With organisations looking manage their budgets more succinctly within the current economic climate, utilising the capabilities of a strong Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS) software application can have a number of positive operational benefits to any organisation.
Managed correctly, CMMS software enables organisations to optimise the reliability and efficiency of assets, property and equipment to reduce costs and improve service. It automates and manages scheduling activities, such as testing, inspections or health and safety; can determine elements that affect the reliability, servicing and repair of an asset; whilst supporting the creation of unique and flexible maintenance regimes.
For any company seeking to invest in, or update existing CMMS software, it is important to cost justify the investment by identifying how the new system will produce cost savings, so that the project is self-financing. Current business processes should be reviewed and where appropriate, procedural improvements considered, in order to determine the scale and scope of benefits that a CMMS software system could potentially deliver.
The first step for any business when reviewing CMMS software is to consider the benefits offered by the software and align these to requirements within the business. On average, a business should aim for a return on investment within two to three years. Initial costs that should be taken into account are the CMMS software licences, professional services such as consultancy, data manipulation, training, ongoing maintenance and internal costs associated with the project.
The development of an effective and realistic CMMS software implementation plan is a very important step in ensuring that the timely delivery of the new software solution meets the needs of your business. It is crucial to develop and agree a formal project plan with all stakeholders to enable resource demands to be met and clearly defined project milestones to be achieved.
Whilst developing the CMMS software implementation plan, it is also useful to put in place some key performance indicators (KPIs) against which the success of the project may be measured. These should include key project milestone dates that must be achieved in order for the supplier to claim progress payments.
Once the initial development and implementation is complete, it is vital to have excellent support from the CMMS software supplier to ensure the long-term success of the system. It is important to understand what is included in any maintenance fees, i.e. access to future upgrades of the software and the scope of the support offering (telephone, remote and/or on-site).
In summary, if properly implemented and maintained correctly a good CMMS software application can ensure that an organisation optimises operational efficiency whilst reducing costs.