Five Ways MPulse Can Help You Reduce Downtime
Reducing equipment downtime—and the corresponding loss of productivity—is one of the biggest benefits our CMMS users find with their MPulse software. The maintenance team is on the frontline when things aren’t working. And, when your organization’s equipment hasn’t been maintained properly, you’re going to experience more downtime. That translates into lost dollars and intense pressure on the maintenance team to get production running again. Here are five ways MPulse can help. #1: Develop or Strengthen a Preventive Maintenance Schedule When you use CMMS to schedule and track PMs, you’ll reduce emergency maintenance issues and unexpected production stoppages. This, in turn, cuts overtime costs for emergency repairs and reduces production losses. You can also schedule maintenance for off hours by tracking equipment use time. CMMS software generates a schedule of preventive maintenance tasks, making it simpler to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines. Properly maintained assets perform more efficiently, use less energy, and fail less often—extending their usable life. #2: Improve Inventory and Part Management MPulse allows you to control your stock based on need and availability. As a result, the right parts are on the shelf, yet you can minimize other parts that are used less frequently. MPulse can streamline reordering by determining current inventory levels and automatically generating purchase orders based on need. For example, if a critical part has a three-week lead time, you can adjust stocking levels to make sure it is available when your staff needs it. You also can use MPulse to control capital outlays by identifying unused or slow-moving parts to return to the vendor. #3: Determine If It’s Better to Repair or Replace CMMS software helps you capture key data and turn it into reliable information to help make cost-effective choices about asset management. MPulse can not only track 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 an asset instead of repairing it. With a little more information about operations, you can use that information to calculate the opportunity cost due to downtime. Comparing that to the estimated cost (and potential added productivity) of a new asset will tell you if it’s better to repair or replace. Plus, you’ll have the data to back up your decision. #4: Streamline Maintenance Workflows Automated communication tools in MPulse streamline the approval and assignment process with confirmations sent to requesters, managers, and technicians. In turn, status updates are automatically emailed to the appropriate people as the technician updates the work order. MPulse also can automatically filter maintenance requests based on your predetermined criteria, then quickly route them to the appropriate people for review and approval. That saves time and streamlines maintenance workflows for the whole team. #5: Make Information Easily Accessible Each work order in CMMS automatically records labor time, parts and inventory costs, asset history, and other key information. This information eliminates lost information, reducing confusion and errors. Plus, you’ll have detailed records of each vendor’s contact information, rates, and personnel in your CMMS database. You can track which vendors provide which goods and services as well as find out who is available for work. The less downtime you experience, the better. And the shorter duration of that downtime when it does happen, the better. Contact us to learn more about how MPulse can help your organization reduce downtime. Get Pricing!
Three Ways Your MPulse Account Manager Can Streamline Your Business
When it comes to maintenance, experience matters. That’s true with your technicians, and it’s true with managing your department as well. That’s why MPulse created our Dedicated Account Manager service. Our team’s experience and expert advice can save you a lot of time and money. Those two things are in short supply in maintenance departments these days. What’s a Dedicated Account Manager? A Dedicated Account Manager is your personal MPulse consultant. Their goal is to understand your business and your organization. Then they combine that detailed knowledge with their MPulse expertise to ensure your ongoing success. How Can My MPulse Account Manager Help Me? Maintenance professionals need to make the most of their time and budgets. Your MPulse Dedicated Account Manager can help with both. Here’s how. Expert Advice: Your MPulse Dedicated Account Manager can assist you with any MPulse problems, changes, enhancements, and questions. That includes simple things like revising work order fields and data, as well as complicated things like new requests for functionality. They can also help with configuring MPulse tools as your needs change, as well as assist with updates or upgrades to your MPulse CMMS. Scheduled Meetings: Participating customers have recurring, scheduled phone meetings with their MPulse Account Manager, where they can share any challenges and learn about new ways MPulse can support your team. These regular status meetings also monitor your ongoing priorities, making sure you’re on track to achieve your long-term goals. Fast Response Time: Our MPulse Dedicated Account Manager program comes with custom contact and case creation, including a dedicated support email and a direct number (during business hours). You’ll have a Service Level Agreement (SLA) for managed response times, including a 4-hour response upon submission of an open ticket, as well as 24-hour resolution or plan for resolution upon ticket submission. What Does the Service Include? MPulse Dedicated Account Manager services include… Custom contact and case creation Dedicated support email Direct number (during business hours) SLA for managed response times 4-hour response upon submission of open ticket, and 24-hour resolution or plan for resolution upon ticket submission Regular status meetings to monitor ongoing priorities Resolution of post‐implementation issues such as problems, changes, enhancements, and questions Consulting and help with specifications for new functionality requests Communication between your team and MPulse engineers when requests, issues, or questions arise Notification of software enhancements or repair MPulse Dedicated Account Manager can help your maintenance operations work more efficiently, so you’ll keep your team focusing on maintenance tasks—not software. Contact us today to find out how we can help you achieve maintenance success!
