Short for computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), CMMS is the best tool for maintenance teams to track, record, and monitor maintenance.

CMMS software, also called maintenance software, is designed specifically for maintenance. It automates many workflows often performed manually by maintenance technicians and managers.

Maintenance and inspection schedules generated from CMMS reports help spot issues before they occur. Regular servicing also ensures equipment is properly calibrated and lubricated.

For example, maintenance software can help with…

  • Tracking work orders
  • Scheduling preventive and corrective maintenance tasks
  • Capturing and analyzing data
  • Managing service requests
  • Documenting asset information and history
  • Managing inventory and parts
  • Controlling the costs of maintenance
  • Automating safety and regulatory compliance reporting

What Can CMMS Do for My Organization?

The biggest benefit of maintenance software for any organization is improved efficiency and productivity. That’s because it streamlines tedious paperwork, communication, data gathering, reporting, and other tasks. This information also eliminates lost information between shifts, reducing confusion and errors.

But that’s just the beginning. CMMS also helps with these five organizational challenges:

  1. Equipment Downtime and Emergency Repairs: When you use CMMS software to schedule and track PMs, you’ll reduce emergency maintenance issues and unexpected production stoppages. This in turn cuts overtime costs for emergency repairs. You also can schedule maintenance for off hours by tracking equipment use time, which increases response satisfaction.
  2. Equipment Life Cycle and Replacement Forecasting: Maintenance data also helps organizations make effective replace or repair decisions. Maintenance software can track not only the age of the equipment, but the miles, hours, life-to-date repair dollars, and many other metrics—helping you decide when it becomes cheaper to replace it instead of repair it.
  3. Parts and Inventory Management: CMMS software’s ability to manage your parts inventory prevents under-stocking and over-stocking and streamlines reordering. It can also help automate cyclical inventory counts.
  4. Manufacturing Scrap and Rework: In manufacturing industries, CMMS software helps reduce scrap and rework by keeping equipment operating efficiently, reducing emergency production breakdowns, and avoiding catastrophic material losses.
  5. Labor Costs: CMMS software helps you accurately estimate labor hours for preventive maintenance tasks, making sure your staffing levels match the workload, and decreasing overtime costs. This type of labor cost analysis can determine when it’s more efficient to add more staff members instead of paying your current employees more overtime.