March 21, 2018

Checklists Within a CMMS

(This article originally appeared in Engineering Maintenance Solutions Magazine)

Checklists are an invaluable feature to have within a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS).

This feature enables workers to be more organized and keep more complete records on repairs. Checklists can be tied to a variety of items within a CMMS, such as a piece of equipment, a location, a preventive maintenance task, or a work order.

What makes checklists such a beneficial feature?

February 21, 2018

CMMS Raises Efficiencies for Yeast Maker

(This article originally appeared in Efficient Plant Magazine)

Red Star Yeast Co. LLC is a joint business venture of Lesaffre Yeast Corp. and Archer Daniels Midland. Since its opening in 2005, Red Star’s Cedar Rapids, IA, facility has become the largest manufacturer of fresh yeast product in North America.

December 20, 2017

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

"Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the block
Not a programmer was coding, not even Brock.
The stockings were hung on Emily’s desk at reception,
In hopes of St. Nick’s eventual inception.

The support team was nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of work orders danced in their heads.
Aaron in his office and Joel in his workspace,
Were spending the night, to keep MAPCON's pace.

When in still night there arose such a clatter,
Joel sprang from his chair to see what was the matter.
He threw open the door and gasped at the sight,
Just outside, he saw reindeer in flight.

July 25, 2017

Common CMMS Myths

There are a lot of reasons why you might be hesitant to pull the trigger and purchase a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS). By addressing a few common myths about CMMS, I hope to put your mind at ease!

It’s too expensive. When shopping for a CMMS, you need to make sure to do your research and some price comparisons. Companies such as Mapcon Technologies, Inc. offer free data conversion from certain systems, thus decreasing your up-front costs. Additionally, you can customize your system and pick which add-on modules you need, instead of paying for things you may not use. Also, unlike most other CMMS companies, Mapcon does not charge per user. We charge per person logged in at one time. Lastly, a CMMS will likely save your company money over time by helping to decrease machine downtime and costly emergency repairs.

June 21, 2017

Maintaining Your HVAC System

Picture this: It’s mid-August and the heat index is easily over 100 degrees. You can’t even walk to your car without breaking a sweat. The air is so thick with humidity, you feel like you could cut through it with a knife. As you walk into work, sweat beads forming on your forehead, you look forward to the refreshing chill provided by the AC unit in your facility. Now imagine that unit is broken. It’s not a pretty sight, is it? So, how can you avoid this awful situation?

May 16, 2017

Keeping Machines Running

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2017 issue of Biofuels International Magazine

When it comes to keeping an ethanol plant up and running, automation is key. When most people think of ‘automation’, they probably think of machine automation. But there are quite a few different types of automation which can be beneficial to ethanol plants. One of the most useful types is the automation of reports and processes. A system scheduler within a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) can be an invaluable tool when it comes to automating processes and reports. Being able to set up a time and day for preventive maintenance work orders to be created and reports to run also helps free up maintenance technicians’ time, so they can spend it doing other things instead of being a slave to their computer.

The main thing ethanol plants use MAPCON’s system scheduler for is to automate the release of preventive maintenance (PM) work orders. Releasing preventive maintenance orders on a regular basis is an important part of keeping machines running and thus decreasing costly downtime. The system scheduler allows administrators to set up a date for all of the PMs to be turned into work orders, which can then be emailed to the appropriate person. They can also be sent to the person’s mobile device and will appear in their mobile CMMS application. If needed, the admin can print the PM work orders and assign them accordingly. Many plants choose to run this process at the beginning of each week, so workers know what repairs they have to get done for the week.

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.

April 28, 2017

Why Your CMMS Should Include Barcoding

Inventory control is an important part of any operation, but keeping track of your assets and tools can be a time consuming and difficult feat. That’s why many computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS), such as MAPCON, offer barcoding as an optional add-on feature. How can a CMMS with barcoding help you?

You can create barcode labels. MAPCON’s barcode module allows users to create their own custom labels, which can be used for employees, equipment, and tools. The labels can include a few different things, such as the employee or equipment name, a description, and a QR code. They can even be created to include the company logo.

March 20, 2017

Mine Business Intelligence from Your CMMS

(This article appeared in the March 2017 issue of Maintenance Technology - Now Efficient Plant Magazine.)

Business Intelligence (or BI) analysis is crucial to any company’s growth. BI is the use of software to analyze a company’s raw data. Analyzing data by the use of reporting and analytics can assist with crucial business decisions. In the maintenance world, a CMMS is a vital part of obtaining this data.

1. Inventory Auditing. In the maintenance world, it’s important to know how many parts are needed and when they need to be reordered. By running an inventory usage report within a CMMS, operators can find out exactly how many of each part was used over a specific amount of time. Once that information is gathered, a minimum number, or reorder point, of parts can be established to trigger automatic reorder to be approved and sent to the vendor. This will help ensure stock-outs are no longer a problem, which will also prevent downtime and save the company money.

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March 13, 2017

March Madness with MAPCON

It’s that time of year again – time for March Madness! As people are trading bracket tips, I can’t help but wonder how a CMMS could assist with this process. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could pull up a CMMS, such as MAPCON and run reports on all your favorite teams? You could use the reports to make educated bracket decisions, and maybe even beat your coworkers for once! Here’s how I think a CMMS could assist with bracket decisions.

Inventory Management. In a maintenance department, inventory management is always a high priority. It is critical to have the necessary parts on hand for when repairs are needed. The same can be said for a basketball team. Players and coaches always need to make sure they have the needed equipment and that it is up-to-par. No one wants a deflate-gate scandal to hit college basketball! So, in this case, a CMMS can be used fundamentally to make sure teams have the equipment they need to make sure practice goes off without a hitch. MAPCON even allows users to set a minimum number required, and once that amount is reached, a purchase requisition for the needed equipment is automatically created and a notification can be sent to the team manager to reorder equipment.