Month: November 2019

Stakeholders to Include in the CMMS Buying Process

Posted: 11/26/2019

Executive in suit sitting at a table talking with another person about a proposal, representing CMMS stakeholders discussing a CMMS project

Maintenance is a team effort. The success (or failure) of a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) affects numerous departments and employees across the organization. Therefore, it is important to select a CMMS that will meet everyone’s needs. A strong CMMS implementation team comprised of key stakeholders provides additional and different viewpoints, opinions, experience, and suggestions to the buying process. This article provides an overview of which stakeholders in the CMMS buying process to consider.

Get to Know your CMMS Stakeholders

CMMS stakeholders are individuals, groups, or organizations impacted by the outcome of a project – in this case, the purchase and implementation of a CMMS. Depending on the organization, there can be multiple individual stakeholders or stakeholder groups.

For each stakeholder to include in the CMMS buying process listed below, think about the role they play in maintenance management, how they will be impacted by the CMMS, and why they need to be involved in the purchase decision. Note that the scope of this article covers a broad range of roles and responsibilities. The mix of stakeholders is unique to each organization, and not every organization will have each stakeholder role.

Maintenance Managers

Maintenance managers are responsible for the upkeep of assets, as well as using monetary and human resources responsibly. They must be able to handle maintenance planning, purchasing, personnel, inventories, technical problems, and budgets. Their job primarily consists of planning and organizing actions to resolve maintenance problems.

Maintenance managers have many concerns. First, they want to make sure their team has adequate “wrench time” and is not spending too much time on a computer navigating cumbersome software. Second, they want a system that will make their job easier by automating many administrative tasks related to data entry, planning, scheduling, and tracking maintenance activities. Lastly, maintenance managers want to be able to demonstrate that their maintenance program is making a difference by being able to generate reports that show improvements.

Maintenance Planners

Larger organizations have maintenance planners who should be included in the CMMS buying process as well. The planner creates the maintenance plans that the maintenance technicians carry out. This includes scheduling, prioritizing maintenance jobs, and determining when parts need to be ordered. The planner might also put maintenance kits together than include instructions, owner’s manuals, and parts needed to complete specific jobs. This role takes some of the stress off the plate of the maintenance manager, who can focus on delegating tasks, supervising work, and approving work order completion.

Maintenance planners need a system that will help them anticipate demand for maintenance, whether the work is scheduled or unplanned. A CMMS must provide planners with a holistic view of maintenance operations, including assets, parts and materials, labor resources, and vendors and suppliers. The maintenance planner also needs a way to manage important asset documentation and prepare maintenance reports.

Maintenance Technicians

Maintenance technicians have the hands-on role in an organization’s maintenance work. They are one of the primary resources in maintenance management and much of the maintenance budget is allocated to them. Maintenance technicians perform a variety of tasks to install, troubleshoot, repair, and maintain facility equipment, as well as respond to maintenance requests. They are also responsible for documenting the maintenance work they perform, including what tasks were accomplished, what parts and tools we used, and how long they spent on the job.

This group can be the most difficult to get on board when it comes to using CMMS software because it affects their daily routines most. CMMS and maintenance technicians will operate closely together. They want to know if it will be easy or frustrating to use. Because technology is not a focus of their everyday lives, technicians want to be sure that the selected CMMS will make their jobs easier without consuming too much of their time. A CMMS requires that technicians work in a new way, which may cause discomfort. Therefore, adequate training will be vital for adoption of and success with the system.

Executives

Executives oversee the operations and resources of the company, or specific departments in order to drive overall growth. Individuals in senior management positions commonly hold titles that include Chief (i.e., Chief Executive Officer), President (i.e., President, Vice President) or Director (i.e., Director of Manufacturing). Senior managers are responsible for taking the actions necessary to hit organizational goals. This involves making strategic decisions based on information they receive from their departments, plants, or locations.

As approvers of large expenditures, executives should champion the project to the organization and commit to providing the necessary resources. Since senior management is “footing the bill”, they are most interested in the ROI of the CMMS system. They want to see how the CMMS will fit into the big picture and impact the organization in a positive way. Managers of other systems want to be sure it is compatible with the organization’s other software such as purchasing.

They want to know that the system will be used because they are providing the resources for the system. Senior management seeks to ensure activities are performed in a standardized way and receive information from their plants in a standardized format.

Facility, Operations, and Plant Managers

Facility, operations, or plant managers are usually an assistant to the organization’s president, general manager, or CEO. They oversee the logistics of many departments and in many areas, from purchase orders to maintenance management to production. They often supervise job sites and production areas, and mitigate problems as needed when employees require assistance.