How to Set Up Customized Calendar Views in MPulse
Calendars are a huge part of the maintenance operations management field—from safety inspections to planned maintenance tasks to staff schedules. MPulse’s Calendar Management tool uses customized and filtered schedules to make sure your team knows what needs to be done, and by when. MPulse lets you create CMMS calendars for anything. There’s no limit to the number or type of calendar views you can have. MPulse Calendars can be customized and filtered. Drag-and-drop capability lets you reschedule in a flash, and you can view calendars by month, week, or day. Plus, MPulse Calendars work seamlessly with our maintenance work order and preventive maintenance tools. Let’s learn how. Step 1: Add a Calendar or Find an Existing Calendar MPulse makes it easy to find your calendars or create new ones. You can find the Calendar tab at the top of the screen on your Dashboard as soon as you log in. Start by choosing the Settings icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen. Step 2: Create or Edit Calendars You have several options to create, edit, manage your calendars. Choose the one you need from the right-hand corner of your screen. They include: Add Delete Edit Preview Information Step 3: Customize Your Calendar MPulse lets you create CMMS calendars for anything—work order due dates, preventive maintenance, warranty expiration, employees or vendors, task type, completion dates, and much more. Customize the fields to reflect what you want your calendar to show. When you’re done, click Save. Then click Preview to view your calendar. Step 4: View Your Calendars On the left-hand side of your screen, you’ll see a list of all your calendars in a collapsible window. Note that you can display one calendar or more than one at a time. View calendars by month, week, or day. Plus, there’s no limit to the number or type of calendar views. Note, you can drag and drop tasks right from your calendar view to reschedule. No need to go find the work order. You also can set up automated scheduling for tasks or meetings, as well as quickly add tasks and other deadlines on the fly. Visualizing your team’s week or month with a maintenance calendar gives you a really good idea about how to get high priority work done quickly, while making sure lower priority work doesn’t slip through the cracks. You’ll always see what’s coming up in your MPulse calendars, so your team is ready to go when the time is right. How could a calendar view in your CMMS software help your maintenance operations? Leave a comment or contact us.
How To Track Equipment History In MPulse
Organizations know that assets can easily cost more than they’re worth, particularly as they age. Your oldest equipment might be costing you the least amount of money in repairs—or the most—but you’ll only know if the data is there. MPulse captures a wealth of data on equipment history with every work order or scheduled preventive maintenance task. Here’s how. Step 1: Create or Edit an Asset In MPulse’s main dropdown menu, choose Capital Assets to either create or edit the asset. Pick the asset type: Equipment, Buildings, Grounds, Rooms, or Vehicles. If you’re creating a new record, click the + button in the top right-hand corner. If you’re editing an existing record, find the correct asset on the left, and then click the pencil icon in the top right-hand corner. Click on the checkmark icon in the top right-hand corner to save any changes or edits. Step 2: Fill Out Asset Details Next, you’ll want to either fill out or edit the general asset details in the asset record. On the General tab, you find all the critical fields. These are available and consistent with every asset. You can find meter readings on the Service tab. You also can link inventory items for the asset ahead of time on the Inventory tab. This information will automatically become part of a work order for this asset. Step 3: Create a Work Order You can create a work order directly from the asset record through the Procedures icon in the top right-hand corner. All the global fields from the asset record will follow through to the work order. The Meter readings and Inventory data will also follow through to the work order. With each work order or preventive maintenance task on an asset, you can capture a wealth of equipment history data that will accumulate over time. You’ll be able to report on that data using MPulse’s custom reports. (Click here for instructions.) MPulse can help your team gather the right data, as well as help your organization get the most out of its investments. As a result, you can make informed decisions about the condition of every asset, and whether it’s better to repair or replace it when the time comes. Have questions? We’re here to help. Contact us. [related-content]
Why You Should Set Maintenance Benchmarks
