reliability and predict its future performance.
Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
This KPI looks at the overall performance of the facility. OEE is based on the availability of equipment, the efficiency of its overall performance, and the quality level of the final product. Other key figures often have to play a role in this measurement.
Percentage of Planned Maintenance (PMP)
The planned maintenance percentage is the percentage of hours spent on planned maintenance activities to the number of hours spent on unplanned maintenance activities. This metric is calculated by dividing the planned maintenance work hours by the total maintenance hours for a given maintenance period.
Completed work order
Work Orders Completed is a CMMS KPI that measures the number of work orders completed on time. This KPI is also used to calculate Preventive Maintenance Compliance (PMC). Completed work orders are typically measured daily, and this information is readily available in most CMMS systems.
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Metrics And KPIs Related To Service Management
KPIs and Service-related metrics are particularly suitable indicators for the Facility Management and Global Service sector, but not only.
Through this group of KPIs, the maintenance manager will be able to answer questions such as:
How efficient is the intervention request management system?
How efficient is the management process of planned interventions?
How many/which work orders are left unfinished?
How much time elapses between the actual moment of the failure and its reporting?
Does the management process have bottlenecks?
What are the maintenance KPIs related to Service Management?
% of corrective Work Orders closed within a defined period
% planned work orders closed within a defined period
Maintenance backlog (number of work orders arrears)
Work Order trends created: corrective maintenance vs. planned maintenance
Work orders divided by group
Work orders divided by category
Maintenance Metrics And KPIs Related To Asset Management
The second group, Asset Management, refers to metrics and KPIs whose main objective is to monitor a series of values that are typical of maintenance engineering. They are indicators that allow maintenance to be brought to a level of greater knowledge and professionalism, often used in industry and manufacturing environments where there are machinery and plants to monitor.
Through these indicators, you will be able to respond to surveys such as:
How much time elapses between two consecutive anomalies on the same asset (MTBF)?
How much time is required on average to resolve an anomaly on a specific asset (MTTR)?
What are the assets that presented the most anomalies (Top Worst Asset)?
What is the time of each single repair (MRT – Wrench Time)
What are the maintenance KPIs related to Asset Management?
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)
Mean Time To Repair (MTTR)
Mean Time To Failure (MTTF)
Mean Repair Time (MRT)
Mean Time Between Maintenance (MTBM)
Total number of machine stops
Top Worst Assets
Maintenance Metrics And KPIs Related To Cost Control
The third group, Cost Control, refers to metrics and KPIs that aim to define the costs that affect maintenance. Costs can be dictated by the type of maintenance performed, the use of internal or external resources (suppliers, service companies), and the materials used.
By analyzing these KPIs, it is possible to answer the following questions:
How much did maintenance cost, during a given period, for a specific asset?
How much labor has affected the total cost of maintenance?
How much did the cost of spare materials affect the total cost?
These KPIs represent the final objective of carrying out maintenance but naturally require a certain accuracy in identifying the cost items associated with the interventions.
What are the maintenance KPIs related to cost control?
Total cost of corrective maintenance
Total cost of planned maintenance
Weight in % of the corrective maintenance on the planned one
Weight in % of the use of external resources on internal resources
How Can Tracking KPIs And Metrics Help A Business?
Making online business decisions based on assumptions is no better than walking a maze blindfolded. You can't control where you're going, but you know you're going somewhere. The same goes for tracking KPIs and metrics.
Tracking KPIs and metrics can go a long way in helping you maintain control of your business while making better data-driven decisions.
In a nutshell, here's how they help:
Monitor the health of your company
Even if you think it's a time-consuming process, you just need a few KPIs to monitor the health of your business, such as:
Financial Metrics: Measure and compare historical and current financial metrics to drive revenue growth
Employee KPIs: measure employee productivity and satisfaction to assess a company's work environment
Customer Success KPIs: Measure how your service impacts customers and identify opportunities for improvement
These KPIs are metrics like customer retention, net profit margin, and similar metrics. Plus, they make it easy to assess the health of your business over time.
Measure progress
KPIs can greatly help you measure your organization's progress against predetermined goals.
All you have to do is set the right KPIs and track key metrics like revenue and gross margin, as well as compare past and current performance to measure progress.
Metrics enable organizations to gain detailed insight into the performance of specific campaigns, strategies, and campaigns.
Make adjustments
One wrong decision can cause your business to fail. But by tracking KPIs and performance metrics, you can control what works for you and what doesn't.
Tracking key performance indicators and indicators such as leading and lagging indicators at specific time intervals can help you identify pain points and determine future courses of action for better business growth.
How Does a CMMS Help Maintain KPIs?
Help centralize your maintenance information - The KPIs listed above are just some of the available KPIs. Teams can measure the success of their maintenance programs in a number of ways. Also, it can be a challenge to remember the various numerical formulas used to calculate each KPI on the fly.
A good CMMS can provide simplified data and asset management, eliminating the need to memorize these formulas or remember exactly which maintenance KPIs you are tracking and why. Everything is in your hands.
Facilitates real-time data reporting – Powerful CMMS software stores your data in the cloud. CMMS has intuitive reporting capabilities that allow team members to comprehensively record maintenance performance indicators and KPI data in real-time.
This allows you to immediately see what is happening and really understand how your maintenance process is running.
Help you delegate work – Getting information is one thing. Knowing who should do what is another. The best CMMS will help you assign maintenance responsibilities quickly and easily, and may even eliminate the need to perform these tasks manually.
Conclusion
KPIs are key metrics that help keep your facility up and running efficiently. By selecting a few key metrics, your management team can make changes and measure their effectiveness.
Focusing on your most important assets and processes can have a huge positive impact on your bottom line. That's what every company wants.
Operations & Maintenance
What Is The Work Order And How To Properly Use It?
What is a work order?
A work order is a document used to detail the details of a request for goods or services received from a customer. In some industries, the work order is created using information obtained from a sales order prepared by the salesperson working with the customer. There are also situations where the sales order and the work order are the same documents, with the terms used to identify the current status of the fulfillment of the customer's request.