Each of these roles is involved in the process because of their prior experience with business process automation software. They will interact with the system through service requests. Using the system will affect how they communicate with the maintenance team, asset availability, and maintenance scheduling (knowing when maintenance has been scheduled), along with compliance. They need to make sure maintenance processes are being followed and documented. Facility and operation managers are not concerned with the specific CMMS system that is chosen as long as it allows the maintenance team to provide them with the information they need.

IT Management

The IT department is responsible for overseeing, implementing, managing, and maintaining the company’s information technology, infrastructure, and configuration functions. They also research strategies and solutions to deliver cost-effective and efficient information system. In addition, their department manages software licenses and company data, administers databases, and provides technical support to the organization.

This department is a stakeholder in the acquisition of a CMMS because they are responsible for ensuring that the hardware and software infrastructure is adequate for installing and maintaining the CMMS. The IT manager ensures that resources representing business interests are involved in the process, and the appropriate methodology of the department is adopted. They make it a priority to find out what they need to do to run the software, and want to know if the CMMS system chosen will meet technical requirements. The IT department wants to make sure the software’s technology is future-proof.

Accounting

The accounting department manages all of the money that goes into and out of the organization. From creating invoices and making sure they get paid to balancing corporate bank accounts to managing payroll. Accounting keeps the organization financially sound. This team has insight into the organization’s budget. Aside from the maintenance budget, accountants will be able to work with controllers to help determine how much of the total funds can be allocated to the CMMS implementation process. This includes not only the purchase price of the software, but implementation, training, and ongoing costs as well.

The accounting department is responsible for communicating the organization’s overall budget, but in this case, the budget for the CMMS purchase. While the budget is not set in stone, they will participate in an exploratory process of collecting prices from vendors. Maintenance management provides these prices to the accounting department, and they determine which vendors will fit into the budget plan.

Accounts receivable clerks and purchasing agents want to know how the CMMS will tie in to purchase orders for products. Their concerns are related to inventory management, purchasing, and paying for inventory. They would like to be able to provide quotes and invoices directly from the CMMS system.

Controllers

The role of the controller in purchasing CMMS software is similar to the accountant, but more focused. They usually report to a CFO and are responsible for the organization’s budget. Controllers ensure that funding is available for capital purchases, such as CMMS software, and that funding gets approved. They are able to pinpoint any potential obstacles or areas that might lead to excess costs that fall outside of the budget.

The cost controller in a manufacturing environment measures actual performance against target costs, determining whether or not this goal is being achieved. The person in this role wants to know the positive and negative effects of a CMMS on costs. He is also interested in the potential ROI the system will bring, and if the CMMS can help to lower production costs by improving asset uptime.

FTMaintenance Meets the Needs of Every Stakeholder

FasTrak SoftWorks, Inc., provider of FTMaintenance CMMS, has been providing automation software to industrial companies for over 30 years. Based on our extensive experience, we understand the needs of all CMMS stakeholders, from maintenance technicians to corporate executives. FTMaintenance provides a complete maintenance management platform that satisfies the needs of all maintenance stakeholders. Request a demo to learn more about how FTMaintenance can help your organization.

How Maintenance Practices Have Changed | History of Maintenance

Posted: 11/11/2019

Historically, maintenance has been viewed as a necessary evil that, while valuable, costs the company money. Although some organizations may still hold this idea to be true, many companies today regard maintenance as an essential part of business operations that has an impact on the bottom line. What accounts for the change in thinking? To find our answer, let’s take a quick look at the history of maintenance.

The First Industrial Revolution

Artist depiction of a steam-powered pump

An illustration of a steam-powered pump likely used during the first industrial revolution.

Near the end of the 18th century, the first Industrial Revolution was just beginning to take shape in the United Kingdom and across Europe, and later made its way to the United States. Steam power started being used for production, and machines were gradually replacing human labor in manufacturing and agriculture.

Overall, the machinery of the time was tough, had basic controls, and was fairly reliable. Also, production demands were not as great as they are today, so avoiding downtime was not a critical concern. Factories employed a “use it until it breaks” mentality and focused largely on corrective maintenance, which was performed primarily by machine operators. Machines that could not be fixed were replaced.

The Second Industrial Revolution

The Second Industrial Revolution started in the United States during the mid-to-late 19th century. During this period, new discoveries and innovations drove manufacturing forward. The discovery of electricity meant that factories could stay open longer and electricity-driven machines could produce products at a much larger scale.

Factories continued to replace people with machines, and Henry Ford’s assembly line further strengthened mass production. Maintenance teams became slightly more proactive and used a basic time-based maintenance (TBM) strategy which involved replacing parts at specific time intervals, whether it was needed or not.

Once the Great Depression hit in the early 20th century, little money was available to replace machines. Maintenance became a more specialized skill set as employees learned how to fix and repair what was broken. At the same time, machine operators were directed to push equipment to its limits, resulting in frequent failures and high maintenance costs. Unfortunately, rising costs were typically blamed on the maintenance team.

