How Integrating Your MPulse CMMS/EAM and Accounting System Can Improve Financial Visibility
During a recent site visit with an MPulse customer, I had lunch with a group of the company’s maintenance techs. Their boss wasn’t around, so it was a great time to get their honest, uncensored opinions on almost any subject. I asked them a question that seems simple, but reveals a lot: “What’s your least favorite part of the job?” Their answer will not surprise you. Manual data entry ranked #1 for least favorite task. I confess, data entry would be high on my list, and I bet it would be on your list too. Data entry isn’t just tedious. Your entire organization risks its financial viability when it relies on error-prone, manual data entry. As a business owner, I’ve experienced first-hand how eliminating manual data entry frees up time and reduces errors that cost my company money. The solution? Software integration. Benefits of CMMS/EAM and Financial Application Integration For the maintenance department, integrating your MPulse Software, Inc and your company’s accounting system offers two major benefits: Increasing financial visibility Decreasing time-consuming, error-prone, manual data entry. How? Integrating your MPulse CMMS software and your financial application of choice keeps both applications in sync so users can be confident they are working with accurate and current information. Best Practices for CMMS/EAM and Financial Application Integration Here’s a typical scenario. As new Inventory Items and Purchase Requisitions are entered in MPulse, that information flows automatically to the accounting system in a timely fashion. Then as transactions related to those records are created in the accounting system, they are synced back to MPulse to update relevant information and provide financial history for the Inventory Item or Purchase Requisition. Imagine… up-to-date information right at your fingertips whenever you need it. Nice, huh? Right now you may be grumbling about the time and cost to do that kind of integration. Not long ago, you would be right. But today’s maintenance manager has advanced tools like MPulse DataLink Integration Adapter to significantly reduce data sharing complexity. Now there’s a lot of different ways to integrate your MPulse CMMS software and your financial application. So we’ve published Integration Best Practices to pass on the valuable information we’ve learned about data integration from first-hand experience. It’s a great resource for any maintenance manager thinking about streamlining maintenance workflows. How could data integration between your CMMS software and your accounting system help your organization? Leave a comment or contact us.
Why Scalability Is So Important in CMMS Software
Adapting to change is the mantra of a modern maintenance operation. But sometimes it’s hard to see the changes coming. Such was the case for Scott, a maintenance manager with a relatively small company, where he supervises 10 technicians. His company bought a new business, and they planned to expand their operations—and their maintenance team. “I had no idea this was coming,” Scott told me. “But now I’ll have more than double the maintenance staff. It feels a little overwhelming.” Your Maintenance Needs Change When your organization grows, maintenance feels the impact. Suddenly you’ve got more equipment to maintain, additional production to support, new staff members to manage, extra inventory to store, and different safety procedures to perform. Scott bought MPulse Software, Inc about three years ago, but what he needed then was very different from what he needs today. His company’s expansion means Scott needs to manage and track more in his same 8-hour shift. That’s makes his maintenance data even more important. Scott and I reviewed his changing needs, and we came up with a plan to implement some CMMS software upgrades to enhance his ability to track and manage the sudden growth. He was pleased to discover how easy and cost effective it was to add on to his MPulse CMMS software without having to start from scratch. How? Software scalability. Your CMMS Software Needs Change Too Scalability simply means Scott’s MPulse Software, Inc can accommodate changes in size or volume as his needs change. In addition to adding user licenses for new employees, Scott also added MPulse Role-Based Access Control so the right people have the right access to the right records. And it doesn’t stop there. Scott knows his company has big plans for further expansions, and he believes down the road he’ll need more advanced features like Request Approval Routing Manager. Plus, he’s researching the benefits of MPulse Enterprise Management Suite to connect his MPulse databases when his company opens new locations. “It’s a relief to know I’ve got great options with MPulse as our company’s growth continues,” he said. Scalability Makes Sense From a business standpoint, software scalability is cost effective because you can buy what you need when you need it. Things change. You can’t predict these changes, yet CMMS software scalability ensures you are prepared when they happen. As a business owner, software scalability simply makes sense. It’s what I would want, and I believe our maintenance customers want it too. When your small company becomes a large enterprise, like Scott’s organization, MPulse Software, Inc is there to support your growth. Learn more about how CMMS software scalability can help your organization. We’re just a phone call away.