Any firm, whether it operates online or off, must have documentation as a necessary component. You will encounter numerous commercial documents throughout the course of a firm, including bills of supply, standard operating procedures (SOP), and invoices.
What is work order used for?
A work order is a highly regarded document that, once issued, triggers your company's equipment to begin providing the goods or services and begin earning money once the order has been fulfilled.
If you lack experience in writing and handling such papers, job orders for internal or external business operations may be extremely difficult to understand. However, you shouldn't worry because this article will enable you to learn enough about this aspect of the company.
The exact structure of the work order will vary depending on the type of goods or services required. For example, the landlord can open a work order in response to a tenant's request to have a room in their apartment painted. The owner will prepare the order in a way that documents the task at hand, the materials needed to complete the job, the time needed to handle the repainting, and the expenses involved in successfully completing the task. In this application, the work order essentially functions not only as a record of the client's request, but also as the escalation list of steps needed to complete the job, and a record of how much it will cost the owner to comply.
What Work Order includes?
The work order in a manufacturing plant is often prepared from data obtained from a customer order drafted by the sales department. Here, the order will include details of the product ordered, including size, number of units, color, and any other applicable information. The ticket will often include details of the delivery date agreed upon between the sales department and the customer. If the customer has expressed a preference regarding the method of shipping the items ordered, this information may also be included in the work order.
Regardless of the context, the purpose of the work order is to ensure that all parties involved in the fulfillment process know exactly what the customer has ordered, what it will take to fulfill that order, and when the order needs to be fulfilled. From this perspective, the order can be viewed as a necessary document that increases the potential for products to be prepared to customer specifications and delivered to the customer in a timely manner. For this reason, small and large businesses are very likely to use this type of document in one form or another.
Other phrases that business people could use in place of work orders are:
Service ticket
Job order
Work ticket
Job ticket
Download the free work order template.
The Purpose of Work Orders
Such a document is only meant to serve the single function of maintaining a record of all work authorizations, service provider information, charges, and job completion times. A service ticket can be created by both internal and external clients, such as customers and staff.
Depending on whether it is an internal or external request for work, the paper is then sent to the appropriate team. Vouchers are frequently created by businesses using computer software and circulate through numerous physical or digital desks.
Find a quick list of the following work objectives here:
Describe the problem, the fix, and the installation or delivery of the products
the provision of materials and tools required for the task or maintenance work
Provide thorough instructions on the work, job, or maintenance to the technicians.
recording formally the resources, labor, and materials used to complete the work
Track all repair and maintenance jobs that have been performed on each authorization
Contains monetary data like cost, taxes, levies, cess, etc.
Work Order Management Terms
Work Approver
The assignment and authorization of maintenance requests for equipment management are handled by an administrative or a member of that team. The approver function may occasionally be performed by the warehouse manager and the front desk support for customer interactions.
Work Requester
The person or group that makes the request to execute a certain task is known as the requester. In the services and goods sector, customers generate task orders through online or in-person purchases. Business-to-business requests for work may originate from commercial clients or an internal team, such as when a manager of customer service operations demands workstation maintenance.
Field Technicians
Field technicians are engineers, millwrights, repair personnel, etc. who are qualified to carry out the task specified in the work order document in maintenance job tickets.
The Components of a Work Order
Using job order records, a business can keep track of several things and related information. Here are some examples of what you need to write.
Mandatory Elements:
Any job ticket's main element is the asset.
Additionally required is the name of the person requesting the work.
Another crucial component is the scope of the work, which will decide the required expertise, equipment, and standard operating procedure (SOP).
The description of the issue field must also be completed by the person requesting the work. It makes it easier for the service coordinator or technicians to recognize the issue promptly.
Replacement parts for equipment or specifications for specialized tools must be included in the document.
Every industry has some form of health risk. The work order needs to make note of it.
Additionally, dates and timings are crucial. A start date, start time, expected end date, expected finish time, actual end date/time, etc., could all be present.
Contact information for the requester, order manager, technician, etc. should also be included in a service order. As a result, you are able to include things like office addresses, verified email addresses, websites, FAX IDs, and mobile numbers.
Voluntary Components:
A job ticket can contain multiple signer fields for the customer, manager, technician, accountant, etc.
Working hours must also be scheduled for proper billing and reconciliation.
It is useful to have a list of tasks on a service order form. It allows the work order manager, facilitator, and client to stay informed about the work done.
Modern service ticket formats also have a special field for order importance. For example, depending on the priority level, managers plan service orders. You can also add a checklist of tools, computer applications, spare parts, consumables, etc. to check and return to inventory.
You can provide the estimated cost of the delivered order for open-cost orders. In the case of blanket orders with predetermined prices, some companies indicate the actual costs. Finally, there should be an Order ID and Job Title, as this will help you with the work order documentation.
The Benefits of Using Work Orders
Your company documents all work tickets with the necessary records. The accounting firm will ask for these records during any audit to validate the performance of your business.
You make your business more transparent by including service tickets for each service. Clients like working with agencies that value documenting work, going through a client approval process, and sharing collected data.
Quickly pay internal or external technicians by viewing the work order and keeping them satisfied.
Help the inventory team procure all spare parts in advance so that machine maintenance does not encounter bottlenecks. Review work order notes and take appropriate action to prevent future downtime.
Service- and product-oriented businesses can reasonably estimate annual revenue by reviewing completed and billed service order documents.
Finally, work orders act as a communication thread between several departments. As a result, your business units can eliminate the harmful effects of working in silos.
How to write a good work order?
Step 1: The task is identified
Maintenance tasks fall into two groups, scheduled maintenance and unscheduled maintenance. Planned maintenance includes all tasks that you know in advance, such as B. Routine inspections and unscheduled maintenance includes all tasks that you cannot predict, such as B. Unexpected failure.
Step 2: The maintenance request is created
Job details are compiled and presented to the maintenance team for further processing. For example, if a machine breaks down, an operator creates a work request and submits it for maintenance. When a task is scheduled, a work order is created and triggered at the right time.