War Production and World War II

In 1939, conflict was spreading throughout Europe and Asia, setting the stage for World War II. Factories in the United States were being converted from producing consumer goods to producing war materials to support Great Britain and other American allies.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt set aggressive goals to out-produce and overwhelm the Axis Powers. As millions of Americans entered the military, their positions in the workforce were taken by millions of women, minorities, and other citizens.

Besides becoming combat pilots, many women started working for military support services, including aircraft maintenance. As the needs to maintain and fix military vehicles and manufacturing equipment became a priority, maintenance started to become an independent function.

The United States Department of War even recruited skilled mechanics and technicians from machine manufacturers, such as John Deere, to serve as a military maintenance units that kept combat equipment in working order.

Aftermath of World War II

Following World War II, war production converted back to domestic goods as soldiers returned home from the battlefields. The strong, post-war economy kicked off the baby boom in the United States, and thriving markets became more competitive. To stay ahead of their rivals, manufacturers sought to increase their production which meant that maintenance costs would also grow if nothing changed. In response, factories began to put more effort into preventive maintenance activities.

Meanwhile, the industrial rebuilding of Japan gave birth to the concept of total productive maintenance (TPM), where small groups of workers were responsible for performing routine maintenance on their own machines to keep the equipment in top operating order.

In the 1960’s, high airplane crash rates caused the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and United Airlines to investigate the effectiveness of preventive maintenance practices in the airline industry. This investigation debunked long-held beliefs that assets and components had a set “lifetime” before they had to be replaced. Under what was called reliability-centered maintenance (RCM), more focus was placed on understanding and prioritizing asset failure and developing plans to better manage those failures. RCM concepts were soon adopted by other asset-intensive industries and large corporations that required maximum uptime.

The Third Industrial Revolution

programmable logic conrtollers (PLC) in a rack

PLCs automated production during the third industrial revolution.

The rise of electronics in the second half of the 20th century launched a new era of industrial automation. Production processes became more automated thanks to programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and robots. Employee safety became a maintenance concern as highly-performing equipment brought about more risk for accidents. Punch card-based computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) were used in large companies to remind technicians to perform simple maintenance tasks. Later, technicians fill out paper forms, which were then handed to data-entry clerks to type into mainframe computers to track maintenance work for each asset.

Building on the concepts of RCM, maintenance strategies in the 1990’s began using the concept of risk when making maintenance decisions. Risk-based maintenance (RBM) seeked to optimize maintenance resources by prioritizing the risk of failure, with high-risk assets being subject to more intensive maintenance programs.

The early ‘90’s also saw the expansion of personal computing, which made CMMS solutions more affordable for medium-sized companies. Microsoft Access® and Excel®-based maintenance management became common. Although many companies still rely on these systems, there are more powerful options available today.

Into the 2000’s

Advancements in computing and information technologies into the 2000’s further impacted the way maintenance was performed and managed. CMMS systems could now be hosted on the cloud and accessed over the internet.

Low-cost, Software as a Service (SaaS) subscriptions and minimal IT requirements made cloud-based CMMS attractive to, and more affordable for, small businesses. Improved wireless and mobile technology made it possible for organizations to access their CMMS from internet-connected smart phones, tablets, and laptop computers.

The continued growth and application of internet technologies in recent years allows world-class organizations to implement advanced maintenance strategies such as condition-based maintenance (CbM) and predictive maintenance (PdM). With these strategies, internet-connected sensors are used to monitor asset conditions such as vibration, temperature, noise, and pressure, and predict when failure is about to occur. CMMS software continues to be improved to support these advanced maintenance strategies.

Keep Up with Changing Maintenance Practices with FTMaintenance

The history of maintenance evolved drastically over times and continues to change today. No matter what maintenance strategies you use, it is important to have a system in place to help you manage maintenance activities and provide value to your organization.

FTMaintenance is a feature-rich, easy-to-use platform that allows you to easily document, manage, and track maintenance activities. With a full suite of tools for managing work orders, assets, inventory, preventive maintenance, and more, FTMaintenance CMMS software will help you improve your current maintenance operations and prepare for the road ahead. Request a demo to see FTMaintenance in action!

How to Recover from CMMS Implementation Failure

Posted: 11/7/2019

keyboard-close up-wrench-grayscale-implementation-failure

Learning from Failure

Like people, businesses make mistakes. Even large, multi-national corporations are not insulated from the occasional misstep. For instance, in the mid-1980’s The Coca-Cola Company reformulated the recipe of their signature soft drink and released New Coke®, a beverage that was met with widespread backlash.

Though the product launch was considered a failure at the time, New Coke revealed how deeply attached customers were to the original formula (later re-released as Coca-Cola Classic®), ultimately strengthening the Coco-Cola brand. Today, The Coca-Cola Company remains one of the largest beverage companies in the world!