Maintenance benchmarks help you evaluate your team’s performance. They can help you answer the big questions, like “How effective is my organization’s maintenance strategy?” Using benchmarks, you can identify best practices that drive the metrics. How Do I Start Setting Maintenance Benchmarks? Firstly, you start by measuring your team’s metrics. Use your CMMS data to measure your team’s current key performance indicators (KPIs) and create a baseline. KPIs evaluate your success in the areas you care about, giving you a new level of insight on what’s going on in your department. If you’re not sure where to start, six maintenance KPIs that most MPulse customers find handy include… Planned Maintenance Percentage: The percentage of the total hours spent on PM maintenance activities over a specific period Preventative Maintenance Compliance (PMC): The percentage of scheduled PM tasks that get done in a specific time interval Mean Time to Repair (MTTR): The average time to evaluate and repair failed equipment Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF): The predicted time between failures of an asset during normal operation Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE): The percentage of manufacturing time that is truly productive Maintenance Backlog: The percentage of uncompleted tasks Make sure you dig deeper than the numbers—because processes, workflows, and other factors can affect these KPIs. As a result, you should understand how those numbers are calculated to make sure you’re making a fair comparison. Where Do I Find My Industry’s Benchmarks? Secondly, you evaluate your company’s performance by comparing your metrics and processes with those of other organizations. Start by researching your industry’s benchmarks to see how you’re performing and where you should look for improvements. You can find benchmarks from industry associations, maintenance journals, benchmark databases, and other sources. Additionally, use your professional network to find common benchmarks that your industry uses. Then, based on your team’s performance and the industry standards, use your benchmarks to determine realistic KPI goals for your organization. Also, create a reasonable timeline with goal-based milestones and efficiency goals. Over time, MPulse helps you pinpoint trends and determine what areas need more attention. You also can create benchmarks to measure current performance against historic performance or goals. Whatever you decide to measure, CMMS software gives you the tools you need to determine if your maintenance team is doing the right things to support or improve productivity—and if they’re doing those things correctly. This way you will be able to measure maintenance effectiveness. Need more information on creating maintenance benchmarks? Contact us. We’re here to help. [related-content]
Which CMMS Implementation Program Is Right For You?
Putting a CMMS/EAM solution in place can seem like a daunting task. As a result, we designed MPulse CMMS implementation services to accelerate your software implementation and reduce your ramp up time. MPulse combines business process consulting with software implementation and a custom-designed training curriculum. That minimizes disruptions and also helps you achieve a faster return on investment. CMMS Implementation: Guide to Making the Process a Success MPulse has implementation and training options for all experience levels, industries, and operational models. However, let’s start with our two most intensive implementation programs. MPulse Assured Implementation Program The MPulse Assured Implementation Program (AIP) is a software implementation program designed to be the essential guide to CMMS. It takes you from software purchase through successful implementation, without missing any critical steps along the way. Our most comprehensive program, AIP gets you through planning, data migration, installation, training, and “go-live” day. A Senior MPulse Engineer/Trainer guides you the whole way through. Next we provide tailored recommendations and follow-up so you can measure your progress against goals. Upon completion of the MPulse AIP, you’ll also have… A clear implementation plan A timeline with goal-based milestones and efficiency goals An MPulse database to support your implementation plan Training delivered to key users An implemented work order management system MPulse Multi-site Implementation Program The MPulse Multi-site Implementation Program (MSIP) is designed to take you from software purchase through successful implementation across two or more site locations, without missing any critical steps along the way. If you want to standardize your workflow processes and reporting across locations, this MPulse implementation program will get you there. Putting a CMMS/EAM solution in place across multiple locations hold unique challenges. As a result, MPulse MSIP gets you through planning, data migration, training, and “go-live” day on each site so your processes, reporting needs, data types, and data imports are the same at each location. Then, like with AIP, we provide tailored recommendations and follow-up so you can measure your progress against goals. Designed to accelerate your software implementation and reduce your ramp-up time, MPulse MSIP minimizes disruptions and also helps you achieve a faster return on investment. With either MPulse AIP or MPulse MSIP, you can rest assured because you’re following a comprehensive process to drive results. Above all, MPulse has a CMMS implementation service for you, whether you’ve got an experienced team spread across numerous locations or a small maintenance operation with a few employees. Want to know more? We’re here to help. Contact us.