Step 3: The work order is prioritized and planned
Some jobs are more time sensitive than others. A blown light bulb does not need to be repaired immediately, unlike a broken treadmill. For this reason, you need to prioritize every work order that comes to your desk. After prioritizing, it's time to plan. Work orders can be scheduled based on a set deadline, scheduled maintenance triggers, or dedicated time blocks. Setting a deadline makes everyone accountable and informed so that nothing falls between their heads.
Step 4: The work is assigned and completed
It's time to put those words into action on a page. The work order is assigned to a technician, who completes the task. This could be a five-minute equipment check or it could be a complex repair job that takes several days.
Step 5: The work order is closed and documented
Once you have completed all the terms of the work order, you can close it. Managers may need to sign the work order for compliance requirements. Once closed, the work order is archived. A well-organized work order log is critical for building asset histories, reviewing past solutions, preparing for audits, and more.
Step 6: The work order is analyzed and/or reprocessed
Completed work orders contain valuable information. They can provide insights into your processes and systems with which you can refine your business operations. A work order log also allows technicians to quickly identify missed steps or workarounds if a problem reoccurs.
CMMS
The ROI of CMMS: Is It Worth the Investment?
ROI of a CMMS
Let's say you're still managing your maintenance processes through traditional methods, such as pen and paper, email outreach, phone calls, or WhatsApp messages.
Naturally, you realize that it is not efficient management, so you finally decide to look for an alternative and more performing solution. Do an internet search, ask around, and collect a few pieces of information wherever you can. You realize that this is interesting.
Sooner or later, however, you will end up asking yourself a question like this: "How much does a CMMS cost me?"
What is the ROI of a CMMS
Soon after, you will ask yourself another question: “What is the ROI of a CMMS?”
If you are reading this article, it is likely that what I have just described is, more or less, the path that has led you here.
In fact, they are both legitimate questions, the only problem is that it is not very easy to answer completely exhaustively. In short, you cannot read this article passively: your help will also be needed.
Why? Well, finally a simple question: because there is neither a precise cost nor (let alone) a single ROI that applies to everyone.
Exactly: when evaluating the final cost or calculating the ROI of a CMMS, there are a number of factors to take into consideration that will decisively affect the result and the price of the CMMS.
What Is ROI?
ROI, the acronym for Return on Investment, is one of the profitability indicators that is part of the economic analysis of a business.
The Return on Investment is taken into consideration when investors and entrepreneurs want to know if it is worth investing in a company because it clearly reports how much that business makes in its core business.
What Is ROI For?
Now we know what ROI means and that it is a profitability indicator, but what is it for?
Return on investment is used to understand if an investment in a particular company is profitable.
In a nutshell, what return will I get if I invest X euros in this company/sector/software? Will I make a profit or a loss?
The Return on Investment shows the answer to this question, so it is essential to calculate it in order to understand whether or not to invest in that particular company/sector/software.
In fact, thanks to the ROI calculation, we will be able to understand the efficiency with which the company/sector/software we are going to invest in will manage our invested capital and its ability to generate income from the investment.
In fact, it is NEVER advisable to analyze just one balance sheet index when evaluating a possible investment.
ROI belongs to a larger group of profitability indicators and it is advisable to analyze them all.
How is ROI calculated?
The ROI, therefore the return on investment, is calculated as a percentage taking into consideration the investment and the turnover.
As with other balance sheet ratios, the ROI calculation will be indicative of your business only if accompanied by other indicators of your company's structure, both from an equity and economic point of view.
This therefore means that it is not a sufficient parameter to tell you whether your company's performance is sufficient and profitable or not.
In addition to this, you need to understand how to interpret the ROI data presented, and how much to rely on it to make decisions that can prove decisive for your business.
To calculate your ROI just use a simple formula.
ROI: formula
The formula for calculating the return on investment is given by dividing the net return on investment, calculated by subtracting the turnover from the investment, by the invested capital. The figure obtained will then be multiplied by 100 to calculate the percentage value.
The ROI formula is therefore: [(turnover - investment) / invested capital] x 100
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ROI Calculator
Investment ($): Turnover ($): Calculate ROI
Types of ROIs
Based on the value obtained from the calculation of the return on investment, three types of ROI can be identified:
· greater than 0: if the ROI is positive, the business is generating wealth.
· equal to 0: if the ROI is equal to zero, the business is neither generating nor destroying wealth.
· less than 0: if the ROI is negative, the business is destroying wealth.
Six Factors That Influence The Cost Of A CMMS
What are the main cost items of a CMMS?
Software cost
Implementation and configuration
Training, education, and support
Integrations
Hardware (when needed)
Customizations
The cost of CMMS: cloud Vs on-premise
Most CMMS vendors offer two solutions for delivering their software:
Cloud-based CMMS
CMMS on-premise
Cloud-based CMMS software is often delivered through a subscription model.
The subscription is often linked to the number of users (therefore to the number of people who will use the software) and is usually paid once a year.
People who only have the possibility of reporting a fault using the appropriate technical intervention request form are not to be considered users.
When you want to determine an estimate for membership fees, you should therefore ask yourself one question: How many people will use the system?
Calculating this cost is the most difficult part, as it varies according to what we want: customizations and integrations are among the most common extras that lead to raising the final price of the CMMS and are usually also the most expensive items. On the other hand, however, they are at the same time the elements that can lead to a higher ROI. So it's about finding the right balance.
We will examine each of these items more closely in the next paragraphs.
Calculate the costs of a CMMS: implementation and configuration
The cost of implementing and configuring a CMMS includes both direct and indirect installation costs to make the software operational.
To give some examples, potential implementation costs concern the payment of services such as system configuration, data migration or data entry, creation of scheduled maintenance, etc.
Most CMMS vendors charge an hourly rate to cover the hours of work required or offer a standard implementation package that includes these services.