The moral of the story for those struggling to implement a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) is that not all failures are bad. Just because your implementation isn’t going as planned – or has outright failed – doesn’t mean all is lost. CMMS implementation failure can be a learning experience that leads to future success.

In this article, we present some ideas to help get your implementation back on track. If you are implementing a CMMS for the first time, this article may help you avoid some of the pitfalls of CMMS implementation.

Factors That Jeopardize CMMS Implementation

Any good CMMS implementation project will have well-defined goals. The most obvious sign that implementation is starting to fail is when tasks aren’t being completed and deadlines are being missed. The following are a few other indicators that implementation failure may be on the horizon. Note that these may be identified before or during the implementation process:

  • You didn’t set any goals for the CMMS and therefore do not know when implementation is complete
  • You are spending more time, effort, and money than originally planned
  • Employees are not using the system
  • The software wasn’t customized to match or improve your business processes

How to Recover from CMMS Implementation Failure

Software implementation failure is costly, not only in terms of financial investment, but also in the amount of time and effort that has been spent on the project. Also lost is the value that the CMMS would have provided. However, we grow stronger from our mistakes. Rescuing a failed implementation won’t be easy, but it can be done. Here are six ways that will help you make your CMMS implementation recovery a success.

Read Blog Article: So You Purchased a CMMS – Now What?

Analyze What Went Wrong

As painful as it might be, admitting mistakes and identifying what went wrong are the keys to fixing your implementation. The goal is to remain objective and be honest about the events that took place while avoiding finger pointing or playing the blame game. If you don’t get to the heart of why implementation stalled, you’ll never be able to move on.

Many times, there is more than one reason why implementation failed. Did the software not work as expected? Did employees refuse to adapt to new processes? Were the right resources not in place to help support implementation? There may be underlying issues that must be solved in order for implementation to be a success. For example, a CMMS vendor cannot change employees’ attitudes or levels of commitment.

Extend the Timeline

Due to a sense of urgency, it is common for organizations to try to implement a CMMS as quickly as possible. Without proper planning and organization, this approach almost always dooms the project. Tasks that are rushed suffer in quality, may be skipped altogether, or cause people to compromise their efforts just to meet a deadline. Try this instead – extend your timeline and try to set more realistic expectations for task completion. Based on your experience of when things failed, you should have a better idea of how much time to devote to tasks this time around. Extending the project timeline also relieves some of the pressure created by working under tight deadlines.

Pace Yourself

Sometimes, people tend to bite off more than they can chew. That is, organizations try to solve too many problems at once and end up struggling to accomplish anything at all. Implementation failure is an opportunity to establish smaller, achievable goals. Although it may take a little longer, breaking up your implementation efforts into smaller, “bite-sized” pieces will help others focus and deliver higher-quality results.

Train End Users

Employees can be reluctant to incorporate a CMMS into their daily workflow. Training your staff on maintenance processes and providing CMMS user training can help you overcome barriers to system usage. Training sessions also provide you with an opportunity to educate staff on the value of the new CMMS to the business and to them individually.

Read Blog Article: How to Increase CMMS User Adoption

Make the CMMS Central to How You Do Maintenance

Often, CMMS implementations fail because employees simply aren’t using it. In these situations, you can compel staff to use the system by making it a central piece of your operations. For example, if the CMMS is required to process maintenance requests, technicians must use the system to complete the related work orders. If jobs go unaddressed, you’ll surely hear about it from requesters. Once technicians start using the software, they will quickly realize how easy it truly is.

Get Assistance

An important aspect of successful CMMS implementation is having the right team in place. Try to recruit internal staff that has previous software implementation experience or skills and knowledge you may be lacking. If internal resources aren’t available, many vendors offer CMMS consulting services. Consultants can help you develop a re-implementation plan, troubleshoot why your previous attempt failed, and help you set goals.

If All Else Fails…

Unfortunately, not all CMMS implementation failures can be salvaged, even with good communication and a full team effort. In rare cases, the best course of action is to start the process over with a new CMMS. While it may seem like a setback at first, starting fresh may enable you to avoid or solve many of the underlying issues that lead to failure in the first place.

Avoid CMMS Implementation Failure with Assistance from FasTrak

Implementation failure doesn’t have to be the death of the CMMS project. It is possible to achieve all of your original maintenance management goals, but you may need to make a few tweaks here and there.

At FasTrak, we offer project management services to ensure that your FTMaintenance implementation goes smoothly. Our consulting staff prides itself on knowing the ins and outs of FTMaintenance maintenance management software, the maintenance management industry, and maintenance operations. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you prevent implementation failure.

How to Create a Vendor List for CMMS Research

Posted: 11/7/2019

A maintenance professional searching for CMMS vendors on a laptop.