Prepare for Emergencies and Natural Disasters with CMMS Software
Maintenance is about reducing risk. Your maintenance team is responsible for decreasing the risk of equipment failure, employee injury, compliance audit issues, and so much more. When you’re a maintenance worker, you’re a first responder when things go wrong. Prepare for emergencies with CMMS. This point hit home for me after talking with Gary, an MPulse customer and maintenance director for a large manufacturing company with several locations across the United States. One of those facilities had experienced a natural disaster—a flood. His team had less than 24 hours to batten down the hatches and secure the site for record rainfall. “You never think it’s going to happen to you,” he told me. “We were lucky to have a little prep time, because usually you don’t. And I realized what we’ve been preparing for all along.” CMMS Software Can Help You Prepare It shouldn’t take a flood to remind us how important it is to prepare for emergencies and natural disasters. Luckily, maintenance teams have a crucial tool in CMMS software. CMMS software can help you… Create an emergency plan with checklists Define the roles and responsibilities of each staff person Ensure safety measures are in place Manage resources, supplies, and personnel Store documents and other information, including details for insurance purposes Identify where things are located, including emergency supplies Access information remotely. It’s impossible to completely remove risk from an organization, but the combination of CMMS software and an emergency plan is the best way to prepare for when things go wrong. Recovery is Important Too In Gary’s case, his team knew what to do before the storm hit, and they likely prevented more damage. Plus, their MPulse CMMS data was vital during the recovery period—helping the team get things up and running much faster. “We had our emergency inspection checklists in the software, so our team hit the ground running,” Gary said. “Plus, we had all the vendor details and part information right at our fingertips, which helped us get the damaged equipment fixed much faster.” Unfortunately, some of the company’s equipment was damaged beyond repair. Gary pulled data from his CMMS software to help with the company’s insurance claims. When the company replaced the damaged equipment, Gary’s team set up asset records right away in their MPulse Software, Inc. “We want to protect our investments,” Gary said. “Plus, now we understand how those small things make a big difference when things go wrong.” It shouldn’t take an emergency to realize the importance of proactive planning. Don’t wait for a disaster to strike. CMMS software can help you reduce your risk when speed is of the essence. Plus, you can give yourself an advantage during recovery with the safe storage of critical information. How has your organization used CMMS software for emergency preparation? Leave a comment or contact us. We can all learn from Gary—and each other.
Improve Your Workplace’s Health and Safety with CMMS Software
Maintenance teams can improve workplace safety with CMMS. It’s very likely your organization has to follow safety protocols from numerous organizations or regulatory agencies. Beyond those legal requirements, however, maintenance managers are responsible for creating a safe work environment for all employees—whether they work in the maintenance department or not. Maintenance work affects the entire organization—whether it’s on a production line or in a building. That’s a lot of responsibility. And maintenance technicians often work in environments that can be hazardous. Regular Maintenance Maven readers will remember our friend Troy, who was facing an OSHA investigation after a workplace accident. Vic, another MPulse customer, reminded me there’s a lot more to workplace safety than OSHA regulations. “OSHA documentation is important, Steve,” said Vic, a facilities manager for a large university. “But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. My team is responsible for their own safety on the job, but they also contribute to the safety of our building occupants and visitors. We’re constantly on alert.” How to Improve Workplace Safety with CMMS Safety in the workplace requires a lot of documentation, particularly for creating procedures and recording maintenance activities. And, I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: there’s nothing better at documenting those tasks than CMMS software. Vic agrees. “We’ve had some staff changes here, but the transition has gone more smoothly than I thought it would,” he said. “That’s because my team spent the time to thoroughly document our maintenance procedures. So when someone else needs to do the task next, they have custom checklists, resources like repair and preventative maintenance manuals, asset history, and safety procedures right there with the work order.” And best of all, much of that documentation is automated. Once it’s set up, your maintenance team is ready to go. “The biggest advantage I’ve found with our MPulse Software, Inc is the automated alerts,” Vic told me. “I know when our safety inspections are due. I can see who has had what safety training, and what certifications are going to expire. Plus, I don’t even have to remember to look for the information—the reminder pops up exactly when I need it.” How CMMS Helps Improve Workplace Safety Vic’s maintenance team uses 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. “We are definitely scheduling and tracking our maintenance and safety-related tasks and information, including those tasks required by law,” Vic said. “But it’s not just about protecting ourselves in an audit. It’s in our best interest to be proactive about our employees’ health and safety.” I couldn’t agree more. Contact us with your questions about maintenance’s role in workplace health and safety. Or get a free trial.