Calculate the costs of a CMMS: training, education, and support
The cost of training and support depends on the size, goals, and capabilities of your team.
As with implementation, most vendors offer a specific number of training hours directly with the purchase of a subscription.
Any additional hours are charged by the hour.
While this item is the most tedious part of buying a CMMS, don't underestimate it. Successful implementation depends on how the people involved use the software.
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Calculate the costs of a CMMS: integrations
Being able to integrate your CMMS with other company systems is one of the essential elements to take maintenance to the pro level.
Whether you want to connect the CMMS to the corporate ERP system, to an MES, or to production schedulers, warehouse software, SAP, sensors, meters, and so on, it often represents a decisive argument for achieving the best ROI.
The first step in determining the effective cost of integration is to understand what we want to connect to the CMMS.
Talk to your supplier to understand what the possibilities are and get an accurate idea ofthe final cost.
Calculate the costs of a CMMS: customizations
Customizing your CMMS is not only a smart move but very often a decisive one too.
CMMS software is used in many sectors ranging from facility management to industry. Although CMMS providers very often provide slightly different environments from sector to sector, you will always have needs that are different even from those of your competitor.
However, these customizations are divided into 2 categories: for a first group, represented by simple changes to the interface, it is only a question of modifying some fields, for example removing those that are not needed to make the interface itself cleaner. These customizations are usually done without adding an extra cost unless they become too much.
Other customizations instead require a greater effort for the CMMS provider. Some of them may even involve the development department and, of course, will have to be paid for.
Extra costs: hardware
The purchase of mobile devices represents one of the few costs of a CMMS associated with physical hardware.
One of the main advantages of a CMMS is its ability to access it through smartphones or tablets. This allows you to be able to use the system directly through your own devices, but if the company intends to provide a corporate one, it will be good to calculate the cost in advance.
Calculate The ROI Of A CMMS
The time has come to understand what value a CMMS can offer.
Calculating the ROI of a CMMS depends on many factors including, for example, the objectives we have set ourselves to achieve, or the sector in which we operate.
However, since ours is intended to help calculate ROI, we will focus only on those aspects that are measurable.
Downtime:
Downtime can represent a significant cost item for companies every year. CMMS software can help you reduce this cost in many ways: for a manufacturing company, for example, a CMMS can help reduce the number of unexpected downtimes or help you plan scheduled maintenance more rationally.
A CMMS can also help you:
Understand the hourly cost of machine downtime.
Monitor the number of hours of downtime before and after implementation.
Analyze failure types and evaluate their effects in terms of hours worked per machine and other maintenance metrics.
Eliminate inefficiencies:
Eliminating inefficiencies can save you time and money. The main problem is being able to find them.
CMMS software can give you a big hand in this.
Once you've established the average time required to complete a specific task, as well as the required man-hours and man-hour costs, you can begin to find answers to questions such as:
Does fewer unexpected breakdowns mean fewer additional staff/suppliers?
Is our preventive maintenance program sufficient to reduce the number of breakdowns?
Are we saving time by automatically entering data, tracking operations, and compiling the digital end-of-service report?
Is work being assigned and done faster using the mobile app?
Does the improvement in communication and dissemination of information lead to shortening intervention times?
Aspects such as productive time, quality of work, and the total value of working hours are increasing?
Analysis and efficiency:
One of the central aspects of a CMMS is the ability to analyze stored data and provide advanced reporting to make it easier to read and therefore actionable.
Some reports and KPIs can also give us an indication of the return on investment of our CMMS. These reports can help us answer questions that, without data in hand, would remain unanswered.
Are we doing too much (or too little) scheduled maintenance? Indeed, if it has been demonstrated that optimal maintenance planning can cost 3 to 4 times less than reactive maintenance, it is also true that an excess of scheduled maintenance leads to a significant loss of efficiency which has repercussions on management costs and times.
How much does a machine downtime cost on average (and specifically)? Has the average number of total machine stops (or for each plant) dropped or is it dropping?
Which assets are our staff or suppliers spending the most time on?
What are the most expensive assets in terms of downtime or maintenance?
What is the backlogging rate (maintenance backlog)? Is it decreasing?
Is the mean intervention time (wrench time) decreasing?
Answering these questions will help you find the CMMS ROI in relation to labor costs and labor time.
Inventory and spare parts warehouse:
Optimal management of spare parts and materials in the warehouse can lead to a significant reduction in costs.
You can measure these savings by calculating the amount you spent on inventory before and after implementing a CMMS.
Here are some examples of how CMMS software can help you better manage your parts warehouse inventory.
You can save on purchasing spare equipment through maintenance planning.
You can track the usage of spare materials and equipment in your warehouse in just a few clicks, and set minimum thresholds so you don't overstock.
Identifying the materials needed for a work order allows you to reduce time and labor costs.
Durability and asset efficiency:
Part of the ROI of CMMS software also comes from ensuring that the assets receive adequate maintenance in order to make them last longer and maintain initial productivity standards.
This will allow your company to save a nice nest egg in the long run.
All of this obviously has a major impact on the ROI of a CMMS. In particular, because it allows you to:
Increase the availability and efficiency of your plants
Extend the natural life cycle of resources
Sustainability and safety:
A CMMS can also provide a high ROI in terms of efficiency and sustainability. Here are some examples:
Better maintenance helps keep machines in like-new condition, reducing utility costs.
CMMS software simplifies the management of audits and inspections, as well as contributes to compliance with safety procedures.
Through processes that automate maintenance planning, the CMMS contributes not only to comply with the required regulatory standards.
Integration with business systems:
In addition to integration with ERP systems, a CMMS can also be integrated with much more complex systems, such as BMS, BEMS, and BIM, by sharing the collected data. This possibility, very often, is able to generate an even higher ROI because even in maintenance unity is strength.
Costs and ROI of a CMMS: finding the right balance for your Business needs
The CMMS software market has evolved in recent years, both in terms of available features and in terms of its cost.
Today, CMMS software is available at a much lower cost than in the past, and even some open-source experiments are available. See WorkTrek pricing here.