We all select service providers on a regular basis, whether it’s a plumber, phone service provider, car repair shop, insurance agent, or another service. In most cases, these choices are low risk because it’s relatively easy for us to switch if we’re unhappy. In a business setting, however, it is often more difficult to change vendors because the selection and implementation process can be lengthy – and costly!

Investing in a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) involves more than just purchasing a piece of software – you’ll also build a long-term relationship with the software provider. Therefore, you must select your CMMS product and vendor carefully. Going through a formal selection process will increase your chances of choosing the best vendor for your needs.

By this point, hopefully you’ve formed your evaluation team and documented your organization’s maintenance management needs. If so, read on the learn how to create a vendor list. If not, read our blog article about who to include in the buying process.

Where to Find CMMS Software Vendors

A range of vendors offer a variety of CMMS products. While some are designed as general purpose tools, others meet specialized maintenance management needs. For instance, some products are best suited for fleet management while facilities managers will find other CMMS products that better fit their needs.

The fact that you’re reading this article probably means that you’ve already started looking for a CMMS solution. Here at FasTrak, we pride ourselves on providing high-quality maintenance management software, FTMaintenance, that’s supported by superior customer service. Go ahead and add us to your list. You can also use the following sources to further build your CMMS vendor list.

Word of Mouth

Your coworkers may have used maintenance management software in the past. Talk to them about what products and vendors they have worked with, what their experience was like, and what they would recommend.

Online Communities

Message boards, forums, and online discussion groups can be a great way to discover CMMS vendors. CMMS users are often ready and willing to talk about their experiences and offer advice.

General Search Engines

Search engines, like GoogleTM or BingTM, are often the starting place for many potential CMMS buyers. These general search engines provide you with hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of results in an instant and can be a great way to find vendors. That said, because there are so many results, you won’t be able to realistically view them all. Additionally, search engine results pages also contain irrelevant links, paid advertisements, images and videos, page previews, and other distracting information. It’s not long before all of this excess information becomes overwhelming or slows you down.

B2B Search Engines

Business-to-business (B2B) search engines are more refined than their all-purpose counterparts. These industry-focused search engines provide a more tailored experience that cuts out a lot of the distractions and unnecessary search results. Instead, you’ll find vendor listings, product overviews, reviews, case studies, and other useful vendor information.

Industry Conferences

Maintenance management software vendors may attend related industry conferences and conventions, hoping to find prospective clients. Event coordinators usually provide attendees with vendor lists and maps of the fair. If you have the chance to attend such events, take the opportunity to learn more about vendors directly from their staff.

Trade Publications

Valuable CMMS information can often be found in trade publications, whether in print or online. Amongst their other content are articles focusing on CMMS vendors, CMMS case studies, or lists of vendors. Online versions of trade publications may also dedicate sections of their sites to CMMS software, including vendor comparisons.

Buyer’s Guides

Industry trade publications, service providers, and review sites publish buyer’s guides that provide information about CMMS features, market trends, and more. Buyer’s guides typically feature CMMS vendors or provide an entire list of vendor names.

Software Advisory Services

Software advisory services like Software Advice handle a lot of the legwork for you. After a brief interview, they provide you with personalized software recommendations. If you’d like to do further research, you can look at vendor listings, reviews from real users, images and videos, and more.

Consultants

Organizations may work with consultants to help them identify the best CMMS software for their business. Consultants may be former employees who know the ins and outs of the business, someone with a wealth of industry experience who is brought in to assist with the project, or an external business analyst. Like software advisory services, software consultants do much of the information-gathering tasks and provide management with a list of CMMS vendors to consider.

How Many Vendors to Include on Your Preliminary List

During your search, you will quickly find that there are more CMMS vendors available than you can realistically review. If you already know your biggest maintenance management needs, you’ll be able to quickly weed out those vendors that won’t be a good fit. We recommend that your preliminary list contains a maximum of 5 vendors. Any more than this may be too difficult to manage.

Narrowing the List Further

As you continue researching the vendors from your preliminary list, some frontrunners should emerge. During this phase, be sure to take advantage of software demonstrations and free trials. Your goal is to narrow your list down to a small number of choices, one of which will become your final choice or recommendation to upper management.

Even after you’ve made your decision, it is important to maintain your top vendors list. Your unselected finalists will become alternatives in the event that your recommendation is not accepted or something goes wrong with the selected vendor.

Read Blog Article: What to Expect from a CMMS Software Demonstration

Achieve Your Maintenance Management Goals with FTMaintenance

CMMS vendor selection can be a lengthy process, especially for always-busy maintenance managers, but it doesn’t have to be. As long as you follow a logical process, you’ll find a great vendor who can help you achieve your maintenance management goals. FTMaintenance meets the unique needs of maintenance professionals in any industry. Robust CMMS features make it easy to manage, document, track, and report on maintenance activities. Contact us to find out how FTMaintenance can improve your maintenance operations.

