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Maintenance, Repair & Operations

Is Your CMMS Just a Work Order System? — Part 2

Feb. 20, 2018

Populating your CMMS with PM history and/or with PdM data allows you to see trends and extend schedules to reduce unnecessary work while not missing needed intervention.

Mark Lamendola

If your Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) is set up correctly and you’ve been using it to store the information about assets under maintenance control, you can make data-driven decisions. Alternatives to data-driven decisions increase cost and reduce reliability.

For example, let’s say you perform preventative maintenance (PM) activities based on the calendar. You’ve got assets spread all over the plant, and the same equipment might be shut down half a dozen times to cover the associated PMs as they come due. Yet most of these PMs probably are not necessary.

If your CMMS is populated with PM history (including PM test data) and/or with predictive maintenance (PdM) data, you can look at trends and extend schedules to reduce unnecessary work while not missing needed intervention.

Another thing your CMMS can do is show you which PMs are coming due within a certain period. You can see which ones are associated with a given product line, so you shut that line down once to complete all the associated PM tasks. Then you move on to the next production line that may have a cluster of PMs coming due.

About the Author

Mark Lamendola

Mark is an expert in maintenance management, having racked up an impressive track record during his time working in the field. He also has extensive knowledge of, and practical expertise with, the National Electrical Code (NEC). Through his consulting business, he provides articles and training materials on electrical topics, specializing in making difficult subjects easy to understand and focusing on the practical aspects of electrical work.

Prior to starting his own business, Mark served as the Technical Editor on EC&M for six years, worked three years in nuclear maintenance, six years as a contract project engineer/project manager, three years as a systems engineer, and three years in plant maintenance management.

Mark earned an AAS degree from Rock Valley College, a BSEET from Columbia Pacific University, and an MBA from Lake Erie College. He’s also completed several related certifications over the years and even was formerly licensed as a Master Electrician. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and past Chairman of the Kansas City Chapters of both the IEEE and the IEEE Computer Society. Mark also served as the program director for, a board member of, and webmaster of, the Midwest Chapter of the 7x24 Exchange. He has also held memberships with the following organizations: NETA, NFPA, International Association of Webmasters, and Institute of Certified Professional Managers.