CMMS brings vital metrics to light

CMMS allows employees to work better and safer through advanced metrics, as well as, see solutions to problems they didn’t know existed.

By Smartware Group November 3, 2016

The difference between a facility or plant with a well-designed CMMS and one with a basic or outdated solution—or none at all—can be quantified in several different ways. The automation enabled by CMMS and its mobile app allows employees to act quickly on any mechanical faults. Its predictive maintenance capabilities can significantly limit the slowing or shutting down of production.

This type of solution can also grant visibility to a full view of accurate and reliable data, such as asset run time, temperature readings, and corrective vs. preventive work. Teams that make use of this data can remake their maintenance operations, unlocking improvement opportunities they may not have known about before implementing a CMMS. It can be remarkable what better metrics and streamlined data accessibility can accomplish.

Road maps to improvement

Organizations that have real-time and reliable measures of their performance are naturally well positioned to better themselves. Maintenance departments should always be on the lookout for new approaches and ways to transform their processes. Settling for acceptable performance may be enough for some, but industry leaders seeking greater competitive advantages will push forward.

Access to good baseline readings and sensitivity to changes in maintenance efficiency can help teams become more useful to their respective companies. Without a CMMS designed to make data entry simple and navigation intuitive, the process can’t proceed easily. Measures, such as mean time and failure analysis, can be readily available gauges of maintenance’s contributions to the plant as a whole.

Performing cost/benefit analysis is a surefire way to see if a team’s innovation has actually improved operations. However, getting to this state involves tracking adoption and performance metrics, in addition to charting improvement. The three areas of focus go together. To paint a complete picture of maintenance, teams need to know how well processes are being followed, whether technicians are hitting their targets, and what could be done better. A CMMS provider with experienced consulting services can help ensure CMMS dashboards, KPIs, charts, and reports are tailored to the needs of the user and the department as a whole.

Decision-making intelligence

When CMMS is being used to track a variety of equipment conditions, work order statuses, and more to gain overall efficiency readings, some organizational leaders may assume that big data will overwhelm analysis efforts. However, powerful systems can still have simple, visually-effective outputs. This is another place where a leading CMMS can stand out. Acting as a repository for maintenance data is much more valuable when the data is displayed clearly, concisely, and consistently to convey a sense of familiarity. When that is completed, leaders have what they need to make informed decisions.

Accessible data views are also helpful in ensuring that personnel across different departments are working with the same data sets. Disconnect between teams can lead to muddled management, whereas clarity helps companies improve processes in meaningful ways. Advanced CMMS empowers users to share views across sites, user roles, and more for greater collaboration.

Tracking KPIs ensures that the value of maintenance doesn’t get lost. The news source noted that when there are clear goals for teams to hit, they will be able to prove that the organization was right to allocate budget to asset upkeep. Despite the fact that maintaining the plant is an inevitable part of operations, the department is still expected to meet or exceed expectations, improve, and make a positive impact. KPIs prove that this is occurring.

The value of a CMMS becomes clear when leaders consider the above operations. Proving the value of maintenance depends on data being easily visible, and improving the department steadily calls for analysis and detailed breakdowns of that same data. A CMMS is where that data should reside, and without a good solution in place, firms will struggle to quantify maintenance.

-This article originally appeared on the Smartware Group blog. Smartware Group is a CFE Media content partner.

Original content can be found at www.bigfootcmms.com.