Understanding the Cost of Unplanned Production Downtime

Posted: 11/7/2019

Rear view of maintenance workers in a control room looking at a computer monitor trying to understand the cause of unplanned production downtime

When equipment unexpectedly fails in a manufacturing environment, maintenance staff is immediately placed “on the spot.” Equipment failure creates unplanned downtime where production completely stops. Although achieving zero unplanned downtime is nearly impossible, reducing unplanned downtime is a top objective for a maintenance department. Because unplanned downtime impacts the entire organization, understanding the true cost of downtime will help the organization make better business decisions.

Factors that Impact the Cost of Unplanned Downtime

80% of companies experience unplanned downtime each year. According to research conducted by Aberdeen, the average cost of unplanned downtime in large corporations per hour is $260,000! The average equipment outage time is as long as 4 hours. With such large dollar amounts at stake, there needs to be a way for companies to significantly reduce unplanned downtime.

Unplanned downtime affects more than the loss of direct production from machines. Organizations must take into account the costly effects of unplanned downtime on the maintenance department, production, sales, employees, and other areas. When added together, the cost of downtime is considerable.

Cost of Downtime Factors Explained

  • Increased maintenance department costs – When equipment unexpectedly breaks down, maintenance staff have to respond immediately. This forces the maintenance department to rearrange priorities. Preventive maintenance plans often suffer in this process, which results in an increase in future equipment failures and more downtime.
  • Employees affected by downtime – It’s not only maintenance employees who are affected by downtime. Production staff who cannot perform their jobs because equipment is down still need to be paid or they will lose work hours. A serious breakdown may require additional staff to be scheduled, overtime to be paid, or outside help from a vendor or specialist.
  • Fixed organization costs – The fixed cost to maintain the organization and production infrastructure continue to mount even when no product is produced.
  • Lost revenue – Your entire organization is impacted when no or reduced revenue is made while a machine is down. The more hours the machine is down, the more significant this impact becomes. Money made on each part or product after production costs is reduced significantly.

Intangible Costs of Unplanned Downtime

The total cost of unplanned downtime goes beyond numbers the loss of production which can be easily calculated. Other factors include loss of credibility and reputation with customers, stress on employees, and lack of process improvement.

The loss of credibility and reputation with customers occurs when the organization fails to deliver products on time. When customers no longer believe in the company, they will look elsewhere for products to fulfill their needs. Stress comes from employees worrying about how to make up for the unplanned downtime, which can lead to rash decisions and easily avoidable mistakes. When the team is worried about putting out fires, it leaves little time to improve maintenance processes. While these things are not easily measured in exact numbers, they can increase the total cost of downtime.

What Organizations Do to Reduce Unplanned Downtime

There are a number of ways organizations strive to reduce downtime. These strategies include:

These things can be done more quickly and accurately when supported by CMMS software.

Reduce Unplanned Downtime with a CMMS

One way to reduce unplanned downtime is through CMMS software. A CMMS assists you with creating a preventive maintenance program, as well as implementing and documenting preventive maintenance activities. Supporting an efficient, rigorous preventive maintenance plan to meet today’s industry standards may not be possible without a CMMS.

Using a CMMS to manage MRO inventory assures parts are on hand when a breakdown does occur so that the equipment can be repaired as soon as possible. There are also ways to measure equipment performance, providing clues as to when to perform preventive maintenance, which also reduces downtime and extends asset life.

FTMaintenance Helps You Reduce Unplanned Downtime

FTMaintenance is industry-leading CMMS software that will help your organization reduce unplanned downtime. You can schedule preventive maintenance tasks ahead of time directly in the CMMS, choosing daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal, or any other frequency. In addition to focusing on preventive maintenance, you can also inventory and assets, and generate maintenance reports. Request a demo today to learn more about how FTMaintenance can help you reduce downtime on your critical assets.

Do You Need Implementation Assistance? 7 Questions to Ask

Posted: 11/5/2019

keyboard-help button-red-implementation-assistance

Do You Need CMMS Implementation Assistance?

Implementing a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) can be a challenging process, especially for first-time users. While some organizations possess the experience, skills, and resources necessary to implement a CMMS on their own, many do not. Deciding whether or not to utilize a vendor’s CMMS implementation services should become clear by asking yourself the following questions:

Where is Your Existing Maintenance Data?

Whether you currently use maintenance management software or manually track maintenance activities, your data will need to make it into your new CMMS. If you are transitioning from an obsolete computerized system, populating data is a bit easier. Some CMMS solutions allows you to export your maintenance data on your own, or at the very least, your current vendor can send you a backup of your database.

In the case of on-premise maintenance software, your IT department should have backups of your maintenance data. Then, using vendor-provided import tools or services, your asset lists, inventory lists, and other information can be transferred into the new system.

If you cannot retrieve your data or are transitioning from manual maintenance methods to a CMMS, data entry will require a little more time and effort. This is where a vendor’s data entry or data importation services come in handy.