Each of these has different characteristics, different capabilities, and, of course, different ROIs.
Understanding the cost of a CMMS and the value it brings to your company requires careful analysis and a definition of the objectives that we want to impose on ourselves through the implementation of maintenance software.
It is important to carefully consider each of the elements, talk to the different suppliers, and get a complete picture, since the cost structure of a CMMS, more often than not, is also an indication of the necessary effort and services behind the product but which can turn out to be an ace in the hole and an extra gear to achieve success.
ROI is a fundamental index for evaluating the profitability of a company's investments.
Compliance & Control
What Is IWMS? Meaning, Benefits, and Features
What Is IWMS? IWMS stands for Integrated Workplace Management System. It's a software platform used by organizations to manage various aspects of their real estate portfolio, infrastructure, and facilities. IWMS platforms typically offer modules for managing space utilization, lease administration, maintenance, sustainability initiatives, capital projects, and other related functions.
These systems provide a centralized database and tools for optimizing space allocation, reducing costs, improving operational efficiency, and supporting strategic decision-making related to facilities management and corporate real estate. IWMS solutions are commonly used by large enterprises, government agencies, educational institutions, and other organizations with complex facility management needs.
Modern workplaces require effective management to maintain uptime and productivity. Managing a workplace includes a wide range of tasks such as maintenance, security, asset management, space planning, etc. An efficient workforce depends on the smooth running of back-end processes.
With approximately 82% of businesses experiencing unplanned downtime each year, disruptions affect the entire organization and its employees, with a significant impact on sales and profits.
To address this, an integrated workplace management system (IWMS) brings together a collection of software technologies designed to solve common workplace challenges.
IWMS brings together asset management, building and energy performance, space planning, and other work management functions in one integrated platform.
Here's everything you need to know about IWMS.
Workplace Management: Definition and Key Challenges
Workplace management is a global concept that encompasses the management of services, devices, processes, and technologies that enable employees to work, collaborate, learn, and innovate.
The goal of this people-centered approach to management is to make the work environment work for employees, improving their well-being and user experience.
By establishing and maintaining a good work environment, companies can increase the efficiency and productivity of their employees. Good management practices help achieve these goals while optimizing costs while adapting to changing needs.
Performance and Workplace
IWMS is a concept that goes beyond the traditional functions of facilities management by improving employee performance and collaboration. It's more than a simple support service, it's a strategic tool that can help organizations achieve their goals. It represents significant added value.
Workplace management is a continuous improvement process aimed at achieving the highest level of performance in the corporate workplace. A common denominator among today's most productive organizations is their recognition of the role workplace management plays in employee engagement and productivity.
It can be applied at many different levels, from managing several workplaces to managing a large, internationally distributed real estate portfolio. In any event, it covers all processes to improve workplace performance levels, from strategic planning to the operational use of equipment, including safety, maintenance and catering.
What Is The Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS)?
The combination of data with business processes in an integrated software solution is an important condition for identifying initiatives to improve profitability and quality, to then implementing them and finally monitoring them continuously. These software solutions are called Integrated Workplace Management Systems (IWMS).
Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) is the globally recognized name for software solutions that support facility management and property management processes. This term was launched in 2004 by Gartner. The IWMS solution is described by Gartner as an enterprise-grade software platform integrating five important functional areas from a single technology platform and a single centralized database. These functional areas are:
Real Estate and Lease Management
Facility and Space Management
Maintenance Management
Project Management
Environmental Sustainability
The History of IWMS
Leading technology research firm Gartner first used the term "integrated workplace management system" in 2004 to describe an enterprise-wide program that can manage multiple functional areas. Gartner describes the concept of integration as a "single technology platform, single data repository." The rise of the internet in the late 90s and early 2000s made integration and such platforms more possible - and even more important.
IWMS Functional Areas
The ideal IWMS software integrates multiple functional areas of the workplace that could not have been combined or worked simultaneously, but which now absolutely must work together.
Resource Management
Organizations are moving towards more sustainable practices, and IWMS software supports this trend. Plants are able to measure, analyze and reduce resources and waste consumption – such as water consumption, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. An IWMS enables facility management to leverage capabilities to improve sustainable practices, capture performance metrics and plan for better energy management.
Real Estate Portfolio Management
Corporate real estate professionals can use IWMS software to track items such as leases, contracts, appointments, and disclosures. As the real estate landscape continues to change in the post-pandemic world, it's critical that you have access to data about how all your properties are being used. It's much harder to get a complete picture of your property when you're tracking this information across multiple spreadsheets. An IWMS can help you consolidate, visualize and report on everything so you can make the right long-term planning and investment decisions.
Facility Management
An IWMS helps you optimize asset and maintenance processes and activities. These include:
Maintenance Schedule:
Proactively schedule and automatically assign preventative maintenance to your equipment. With all equipment tracked in one system, you can easily view part information and work history for each asset, saving technicians time searching for data or manually entering information into multiple systems.
Work Orders:
Easily submit work orders to fix faulty equipment and track maintenance or repair work on one platform.
Asset Health Assessment:
Manage asset assessment data to better understand a building's physical condition—including age, structure, and condition of individual rooms and equipment.
Having data for all assets in one place makes it easier to spot short-term and long-term trends. With cloud-based IWMS software for mobile devices, your technicians can access equipment information directly from the palm of their hands.
Capital Project Management
Capital project management typically involves the design and implementation of building extensions or renovations, asset exchanges, and blueprints, all coordinated on the IWMS to provide design, capital management, cost, procurement, scheduling, bidding, critical path analysis, and documentation support.
Sustainability and Energy Management
More and more companies are looking to reduce their carbon footprint, enhance their sustainability efforts and monitor energy consumption.
However, this is becoming increasingly challenging. The Verdantix research also found that as organizations push for mixed work schedules, building occupancy rates will be more volatile. This in turn increases the pressure on facility teams to optimize their heating and cooling equipment to accommodate these fluctuating and low utilization conditions.
