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The Maintenance Management Blog

December 17, 2025

20 Essential Safety Practices for Preventive Maintenance


Maintenance workers conduct safety inspectionsPreventive maintenance safety measures significantly reduce hazards while ensuring equipment operates efficiently. Implementing the right practices minimizes unexpected breakdowns and protects personnel. Safety must remain at the forefront of every maintenance activity, from handling machinery to managing chemicals. This article explores 20 essential safety practices for preventive maintenance to create a safer work environment and prevent injuries.

Preventive Maintenance Safety Measures to Create a Safer Workplace

1. Wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Personal protective equipment forms the first line of defense against workplace hazards. Selecting PPE depends on the task and equipment being serviced. Eye protection shields against debris or chemical splashes, while hard hats prevent injuries from falling objects. Gloves protect hands from cuts, abrasions, and chemicals, and safety footwear guards against crushing injuries. Hearing protection reduces damage from loud machinery, respirators prevent inhalation of harmful substances, and high-visibility clothing ensures visibility in busy or low-light areas. Regular inspections, proper fitting, and training sessions increase PPE effectiveness.


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Filed under: preventive maintenance safety, workplace safety measures, equipment maintenance safety, — Stephen Brayton on Wednesday, December 17, 2025

December 15, 2025

The Intelligence Shift: How Artificial Intelligence Redefines Maintenance Management


A representation of how AI and a CMMS affects maintenance managementThe world stands at the threshold of a technological revolution, arguably as significant as the advent of the internet or electricity. This shift comes courtesy of Artificial Intelligence (AI), a technology rapidly moving from the laboratory to industrial floors, medical facilities, and daily consumer interactions. AI marks a fundamental change in how we process information, make decisions, and execute tasks. Its arrival signals an irreversible transformation across every sector, particularly in complex operational environments like maintenance management. This article examines the broader introduction of AI and concentrates on its role in reshaping maintenance processes through direct integration with Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS).


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Filed under: AI, Artificial Intelligence, Maintenance Management, CMMS — Stephen Brayton on Monday, December 15, 2025

December 10, 2025

CMMS Benefits for Overcoming Maintenance Management Failures


A technician uses CMMS maintenance management software to prevent equipment failures.Maintenance management failures can disrupt production, increase costs, and reduce equipment lifespan. Organizations across manufacturing, facilities management, and industrial sectors face recurring challenges in planning, resource allocation, and communication. This article explores common maintenance pitfalls and overcoming maintenance management challenges with a computer maintenance management system (CMMS). We'll look at real-world examples and highlight practical strategies for reducing failures and improving operational performance.

Common Maintenance Management Failures and How CMMS Helps

Lack of Clear Goals and Objectives - When teams operate without clear goals, productivity and safety suffer. For instance, in a manufacturing plant, if maintenance staff do not know which machines require priority attention, downtime can spike unexpectedly. A CMMS allows managers to set clear objectives, track progress, and assign tasks with deadlines. Dashboards and notifications provide employees with daily priorities, ensuring alignment with operational goals.


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Filed under: maintenance management, CMMS benefits, maintenance failure — Stephen Brayton on Wednesday, December 10, 2025

December 08, 2025

How AI Transforms CMMS Capabilities in Today’s Maintenance Landscape


A variety of maintenance tasks improved with CMMS-AI assistance.Artificial intelligence continues to reshape maintenance management at a rapid pace, and its influence grows stronger each year. How AI transforms CMMS capabilities in today’s maintenance landscape introduces a shift in how companies handle data, make decisions, and respond to changing operational demands. This transformation affects organizations of every size.

Why AI Inside a CMMS Changes Daily Maintenance Work

Traditional CMMS platforms depend heavily on manual searching, fixed dashboards, and structured reports. These functions still deliver value, yet they often limit the depth of insight maintenance teams can pull from the system. AI changes that dynamic. Instead of static reporting, teams gain a conversational partner that understands maintenance history, asset hierarchies, material usage patterns, technician performance, vendor details, and compliance records.


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Filed under: CMMS AI benefits, AI in maintenance management, AI-driven CMMS — Stephen Brayton on Monday, December 08, 2025

December 03, 2025

21 Essential Workplace Inspections for Safety and Efficiency


Various technicians conduct maintenance inspections.Workplace inspections safeguard employees, protect assets, and maintain operational efficiency. The guide on 21 essential workplace inspections highlights systematic checks across various systems and facilities. Each inspection type requires specific attention, ensuring risks remain minimal while productivity stays high. Proper scheduling and execution can prevent costly disruptions and enhance workplace safety.

Common Workplace Inspections and Preventive Maintenance Best Practices

Electrical System Inspections

Electrical systems demand meticulous attention. Inspect all connections, outlets, lighting fixtures, and equipment cords for twisting, bending, or visible damage. Check that chargers and plugs function correctly. Professional electricians may perform tests to measure current flow and ensure compliance with safety standards. Faulty wiring or neglected outlets can create significant hazards, making regular checks crucial for operational safety.