Vendors can extract data from your old database or maintenance spreadsheet and import or enter it into the new system. In the worst case scenario, you can use your existing records as a guide when entering data manually.

Read Blog Post: Transitioning from Manual Maintenance Methods to a CMMS

Do Any Employees Have Implementation Experience?

Because it’s not a regularly occurring event, most organizations don’t hire employees with software implementation in mind. Therefore, most employees will not have the experience necessary to understand and effectively manage the CMMS implementation process. It’s also fairly unreasonable to expect current employees to get up to speed quickly enough to ensure a timely, smooth rollout. Using a tried-and-true process, vendors can help you create a solid implementation plan and avoid common pitfalls that put the project at risk.

Does Your Team Possess the Skills to Carry Out a Successful Implementation?

More often than not, in-house teams simply lack the skills needed to fully implement a solution. Ideally, your implementation team will consist of an IT resource, a qualified project manager, and someone with experience with integrating technology into business processes.

Employees might be relatively tech savvy, but may not know how to migrate and clean databases, for example. If there are no in-house technical experts, as is usually the case with many small businesses, it is recommended that you take advantage of a vendor’s implementation services.

Are Internal Resources Available to Help with Implementation?

CMMS implementation can be a big project, but rarely justifies hiring full-time employees or contractors to assist. Instead, organizations normally choose to rely on the staff they already have. While IT departments likely have the expertise and skills to perform many implementation activities, they may be dealing with project backlog or other high-priority projects.

Other skilled and experienced employees may also be too busy on other tasks to help. In these situations, it’s best to receive assistance from your CMMS vendor, who is dedicated to helping you achieve a successful implementation.

Did You Budget for Implementation Assistance?

Not including implementation costs in your project cost estimate is a crucial mistake. Organizations that try to cut costs by attempting to implement a new CMMS on their own often spend more time, money, and effort trying to correct mistakes. Getting expert help right from the start will ensure that implementation is done right the first time and stays within budget. When speaking with vendors, be sure to ask whether implementation services are included with purchase or if they are quoted separately in order to budget correctly.

When is Your “Go Live” Date?

An important question to ask yourself is how quickly does the system need to be functional and how soon do you want to see a return on investment? If you are in a hurry to implement a CMMS, vendor assistance will maximize the resources available to meet the “go live” date. A vendor’s knowledge of the product and industry can save you a lot of time and money.

Facilities with a longer time frame (6-12 months) have the benefit of a slower paced implementation, and can take their time preparing data lists, auditing assets and inventory, and getting feedback from maintenance stakeholders.

Is There a Dedicated Project Manager?

If there is no go-to person who is focused on implementation, employees are likely to become complacent and expect that someone else will get things done. When this happens, implementation is delayed, deadlines are missed, and ultimately, the project fails. Appointing a project manager will ensure things get done on time. At the very least, you should designate someone as the go-between between you and your CMMS vendor.

Take Advantage of FTMaintenance Implementation Services

By now, you’ve probably realized that there is a lot to consider when implementing maintenance management software. Organizations that cut corners during implementation or go it alone often end up overwhelmed, over budget, and unsuccessful. At FasTrak, we are committed to your success.That’s why we offer complimentary FTMaintenance implementation services to our customers.

These services are designed to guide you through key stages of your implementation to get your software running quickly. We also offer a range of professional services designed to help you get the most out of your FTMaintenance experience. Contact us today to learn more about the implementation assistance we provide.

12 Tips for Improving Your Preventive Maintenance Plan

Posted: 11/1/2019

Maintenance technician performing preventive maintenance on a rooftop unit.

Preventive maintenance (PM) is one of the foundations for a well-run maintenance program. While many maintenance departments have procedures in place, there always room to improve a preventive maintenance plan. Continuous improvement leads to growth, so you should always look for ways to make your current processes better. If you are looking to take your maintenance operations to the next level, follow these 12 tips for improving your preventive maintenance plan from our computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) experts.

Tips for your Assets

1. Make a comprehensive list of all assets the maintenance team is responsible for maintaining.

This can be a good place to start—in order to improve preventive maintenance through better planned maintenance of vital assets, you need to know where and what all of them are. This list should include all the specifications and maintenance instructions of every asset, from the HVAC system to essential production line equipment, buildings, vehicles, and property. Many CMMS systems have an asset hierarchy capability, in which you can link various parts to their assets, assets to their locations, and more.

2. Assess all of your assets.

This assessment should include the condition of the equipment, repair history, total hours of operation, downtime, and estimated life expectancy. There are a handful of questions you can ask to carry out a complete assessment of your equipment:

  • What does it take to maintain your equipment? (e.g., tools, parts, labor resources, and costs)
  • Is it cheaper to replace older models than to continue performing maintenance on them?
  • Does the cost of downtime outweigh the cost of replacing the asset?
  • Do any of your existing assets pose a safety hazard?
  • Does your current equipment meet all organizational goals?
  • Do you have the parts inventory to service machines quickly?

