For the uninitiated, CMMS is a package that maintains a database detailing maintenance activities undertaken by a company or organisation. Short for Computerised Maintenance Management System, the software is designed to facilitate future maintenance work by providing a handy, at-a-glance reference to the maintenance staff of what has already been done, what needs to be done, and where to find the materials needed for the work to be undertaken. This system benefits any business that uses it in multiple ways, of which the following are the most important.
Planning and scheduling of preventative operations
As the adage goes, prevention is better than cure; if you schedule and carry out the necessary preventative maintenance, you will find that there are fewer emergency maintenance tasks to do. CMMS allows you to get the most out of your equipment and lowers costs incurred by repair and replacement.
Easy management of work tasks
If you – and the relevant staff – can see at a single glance what jobs are in progress, currently outstanding, and which are completed, then you can have a streamlined workflow that lends greater efficiency to business operations. It helps to know the repair and work history of each piece of equipment, such as how often a specific fault has occurred and what remedial action was undertaken, and to be able to refer to it at a glance.
Dynamic record-keeping
Before undertaking any maintenance job, it’s beneficial to know you can lay your hands on the necessary materials to complete that job. Those may be specific tools and/or relevant spare parts. Maintaining a digital inventory means you not only know that you have those parts but where they are kept. It also means repair workers don’t need to wade through paperwork to know what they’re doing and where they need to go.
Reduced downtime
When you carry out planned maintenance, it means you can choose to carry out those jobs at a time that is convenient, and equipment doesn’t need to be taken out of service to complete the process. During working hours, the equipment needed for a job is available to the employees who are doing those jobs – and it’s fit for purpose thanks to timely maintenance.
Safer workplaces
CMMS allows you to schedule maintenance and checks on a periodic basis, so you’ll always know if the equipment is up to standard and be able to book in a repair or replacement if needed. This means that workplace accidents as a result of faulty equipment can be a thing of the past, allowing your employees to have confidence in the available materials.
Meet regulatory standards comfortably
Every workplace needs to live up to the industry-defined standards of quality and reliability and to be certified as having done so. When you proactively maintain and monitor work equipment, it means you know where you are from a compliance point of view at any given time. Rather than having to complete a laundry list of actions before any regulatory inspection, you can be confident that you’d pass even on a spot check.
Using CMMS allows a business to nail maintenance-related tasks every time and empowers employees to do their jobs without needing to think about anything but the work in front of them. A business that takes a proactive line on maintenance will see better results in its workflow.