Effective IWMS software helps companies analyze their consumption patterns and spot spikes and anomalies in data more easily. This means you can better optimize, predict and reduce energy consumption. Read also, a guide to plant operations management.
How To Get The Most Out Of IWMS Software?
The potential advantages of IWMS software are enormous. However, before making a decision and committing to a system, it is strongly recommended that you detail the benefits you expect from it in order to create an effective specification.
To help you, here are the top 5 key benefits typically expected from IWMS software.
True Knowledge
Many firms know this: a lack of visibility into real estate portfolios in a broader sense leads to significant risks in terms of cost, compliance, and continuity. If you find yourself in this situation, an IWMS solution will help you a lot in planning maintenance, supplier management, understanding the value and characteristics of your assets, and more.
Such a tool allows you to gain an overview by creating a standardized database for all space, equipment, and property management processes: you know exactly which areas you occupy, and you can track subcontractors' work in detail.
Guaranteed Compliance
Ensuring compliance with laws and regulations is a growing headache for facility managers. Whether it's about safety, maintenance, or the environment, standards are becoming more numerous and more stringent, and it's hard to keep up with their evolution.
Therefore, organized and easily accessible documentation is critical to ensuring compliance with their facility and being able to demonstrate this in the event of an audit or incident.
IWMS software typically provides features that ensure compliance with standards and provide all employees who need them with the necessary files to take into account when performing their tasks.
Better Space Management
In many companies, workplaces are often underutilized, sometimes without managers even realizing it. The use of IWMS allows on the one hand a reliable diagnosis of the occupancy of offices, workplaces, and conference rooms, and on the other hand, implements another measure to reduce the creation area available to employees and thus also costs.
Space Monitor
Diagnosis includes analyzing and identifying inefficiencies, unnecessary losses, bottlenecks, or budget overruns. Furthermore, in addition to initial diagnosis, IWMS software can evaluate and continuously improve processes to increase productivity and customer or user satisfaction.
Decision Support Made Simple
It is becoming increasingly important for managers of organizations to be able to make informed and quick decisions. To do this, they must be able to rely on data that is accurate, comprehensive, reliable, and quickly available.
If they have an integrated workplace management solution, all this data is available to them thanks to various types of reports, analytics, and dashboards. They can even access forecasts to help them make a decision.
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Cut Costs
All of the above benefits have an impact on cost. While it's hard to quantify them all, some studies show a 10-15% reduction in facility costs, a 5-8% reduction in process costs, and a 5-8% reduction in rental costs. Typically, building stock and installation costs can be saved by 10% to 20% due to data control and transparency.
By purchasing an IWMS software solution, a business or organization can make significant advances in space organization and management and significantly reduce its operating costs. This approach needs to be prepared, built, and shared in order to maximize its effectiveness by choosing the right tools and involving all future users. Consider reading, how can CMMS software save you money.
Hybrid Work And The Evolution of Facility Management Software
Facilities management solutions have changed dramatically over the past few decades - even more so in recent years. Especially due to the emergence of hybrid working, IWMS software has also become one of the most valuable new technologies in the workplace. Of course, hybrid offices are becoming more and more common in today's world. The management of their workplaces has also become increasingly demanding.
Today, FMs are often tasked with improving the workplace experience, improving space utilization, and/or introducing flexible work arrangements such as hot-desking or hotel-style offices. To do this, they need to be able to quickly and easily update floor plans, as well as collect and aggregate data on how the workspace is actually performing. In other words, you need a state-of-the-art IWMS solution.
CAFM vs. IWMS: What's the Difference?
Computer Aided Facility Management (CAFM) software typically focuses on a unique perspective of space and asset management - fully optimized for facility management and integrated to some extent with workplace service requests. This is ideal for smaller businesses and facilities that don't need more complex management software and prefer to just manage services and track requests. CAFM programs also tend to span multiple platforms, not just one.
IWMS solutions are ideal for large organizations and enterprise-level companies that monitor multiple areas of management. These systems exist on a single platform that facilitates demand management, planning ideal strategies, managing energy and resources, capital projects, real estate, lease management, and facility maintenance.
The Future of IWMS Solutions
As jobs become more complex, you can rest assured that your IWMS solution can keep up.
As we've already mentioned, the world is moving to more complex work arrangements. Not surprisingly, the best IWMS solutions help simplify this complexity and make dynamic spaces more manageable.
Hybrid and distributed work are harder to optimize and harder to see what's really going on in your workplace.
Additionally, IWMS systems can be expected to increasingly take on the task of improving the employee experience.
For example, helping employees book the right type of workspace can help remove barriers to productivity and engagement.
IWMS software solutions are a convenient and hassle-free way to track and manage every element of your facility and business with a single facility management system. It is easy to use and flexible enough to adapt to the growing and changing needs of your business. While there's nothing wrong with computerized facilities management software, your business may need more. This is where IWMS software comes in, providing a way to track and manage workplace management more efficiently.
In summary, IWMS is a powerful tool that can be customized to meet the specific needs of your organization. Enjoyed reading this blog? Consider reading, why your CMMS may not meet expectations.
CMMS
Why Your CMMS May Not Meet Expectations
CMMS software is essential for the coordination of all activities related to the availability, productivity, and maintainability of complex systems. Modern computer resources have made it possible to considerably improve the effectiveness and efficiency in the field of maintenance through the use of CMMS.
But – implementing a CMMS correctly means making the most of your investment. To do this, you need the know-how and experience necessary to avoid nasty surprises when it will already be too late.
Implementing a CMMS requires planning, time, and project management skills that will involve people and processes within your company.
Being able to do it well means starting the journey towards better management of your resources on the right foot, which will potentially be studded with great satisfaction.
For this to happen, it is not enough to choose the CMMS based on its functions. You need the know-how and experience necessary to ensure that the software can adapt to your processes, without expecting the opposite to happen overnight. The people involved need to learn how to use it and do it well, to get the most out of the system and not just a slice of the pie.