Five Most Common Pitfalls in Labor Resource Management
Labor is a big part of any organization’s budget. Managing your employees and contractors provides a direct link between the people you depend on and the maintenance work that needs to get done. Yet costly HR pitfalls for small businesses and enterprise organizations alike can make labor resource management difficult. What is Labor Resource Management? Labor resource management refers to the process of distributing and managing the volume of work across your team. It starts by tracking all facets of employee records: status, skill level, billing rate, contact information, and more. In addition to basic information, organizations track employee attendance, illness records, work productivity, and overtime hours. Plus, you can match employees or vendors to the assets they maintain, and assign tasks accordingly. Let’s talk about five most common human resource management challenges in labor resource management. Staffing Levels Personnel management starts with appropriate staffing levels. Labor resource management helps you accurately estimate labor hours for tasks, making sure your staffing levels match the workload. 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. You also can automate schedules for both employees and contract workers, as well as eliminate lost information between shifts to reduce confusion and errors. Employee performance tracking helps you determine which employees are most efficient at which tasks, enabling managers to balance the workload. By tracking repair times, you can create benchmarks for your organization as well. Training Maintenance is a skilled profession, and training must be consistent to develop your team’s individual and group skill sets. As a result, a successful maintenance management program requires well-trained people and a system set up right to work with your company’s assets and business processes. Professional training services can markedly accelerate your success. Training is the fastest way to improve your maintenance team’s efficiency and get the best return on investment (ROI). Start by identifying the formal and informal job training needed, then schedule it accordingly. And don’t forget about training yourself as well. The payoff is far greater than the cost. Documentation As every maintenance professional knows, if it wasn’t documented, it didn’t happen. Labor resource management should track all facets of your employee records: status, skill level, billing rate, contact information, and more. That includes performance-related discussions with employees. MPulse customers can use our software to easily match employees or vendors to the assets they maintain, and assign tasks accordingly. In addition to basic information, you can track employee attendance, illness records, work productivity, and overtime hours in MPulse. Safety Maintenance teams are responsible for the safety of your entire organization, as well as their own safety. Additionally, maintenance professionals must quickly respond in an emergency, such as bad weather; unplanned breakdowns to a major facility asset, like an HVAC system; and smaller unplanned events. Workers often use equipment that, if not properly used, can result in accidents or health problems. Safety requires a comprehensive preventive maintenance plan to ensure manufacturers’ recommended maintenance tasks happen on time. All these safety issues require a lot of documentation, particularly for creating procedures and recording maintenance activities. Our customers use MPulse CMMS software to… Update safety procedures Document safety training Publish safety data as a reminder to employees Standardize checklists for scheduled inspections Create a paper trail showing preventive measures Detail emergency procedures in case of a natural disaster or other incident. Communication Employees should always understand what’s expected of them and what rules, policies, and regulations they must follow. Additionally, if your standards and rules change, employees should be informed and sign a document testifying to the fact that they understand these changes. That also goes for new safety standards, protocols, and regulations, particularly those that include the most current federal and state laws. Remember to update your employee handbook with all policies. That includes information on at-will employment, discrimination, harassment, leaves, drugs and alcohol, and background checks. In addition, be sure to obtain a signed acknowledgment of receipt and understanding forms for each employee. Handbooks also should be reviewed annually for changes in your practice. Take the long-range perspective of labor resource management, and you’ll reap the rewards. Have questions? Contact us. We’re here to help.
