Discussing one's CMMS is a sensitive subject.
We know this because we built one.
The impetus for us designing and developing maintenance software was that facility managers don’t enjoy talking about their maintenance solution.
Many don’t even like using the one their facility employs.
What’s causing this?
Well, it boils down to the cumbersomeness of the current technology available.
Maintenance software solutions lack intuitiveness.
They also lack usability, flexibility, and simplicity.
Solve this problem, and you’re actually helping facility managers overcome their most challenging obstacles: effectively managing property maintenance from work orders to preventive maintenance to vendors.
So we set out to build the most effective maintenance solution the industry has seen.
In doing so, we uncovered what the vital components of an effective CMMS are so we could share them with new and veteran facility managers.
Our goal is to provide you with a clear outline of the must-have qualities to help you with your next or upcoming maintenance software subscription.
Inner Workings of a CMMS You’ll Enjoy Using
After reading the following eight traits, we're confident that you’ll never look at legacy maintenance systems with the same reverence.
Take our word for it.
Here are eight makings of an effective, efficient, and reliable CMMS:
- Digital work orders
- Develop configurable forms
- Chain of command for approvals
- Preventive maintenance made easy
- Set up inspections for efficient execution
- Material and inventory tracking for stress-free facility management
- Store asset details and information
- Simple yet comprehensive reporting and analytics
Digital work orders
We’re proponents of removing the industry’s dependence on handwritten work orders.
Removing this from your day-to-day is an essential move for your operation to be successful.
Eliminating work order reports with illegible handwritten notes piling up on your desk to add to your maintenance software can help you make huge strides.
Introduce this into your maintenance initiatives and watch your team’s performance skyrocket as you all create, track, edit, and assign work orders with one-click to ensure that issues are addressed immediately.
Digitalize forms and other documents and become more proactive with your operations.
Develop configurable forms
Eliminate the “waiting game” from your operation.
Create a configured web form that lets non-system users such as your vendors, employees without logins, and outside users to submit work orders for approval anywhere at any time.
Chain of command for approvals
Endless work order approvals causing you added stress? Slowing up the process?
An extraordinary quality of an easy-to-use CMMS system gives you and your supervisors the ability to approve work orders seamlessly.
Control the entire process.
Create a chain of approvals based on attributes such as work order type, priority, or location.
Once a work order request enters the system, it is automatically enrolled into your facility’s chain of command for an efficient line of approval.
With this benefit, two aspects of your day are enhanced:
- You spend less time worrying about planning the work you need to get done.
- You get work done!
Preventive maintenance made easy
The majority of your maintenance software can surpass all other systems in the industry regarding functionality, but as a facility manager, you know that if your preventive maintenance is operating at a deficit, it’s time to begin researching new ones.
Create your maintenance activities and tasks with ease.
Easily set up preventive maintenance schedules and add associated materials, labor, expense, and attachments for review.
Save time by automating maintenance across your asset base.
Set up inspections for efficient execution
Produce digital inspections and deliver them to your engineers and technicians confidently that work will be completed the way you require it to be.
Take control of your operation.
Schedule and conduct regular inspections to gain a comprehensive view of asset health and identify issues proactively.
Users can provide inspection updates in real-time from a mobile device via your mobile app.
Using digital inspections ensures the consistency of all maintenance activities occurring at your facility.
Consistency eliminates the questions that arise in stressful and ambiguous environments and removes the barrier to getting the work done correctly.
For example:
- How do I perform this hair handler inspection?
- Is this required for us to pass our compliance inspection?
- Did we cover all bases during our inspection of the life safety equipment?
Material and inventory tracking for stress-free facility management
“Do I have enough materials and equipment available?” can finally recede from your thoughts.
With the right system in place, you’ll be able to schedule essential notifications for managing your assets and inventory levels.
Immediately know when your HVAC filters are low.
Set up alerts when material or inventory is low automatically through our system.
Never put your team in a situation in which they do not have the inventory they need.
Properly managing your inventory levels will help you forecast your business needs while giving you the peace of mind to know you have the resources you need when you need them.
Store asset details and information
Track critical information related to your assets in one place.
View associated materials, warranties, meter readings, and a history of inspections at the asset level.
Store contracts, vendor agreements, and any media associated with your assets together.
That Proactive Operations!
Simple yet comprehensive reporting and analytics
If you read our articles often, you’re more than aware that “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”
As much as we enjoy reiterating this statement, we’d prefer you to both measure and manage your maintenance operation.
We want to remove any facility management stress from your daily operation altogether.
Have the valuable information you need, when you need it – to achieve Proactive Operations.
Generate reports that enable you to be more proactive, extend asset life, improve efficiency, reduce costs, and be a maintenance hero or heroine in your organization!
Over to You
You work diligently. So do your due diligence. Make smarter management decisions to increase your operational efficiency. Give your employees a stress-free work environment.
Move your maintenance department to a profit center and reduce your employees' stress using our eight requirements of a high-performing maintenance system to guide you.
You’ll give yourself the peace of mind you strive so hard to achieve.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in December 2014 and has been updated for comprehensiveness and freshness.