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Filed under: workplace inspections, preventive maintenance, safety checks — Stephen Brayton on Wednesday, December 03, 2025

December 01, 2025

AI and the Future of Maintenance: The Manager's Dialogue with a CMMS


A maintenance manager interacts with AI integrated in his CMMS.The Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) long served as the central hub for maintenance data, organizing the chaos of work orders, asset histories, and inventory logs. Today, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into these platforms shifts the CMMS from a mere record-keeper to a source of genuine operational intelligence. Let's discuss AI and the future of maintenance.

This evolution changes the very nature of the maintenance manager’s job. Instead of simply pulling reports, the manager now interacts with an intelligent system, asking sophisticated questions that move the department beyond reactive repair. This AI-CMMS partnership promises a proactive, insightful approach to facility and industrial upkeep. The real question becomes: what queries would a discerning maintenance manager pose to this new AI platform, specifically focusing on core internal operations such as assets, inventory, and workflow, rather than solely on predicting equipment failure?


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Filed under: AI CMMS, maintenance management, asset management — Stephen Brayton on Monday, December 01, 2025

November 26, 2025

20 Essential Questions to Ask Your CMMS Provider Before You Buy


A maintenance manager evaluating questions to ask a CMMS provider before choosing new software.You've reviewed your maintenance operations. While the strategy has performed well over the years, you've noticed changes that have accumulated to cause some concerns.

Increased costs. Increased numbers of unplanned downtime. Less productivity from workers. Disorganized stockroom.

To solve these and other problems, you've decided to invest in a computerized maintenance management system. There are many out there, many offering the same features. To make the correct decision, you need a lot of information.

The following is a list of twenty questions to ask a CMMS company before you decide to invest.

You might get some initial information from the company website. However, don't decide just from a website. Call the company, talk to a representative, discuss your company, its size, and the issues you're having in the maintenance department. Ask the following questions, note the answer given, then decide from there.


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Filed under: CMMS, CMMS provider, CMMS questions, computerized maintenance management system, — Stephen Brayton on Wednesday, November 26, 2025

November 24, 2025

From Reactive to Preventive Maintenance: A Practical Guide for Businesses


Various workers use a CMMS for preventive maintenance.Transitioning from reactive to preventive maintenance requires strategic planning, structured processes, and the right tools. Companies often start with reactive practices due to limited resources, but proactive management improves reliability, reduces downtime, and lowers long-term costs. This practical guide for businesses outlines practical steps for implementing preventive maintenance, highlights how a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) supports these initiatives, and provides industry-specific insights for effective execution.

Assess Current Maintenance Practices

A thorough evaluation of existing maintenance processes provides a foundation for change. Organizations should identify areas where reactive practices dominate and investigate the root causes of equipment failures. Critical assets, such as production machinery, energy systems, or transportation fleets, demand special attention because their failure disrupts operations across departments. Tracking breakdown frequencies, repair costs, and safety incidents highlights opportunities for preventive interventions.


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Filed under: preventive maintenance, reactive maintenance, CMMS, asset management — Stephen Brayton on Monday, November 24, 2025

November 19, 2025

How Repairable Spare Parts Improve Maintenance Efficiency


A technician improves overall operations by working on repairable spare parts.One of the main goals of a maintenance department is to reduce costs in both labor and materials. You have to have workers to accomplish the jobs, but you want efficiency and productivity in those tasks. On the other hand, you can control the cost of materials in numerous ways. This article discusses the benefits of having repairable spare parts and how they benefit productivity and efficiency.

What Are Repairable Spare Parts and Why Do They Matter?

Repairable spare parts refer to components or equipment that technicians or mechanics can restore or repair to a usable state. Instead of regularly discarding and replacing, these parts undergo repair or maintenance procedures to extend their lifecycle. This helps to reduce purchasing costs and also the need for excessive inventory. Examples of repairable spare parts include motors, pumps, valves, gears, and circuit boards.


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Filed under: repairable spare parts; spare parts management; maintenance efficiency — Stephen Brayton on Wednesday, November 19, 2025

November 17, 2025

How Artificial Intelligence Shapes Modern Maintenance Management


 Illustration of AI in CMMS powering predictive maintenance dashboards and maintenance analytics.Let's explore how artificial intelligence shapes modern maintenance management systems today and where it may lead. We'll trace AI’s technical evolution, describe common AI roles in software, then examine general ways AI augments a computer maintenance management system's capabilities. Then we'll look to future scenarios for maintenance systems.

A Short Technical History of AI for Maintenance and CMMS

Early AI research targeted logical reasoning and symbolic systems in the 1950s and 1960s, then shifted through cycles of hype and recalibration during the so-called AI winters of the 1970s and 1980s.


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Filed under: AI in CMMS, predictive maintenance, computerized maintenance management system — Stephen Brayton on Monday, November 17, 2025