Your company is not only making an investment in terms of money and time, but it is also facing a cultural change, as it moves from an old way of doing things to a new and more performing one.
What Is A CMMS Software?
The acronym CMMS stands for Computerized Maintenance Management System. This software package was designed to manage maintenance globally, on a strategic, financial, and operational level. It is today the essential software of the industrial sector. Much more than simple computer programming, it is an assistant for maintenance teams, the cornerstone of industrial efficiency.
Because you can use it to achieve different goals, there are different ways to describe computerized maintenance management software. On the one hand, it is sophisticated software that captures and uses thousands of data points to provide an overview of how a facility is operating or detailed information about individual pieces of equipment. In terms of functionality, CMMS software offers businesses the ability to monitor inventory levels, manage work orders, set up and schedule preventive maintenance programs, and quickly generate accurate reports. But on another level, it's just the solution maintenance managers need. Automating processes and streamlining workflows makes your life less stressful by making your workday more predictable.
What Does CMMS Software Do?
The CMMS is a software capable of containing all the maintenance information: from the technical master data to the asset files, passing through the maintenance plans, the requests for technical intervention, and the work orders. It also allows you to manage all the documentation, the history of interventions and work reports, the spare parts in the warehouse, and of course the technicians and suppliers.
Thanks to all this information, it is able not only to help you optimize maintenance processes but also to provide all the data necessary for a detailed analysis of the same, monitoring times, costs, and performance thanks to business intelligence systems that analyze the data for you, creating personalized and incredibly detailed reports.
The best CMMS software is also able to automate a large part of these processes, for example by automatically creating work orders or assigning them, always automatically, to the right personnel, based on the indications you have given to the system. Read also, 20 benefits of CMMS tools for small business
How Does It Work?
Let's say, for example, that you need to plan preventive maintenance interventions based on the working time of a machine. The CMMS is able to generate a new work order every time this time is reached, inform you if spare parts are available in stock, attach the necessary documents and maintenance check-lists to ensure that the interventions are carried out in the correct way and finally assign them to the person indicated on the basis of the machinery or its location.
This allows you to drastically reduce costs and management times of your resources, in addition of course to machine downtime, also reducing manual actions and margins of error.
One of the most important features of modern CMMS systems is the ability to use the mobile app.
Thanks to the mobile app, technicians can take the CMMS for company maintenance with them in the field at all times. They will be notified via a simple notification (or an email) when a work order is assigned to them, they will be able to consult the documentation, record the intervention times, take advantage of the check-lists attached to the work order, and add the pieces in just a few taps spare parts used in the final report. See also, what is CMMS? Features, benefits, and how it works.
What Does This Mean?
This will allow them not only to cut intervention times but also to automatically record all the data and information relating to the work order within the CMMS system. Once the intervention has been completed, they will be able to automatically generate the end-of-work report, form it directly on their telephone, and send it to the system (as well as by e-mail to the interested figures).
At this point, the CMMS system records the data and orders them within the platform, where they will be available in real-time.
Similarly, the maintenance manager will have a complete view of the progress of maintenance operations, and will be able to easily monitor, without any additional action, the work orders carried out and those still to be carried out, as well as analyze the recorded data in real-time. Consider reading, 10 easy steps to successful CMMS implementation.
Why Set Up a CMMS Software?
A CMMS software brings to the company or organization:
better productivity (plan and manage maintenance interventions, centralize information for technicians, prioritize requests and tasks, etc.);
improved cost control (greater durability of equipment thanks to regular maintenance, anticipation of expenses to find the best price);
more transparent and more fluid communication of information between the various managers of a structure and their clients;
automatic reporting in the form of dashboards and statistical reports, with high-level traceability.
The CMMS is also a guarantee for the continuity of a company's activity. It limits the risks in terms of equipment failure or out-of-stock.
In the absence of a dedicated IT tool, maintenance management within a company or another organization runs the risk of being neglected. A human-made error, such as a simple oversight to order new stock or update a workstation, can cause chain reactions and hurt a team's overall performance. Read also, a step-by-step guide to choosing and using the right CMMS.
Why Do CMMS Implementations Fail?
According to a study, by one of the most authoritative voices in the maintenance industry, between 60 and 80% of CMMS software implementations fail.
The main reasons for these failures are:
Lack of clear goals
Lack of a figure able to lead the project
Insufficient training and post-implementation support
Inability to tailor the software to business needs and practices
Solutions developed in-house without the necessary know-how
Most of these motivations have something in common. In fact, they do not concern the product itself, but problems of various kinds that arose during the implementation process.
This is an important food for thought, to keep in mind when we are about to choose a CMMS. There are not only functions and indeed, in this regard here is another interesting fact, relating only to the American market: according to Reliable Plant, 90% of companies that use a CMMS do not take full advantage of its characteristics. See also, CMMS success, top 7 industries that benefit the most.
Why Your CMMS May Not Meet Expectations
The reasons why CMMS fail are as varied as the companies that implement them. Often the software package chosen or the manufacturer support provided is to blame. But that's usually an excuse, not the real reason these errors occur. Failure can usually be traced to one or more of the following main causes:
Solving the wrong problem with a CMMS
Sometimes, companies decide to implement a CMMS to solve problems that are not related to the system. For example, you might hold on to inappropriate or outdated maintenance practices; or they neglected training in the past, or the organizational structure isn't right for doing business in today's environment. Unless these problems are addressed, no system will help and actually make the problems worse. Before starting a CMMS project, make sure the problem is properly defined.
Lack of organizational goals
Realizing that you need CMMS software is an important first step. Next, you should decide why you want it and what you expect from it.
If you don't have a clear roadmap, it can be difficult to understand exactly what steps are needed to complete a project. Set clear goals for yourself from the start:
How the implementation process should work
How your team will use the software
What role will your staff play in the process
Avoid filling your team with ambitious plans. Keep realistic expectations and easy-to-achieve plans. This is the best way to avoid burnout and make sure everyone shows up as expected. See how to maximize manufacturing production with CMMS.
