In the typical plant, the computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) is just a work order (WO) management system. Lack of training is one reason. The CMMS is a complex system that requires skill to use. Buying a CMMS without also obtaining the training is how you waste your software dollars.
Another reason is nobody was clear about how the CMMS should be used, and that’s probably because nobody understands what it can do. The aforementioned training fixes that problem. If you’re going to upgrade or replace your existing CMMS, send someone who has (or will have) CMMS responsibilities to training before making that move.
CMMS is not a fancy way of saying work order system. You actually can use a CMMS to manage your maintenance. For example, you can generate reports that show:
- Failure by type, frequency, and cost. This will help you redirect your limited maintenance resources to where they do the most good.
- Failure causes by equipment, frequency, and cost. This will help you get at root causes, such as poor training, deficient maintenance practices, operator errors, and power quality problems.
- Maintenance tasks by total cost. Identify, and improve on, the resource hogs.