3. Listen to your assets.

In an ideal world, you would perform the same preventive maintenance tasks on each asset at regular intervals without any need for variations. Of course, the world of maintenance is far from ideal, so it’s important to listen for noises (and look for signs) that suggest your assets need some additional TLC. For instance, are bearings squeaking from dirty lubricants as a result of excessive wear? Are motors noisy from machine overload? Is there water dripping from pumps?

If any of these are occurring, perform the necessary repairs sooner rather than later, and adjust your upcoming preventive maintenance schedule accordingly. While the repairs themselves fall outside of planned preventive maintenance, staying on top of these minor unplanned preventive maintenance tasks will minimize production downtime or conflicts in your preventive maintenance schedule.

4. Develop standards for measuring performance and improving efficiency.

This can be accomplished through analyzing maintenance reports, determining what benchmarks need to be set, and setting clear expectations for your machine performance and your people. You can use a number of asset management Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to make decisions to improve upon your preventive maintenance plan.

For more information on getting starting with preventive maintenance, read Create a Preventive Maintenance Program in 8 Easy Steps

Tips for your People

5. Assess your maintenance team.

When trying to improve any type of process, you need to know where everyone on your team stands. Here are a handful of questions you can ask to determine what changes you may need to make within your team to improve your preventive maintenance plan.

  • Are all of your maintenance team members qualified to perform your preventive maintenance tasks on all assets?
  • Will improving your preventive maintenance plan require any help from third party services?
  • Do you have adequate resources to keep up with preventive maintenance or do you need to hire additional team members?
  • Do you have backup resources in the event of an injury or leave of absence, so that crucial PM jobs don’t get missed or delayed?
  • Who is responsible for which assets?
  • How are staff members held accountable for ensuring PM deadlines are met?

6. Involve stakeholders.

Ask key CMMS stakeholders for  input on how well your current CMMS software is meeting the organization’s needs (if applicable). Reports can be used to compare and contrast various metrics related to preventive maintenance over time. When other stakeholders are involved, you are more likely to receive budgetary support you may need to obtain additional resources to improve upon your PM plan.

7. Create a checklist to use with every PM job.

These can be distributed to your team via printed documents, email, or included in the attachments area of your CMMS. Checklists can be as general or specific as you like. Since every asset requires different PM, you can create a general list with blank fields to fill out for each asset, or create a customized list for each type of asset. When expectations are clearly laid out, it makes it easier to stay organized and ensure standards are met.

Tips for your Workflow

8. Measure the percentage of preventive maintenance tasks completed on time.

It is essential to track metrics and performance in order to improve your preventive maintenance plan. Doing so allows you to focus on setting goals like to achieve (if you’re not satisfied with the current level of PM compliance), and leads to further analysis of data that would reveal what is preventing tasks from being completed on time.

9. Do not perform unnecessary preventive maintenance.

Focus on eliminating tasks that do not add value. According to Reliable Plant, 30% of preventive maintenance tasks organizations carry out do not add value to production. Examples of these tasks include duplicate jobs, tasks done too frequently, and jobs that should be conditioned-based instead. When you determine what those are for your team, you can take them out of your maintenance schedule.

10. Create maintenance kits to complete preventive maintenance jobs more efficiently.

Kits are tools and supplies that can be bundled together to carry out a specific task. For example, you might create a kit with a the appropriate type and amount of motor oil, rag, funnel, drip pan, and owner’s manual to perform an oil change. Having these kits ready means that a maintenance technician can “grab and go”, rather than searching the stockroom and gathering all these supplies.

11. Create and maintain a centralized database to schedule and track preventive maintenance tasks.

This is much easier to do with a CMMS. A CMMS stores all types of maintenance information, including asset specifications, maintenance work order history, tasks lists, attachments such as owner’s manuals, vendor contact information, inventory, and more. It is essential to have the support of a software system to facilitate the best preventive maintenance plan possible.

12. Look for areas of improvement after the plan has been implemented, review the plan periodically, and make changes where necessary.

This last tip ties all of them together. After implementing changes, you should continually evaluate your improved preventive maintenance plan and continue to make changes as your maintenance management needs evolve.

Improve your Preventive Maintenance Program with FTMaintenance

FTMaintenance is designed to help you improve your preventive maintenance program. If you’re currently tracking your preventive maintenance activities via pen and paper, spreadsheets, or emails, our CMMS will make everything much easier for you. You can employ flexible scheduling in the CMMS, including either date or run-time based PMs and receive automatic notifications in advance of due dates. Request a demo today to learn more about how FTMaintenance can help you improve your preventive maintenance plan.