How to Set Up Scheduled Maintenance in MPulse
Scheduled maintenance, also called preventive maintenance, is performed to reduce the possibility of equipment or asset failure. Using CMMS software to schedule preventive maintenance is the easiest and fastest way to get these tasks done—and done on time. Preventive maintenance software will generate a schedule of PM tasks, making it simpler to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines. As a result, these schedules and inspections help spot issues before they occur. Preventive Maintenance Software Solutions and Features CMMS software enables you to schedule maintenance intervals based on time, operating hours, or part condition—triggering a work order just before the point when system inefficiencies or failures begin to occur. Use of preventive maintenance software ensures equipment is properly calibrated and lubricated when it needs to be. Properly maintained assets also perform more efficiently, use less energy, and fail less often—extending their usable life. How To Schedule Preventive Maintenance Work Orders in MPulse Step 1. Choose Maintenance Intervals If you want to use a meter-based schedule, you need to have a meter associated with the service section of the asset. If you want to create a time-based schedule, skip to Step 2. In this example, the asset is a vehicle and the meter is mileage. Choose the asset record on the equipment that you want to schedule preventive maintenance. Click on the Services tab. Set Anticipated Usage, Frequently Units, and Frequency Interval. Step 2. Connect Asset to Scheduled Maintenance Record Set up a scheduled maintenance record with Asset Assigned to Task, Personnel Assigned to Asset, and Inventory Assigned to Asset. Click on the Services tab. Step 3. Schedule Maintenance Click Time Based or Meter Based. Click the Edit button (pencil) in the top right corner. For a meter-based schedule, select the Asset and Asset Meter. Step 4. Choose Units Between Maintenance Select the Units between Maintenance. In the example, we used 3000 miles, which MPulse then calculates against the Current Meter Reading and Anticipated Usage, and then estimates the next due date. When a maintenance team establishes and regularly performs PM tasks that contribute to the upkeep of assets, an organization may be able to sidestep serious problems that arise as a result of neglect, as well as delay more expensive maintenance. Learn more about how MPulse can help you with scheduled maintenance. Contact us.
How to Build Custom Reports in MPulse
CMMS reports provide the insight you need to accurately assess how your department is functioning—and where you can make changes. Custom report tools and software give you easy access to the numbers you need to make important decisions. A custom project report can help you run your maintenance team, as well as measure and use key performance indicators (KPIs). MPulse 9 comes with over 300 pre-configured text and graphical reports, so often you can find what you’re looking for easily. However, sometimes you need to build highly customized reports. Here’s how to create and manage custom reports in MPulse. Step 1: What Type of Report Do You Need? MPulse makes it easy to build custom reports internally. Start by choosing Report Widgets from the main menu. In the top left corner, you can choose the type of report you need (financial, production, planning, etc.). That gives you a good starting point to build your custom report. You also can change the type of report in the Report Area field at the top right side. Add any custom information to the Description field. Check Add to Dashboard if you want the report to display on your personal dashboard. Step 2: Set Parameters Now it’s time to use MPulse’s custom report builder tools to design your report. You can use MPulse’s custom report designer tools to quickly produce status reports and documents giving details or summaries of your team’s maintenance work. In the Data Area section, you have several choices. Select the Graphic Report Type you want. Choose the Record Area and Field you want for the x-axis of your chart. Pick the Display Range and Display Sort. Enter the Calculated Area and Calculated Field you want for the y-axis of your chart. Choose the Summary of Calculated Field #1 for the type of summary data you want. If you want a second calculated field, click on Add Calculated Field (#2) and follow the same steps to set the parameters. Step 3: Choose Options Under Options, you can… Click Show data labels, if you want to display labels. Set the Access Type to control who can access or edit the report. Step 4: Save the Report Click the Save button at the top right corner of the screen. With MPulse Software’s CMMS solutions, you can create simple, easy-to-read graphic reports with just a few clicks. Our reporting features enable you to… Select from over 300 pre-configured text and graphical reports Easily build your own reports in the MPulse Report Builder Customize your reports or create graphical views Produce status reports and documents giving details or summaries of your team’s maintenance work Create benchmarks for your organization With solid data and easy-to-read reports, your organization can make good decisions based on hard evidence, which also will improve its ability to compete effectively and efficiently. Contact us to learn more.
