May 12, 2017
What Data Should You Have in Your CMMS?
Once your company has purchased a new CMMS (computerized maintenance management system), the next step is to decide what to store and track within your new system. Of course you should meet with all of the departments that might be using the CMMS and discover what they hope to get out of it, and then make the decision of what data to include accordingly. However, there are a few basic items that should be included in all systems.
List of assets. In order to be an effective tool, every CMMS should include a list of assets. This list can include equipment, tools, locations, and cost centers. Which assets should be included? Generally, any that can have a work order written against them. Each asset ideally should also include a short description (especially if the company has more than one of these items, such as a motor or forklift), and if possible, the location of the asset. Having this data for each asset will help avoid confusion, and ensure the right asset is worked on when needed. Many systems will also allow users to attach photos or documents to an asset, which can be helpful as well.
Preventive maintenance. Preventive maintenance (PM) tasks are a critical part of any CMMS. PM tasks are regular maintenance work scheduled periodically on an asset. For example, a PM might be scheduled to replace a belt in a machine every three months, as a way to avoid reactive maintenance and machine downtime. The tools required to do the job should also be included, so that way techs know what they need before they go. The tools can be gathered and laid out beforehand, which is also a time saver.
Reactive maintenance. Unfortunately, reactive maintenance is unavoidable. It’s important that a CMMS tracks this as well so repairs can be made in a timely manner. When reactive maintenance occurs, a work order will need to be dispatched to the repair technician, and a CMMS is a great way to do that. In fact, things can get done even more quickly if a mobile app is used, such as MAPCON Mobile
History. Having a history of repairs completed on an asset can be a huge help when it comes to business intelligence analysis. For example, reports can be run which show the cost of repairs on a piece of equipment over time. From that, the company can decide whether it is more economical to keep the old equipment or invest in something new. Additionally, having the repair history on an asset can assist with future repairs. When a repair is needed, techs can go into the CMMS and look at the history to see how the repair was made last time. This can help save time and decrease downtime. It can also be helpful to note which employee completed the repair, so that way they can assist with similar repairs if needed.
A CMMS can be a huge asset to a company, but it is really important to make sure the correct data is stored within the system. When deciding what information it needs to contain, make sure you think about the items listed above, as well as any key performance indicators (KPIs) other departments need to track.