The wrong package was selected for the job
Often a CMMS package is chosen that is not suitable for the desired solution. For example, the features and functionality of a software package may be suitable for rolling stock maintenance but not for a processing plant with a large amount of capital equipment. Mismatches between system capabilities and solution requirements are often the result of a rigorous process of evaluating and selecting packages to meet solution requirements was not followed.
Insufficient change management
Among the top reasons for project failure, change management is the most overlooked. However, effective management of organizational change is critical to the long-term success of a CMMS project. Change cannot be left alone. It must be planned and executed carefully.
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Four Reflections On The Benefits Of A CMMS Software
The following is not an exhaustive list of the benefits that CMMS software can bring to the maintenance of a company.
Instead, it is meant to be an invitation to reflect on some of the main aspects, which together can have a disruptive effect on the entire corporate maintenance process.
Improve workflow
One of the most important effects that a CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) can have on maintenance management concerns the workflow.
A CMMS software is a real hub, capable of intercepting and connecting the various maintenance processes, from the opening of a ticket (therefore a request for intervention) to data analysis.
In between are the management of work orders, technicians, and suppliers, planning of preventive maintenance activities, monitoring of assets and downtime, maintenance management, and warehouse management. And so on.
With CMMS software, managers, technicians, suppliers, and customers are able to collaborate all together and in real-time, with different levels of access, on the same platform.
So we can say that maintenance is in one place.
Now think about your processes. How well are they able to integrate with each other? What advantages could it bring, in terms of workflow management, and data flow, or what impact could it have on intervention times?
Communication
Collaboration is a central aspect in maintenance management and therefore also in the implementation of a maintenance CMMS. Optimizing communication between the actors involved means:
Improve productivity
Improve efficiency
Decrease errors
In addition to eliminating errors, CMMS software is also able to remove obstacles, slowdowns, inaccuracies, and loss of productivity largely due to communication problems.
A great way, often underestimated, allows you to save time and therefore money.
Think about your maintenance processes. How does communication take place between the subjects involved? Do you use email, WhatsApp messages or phone calls? What are the limitations of these means compared to the automatic tracking and monitoring provided by a software CMMS?
Simplification
Other benefits of a CMMS are the different aspects and functions that can usually contribute to simplifying maintenance processes through:
Traceability: The complete traceability of all the single actions that are carried out on an asset, a plant, a machine, or inside a building, is a fundamental aspect.
With CMMS software, all actions are recorded automatically within the platform.
This not only allows maintenance events to be traced but also makes this information easily accessible thanks to automatic entry into the maintenance system.
Automatisms: The creation of automatisms allows us, through guided procedures and automatic compilations, to avoid errors, for example on an intervention request, but also to save precious time in the operations planning phase or in the creation and assignment of work orders. For example, we can automate the creation of a work order whenever a plant or asset reaches a certain condition, based on triggers such as time, mileage reached, or meter monitoring.
Documentation: The creation of a digital profile of our assets, plants, and buildings allows us to access all the related documentation with a simple click: guarantees, contracts, but also the history of interventions, saved checklists, maintenance, etc.
Maintenance plans: A great classic of CMMS software. Establishing priorities, and correct strategies, and evaluating their effectiveness is one of the fundamental aspects of a maintenance management program.
Data
Finally, the data.
We have a budget available, often quite tight, and we have to respect it. So we want to make sure we allocate our resources as efficiently as possible.
Are we doing too much corrective maintenance? Or too much preventative maintenance?
How much does downtime cost us?
Are we spending too much on a particular asset and perhaps it would be worth replacing it?
When is the best time to carry out an inspection?
Which supplier guarantees us the best results?
These are just some of the questions that CMMS software allows you to find answers through analytics, economics, and the creation of customized reports.
Data analysis is the key to maintenance management systems. Using CMMS software to manage maintenance, means knowing your processes and finally making them measurable.
How To Choose The Best CMMS Software And Meet Your Expectations?
Choosing the best CMMS for your company is a delicate operation, which not only requires careful evaluation but can turn out to be a strategic decision of no small importance.
Nowadays the market offers a wide range of different CMMS solutions, starting from the choice of a cloud or on-premise software.
But functions are not the only aspect to consider. Implementing a CMMS is a delicate matter that needs a lot of attention.
Very often the best solutions are also linked to services such as training and education, as well as the availability of a project manager made available by your supplier who is able to transfer the necessary know-how, together with the identification of objectives and steps necessary for the implementation to be successful.
Furthermore, the possibility of customizing the CMMS software to adapt it to your processes and workflow always proves to be a fundamental discriminating factor, which no successful implementation can ever ignore.
In other words, the saying "do it yourself, do it for three" does not apply when it comes to a computerized maintenance system. If you found this useful, consider reading, essential tasks to track in your CMMS.
Here are some aspects to be clarified during the analysis phase to help you choose the best CMMS based on your real needs:
Does the vendor you've selected also offer the necessary services for implementation?
Does the CMMS feature cover your needs?
Are your company goals aligned with the software offering?
Does the supplier provide someone who can lead the implementation within your company?
Is the CMMS you have selected able to guarantee the usability you need to make it easier for the whole company to adopt the software?
Does the supplier already have valuable experience in your industry, so they know what your needs are and bring in the necessary know-how?
Is the timeline for implementation clear and in line with your needs?
Meet Your Expectations With CMMS Software
The use of CMMS software in carrying out maintenance activities proves to be a fundamental card for anyone who wants to raise the bar of their productivity.
In fact, digital maintenance management allows you to save time, save money and increase the efficiency of maintenance teams, as well as the performance and life cycle of company assets.
This is why CMMS software is a tool capable of making a difference, part of a digital transformation strategy that companies can no longer postpone.
Naturally, however, to fully reap the benefits of using such a tool, it is necessary to consider maintenance and its processes as part of an investment that aims to save us money, make our plants more productive, increase safety at within the company, and enhance the assets we have, instead of considering it (as has been done for too long and still today, unfortunately, in some circumstances) a due cost.
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