Five Things To Consider When Purchasing a CMMS
Choosing computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) software can feel overwhelming. A little time thinking about “why” will go a long way towards successfully implementing CMMS software, whether it’s your first system or you’re a long-time user. So, we recommend spending a little time on answering these five questions first. #1: What Problem Am I Trying to Solve? When you purchase or upgrade CMMS software, you always have a problem, or a pain point, that you’re trying to solve. Usually, the catalysts for change fall into one of four pain points: Functional: A functional pain point occurs when an existing system isn’t delivering on a core maintenance-related function. Technological: A technological pain point occurs when the system you’re currently using is no longer a match for the way you need to conduct the management, execution, and tracking of maintenance. Organizational: Organizational pains are ones that “roll downhill” to you from other places in the organization. You inherit them from someone else who’s feeling pain and requires you to fix it. Scalability: Scalability pains are driven by organizational growth, which causes you to make system and process changes. It’s possible you will have more than one pain point too. The more specific you are about the problem, the easier it will be to find the right solution. #2: Who Will Be Affected by This Decision? The impact of your decisions will reach far beyond your immediate team, to a wide range of stakeholders. You should ask yourself how each one of these people is likely to be affected—and how they might react to the coming changes in systems or processes. Typically the people affected by this decision include.. Users IT Managers Senior Managers Procurement Finance Legal and Compliance Each one of these roles can have a huge influence on the success (or failure) of your maintenance management program. #3: How Will CMMS Software Help? Exactly how will a computerized maintenance management system benefit your organization? There’s no better way to determine if CMMS software is going to work for you than a software demo or trial. Although it may be tempting to skip this step because of the time commitment, it’s time and energy well spent to get the right software for you. Once you’ve identified three to five vendors in your price range, we recommend doing demos or trials with each one to get a good idea of the strengths and weaknesses. This type of hands-on testing often brings up questions that will help you refine your needs as you move towards finalizing pricing. You want to make the most of these software demos or trials, because they’ll likely be a big factor in your final decision. Here are our tips on making the most of software demos and trials… Include end users in each demo. They will have their own perspective as well as specific questions related to their needs. Write down a process script. Make sure you know what you want the vendor to cover before the demo occurs. Use scorecards. With the process script as your basis, use a scorecard to objectively compare different vendors. Debrief. Right after each demonstration, take the time to debrief with everyone who participated and make notes for things to research or ask the vendor. Don’t do too many. Too much of a good thing is still too much. Keep to your three-to-five limit. #4: How Much Will It Cost? Software prices vary significantly depending on your needs and the size of your operations. Typically, you’ll pay for the base software and then the number of licenses you need. Advanced features also will add to the cost. Start by asking sales reps to provide price-range estimates. The more specific you are about your needs, the more accurate those estimates will be. These price range estimates will tell you if their product is a good fit. Then you can move forward with the companies who sell software in your budget range. You can ask a sales rep to refine the pricing as you get more specific about your needs. The cost of CMMS software is more than just the price of the software itself. When you ask for a CMMS software quote, make sure it includes… Startup training Integration services Data migration from legacy systems Hosting Maintenance/support agreements Calculate the five-year total cost of ownership of all these things to get an accurate comparison. Typically, there are two ways to purchase CMMS software. Subscription pricing is also known as Software as a Service, or “SaaS.” When you opt for SaaS, you’re renting the software for a monthly or yearly fee. SaaS is a common option today—but it may not be the best one for you. #5: What Other Things Will I Need? Choosing a CMMS software vendor is twofold—you obviously want one that offers the right product, but it’s also vital to find the one who can help you get the software up and running. Even if the software is great, if you don’t know how to use it effectively, it’s like not having CMMS software at all. CMMS customization and integration with existing software present two big expenses. Implementation and ongoing maintenance have real costs as well. Make sure you factor in all of these expenses during the early stages of your CMMS deployment. As part of your evaluations, consider each vendor’s offerings for training, implementation, and support. You want to work with a company that can meet your needs today—and tomorrow. When you find the right CMMS software for your team, you’re on your way to creating an efficient and productive maintenance department that can cope with the constant change of modern maintenance. And that’s the bigger goal of every maintenance manager, whether they work for a small business, a government agency, or a large enterprise. Have questions? Contact us. We’re here to help.