How CMMS Software Helps You Document Maintenance Activities
If you are a maintenance veteran who has watched our field change over the years, you likely remember a time when the maintenance department was largely invisible. Your phone number was on speed dial, but what your team did seemed somewhat mysterious to other departments. That’s no longer the case for many maintenance managers. Our modern maintenance environment brings new challenges, including the need to consistently document maintenance activities and be more transparent to our end users. As my friend and MPulse customer, Andy, said, “Today’s maintenance team works in a culture of accountability. Now our maintenance tasks are tracked, and every department is expected to demonstrate their value.” From accounting to compliance and from human resources to purchasing, your phone now rings with more than repair requests. Those calls are asking for detailed, accurate information about what’s impacting productivity, profitability, performance, and operations. Automate Maintenance Documentation Today’s maintenance manager must constantly gather and report on maintenance information for managers and other departments. That takes time. And time is usually in short supply around the maintenance department. The answer? Automate your maintenance documentation with CMMS software. [related-content] One of CMMS software’s biggest advantages is that you can document everything related to maintenance in one system. It starts with the work order, which automatically records labor time, parts and inventory costs, asset history, and other key information with each task your maintenance team completes. This CMMS data grows over time, offering a wealth of information at your fingertips. It doesn’t get easier than that. Create Maintenance Reports Once you’ve automated maintenance data collection, you can use that data in multiple ways. CMMS software reporting tools enable maintenance managers to quickly produce status reports and documents giving details, graphs, or summaries of maintenance work. Examples of the maintenance activities you can document and report on with CMMS software include… Labor costs, including overtime and/or outsourced work Inventory turnover and costs Inspection schedules Warranty documentation Purchasing and vendor information Compliance procedures Quality assurance tasks Regulatory audit support. “Our MPulse Software, Inc has changed the way I do my job,” Andy told me. “Instead of each information request making me feel like I’m responding to a fire drill, our CMMS software can create custom reports in minutes with a few keystrokes. No more pouring over Excel spreadsheets or searching through stacks of paperwork.” Just as CMMS software makes your maintenance team more efficient at their jobs, it helps maintenance managers report more effectively on what their team is doing. That’s increasingly helpful in today’s workplace where the maintenance team is often asked to do more with limited resources. How could you use CMMS software to document your team’s maintenance activities? Contact us.
Prevent Breakdowns from Impacting Your Production Line with CMMS Software
Those of us who have been around the maintenance profession for a decade or two have seen some interesting changes. Increased competition, new technology, changing expectations… it’s a brave new world for a modern maintenance operation. Breakdowns can impact your production line. Prevent breakdowns with CMMS. I recently visited a new MPulse customer, Wayne, who is a maintenance manager for a local manufacturing company. He’s worked his way up in his organization and now manages a team of 10 maintenance techs who keep the company’s 24/7 production line running smoothly. Wayne is on the younger end of middle age, and he’s seen his organization change a lot over the past decade or so. He told me, “Steve, maintenance used to be seen as an expense on balance sheet. But management recently realized that we influence our company’s profitability too.” What does that mean? Maintenance directly impacts a company’s ability to keep the production line running smoothly—and the income that comes with it. A manufacturer’s maintenance team affects production capacity and product quality, which are two of the most important aspects of a company’s profitability. The Role of Maintenance on the Production Line Maintenance can improve the productivity of a manufacturing company in three major ways: Minimizing downtime and emergency repairs Improving equipment life cycle and replacement forecasting Reducing manufacturing scrap and rework. The key to realizing these benefits? Investing in your maintenance crew and in tools like CMMS software to keep your equipment running smoothly. “Our maintenance team doesn’t just fix broken equipment,” Wayne explained. “We provide support and service that is the basis for our entire operation.” The Benefits of CMMS Software for Production Line Maintenance As Wayne’s managers realized the importance of maintenance, they started focusing on key areas where they could improve. The biggest one was investing in CMMS software. Preventing breakdowns with CMMS saves time and frustration later on. Today Wayne’s maintenance team uses MPulse CMMS software to generate maintenance and inspection schedules. With this information, technicians can spot issues before they occur. Regular services also ensure equipment is properly calibrated or lubricated. The benefits don’t stop there. Properly maintained assets perform more efficiently, use less energy, and fail less often—extending their usable life. CMMS software also helps reduce scrap and rework by reducing emergency production breakdowns and avoiding catastrophic material losses. “Now our managers understand maintenance is essential in our competitive business environment to control production losses, product defects, and equipment downtime,” Wayne explained. “And this attitude has trickled down to my team, who now are feeling a greater sense of pride in their contributions to the company.” Personally, I’m excited that Wayne’s company—and so many other manufacturers—are realizing how important their maintenance team is. This type of recognition is long overdue. How has your organization used CMMS software to manage a production line? Leave a comment or contact us.
CMMS Software and 21 CFR 11 Compliance, Part 1: What You Need to Know
Today I got a phone call from an MPulse customer, Eric, who is a maintenance manager at a biotech company. He’s planning a maintenance software upgrade, and he had a good question: “Steve, I’ve got a coworker telling me our CMMS solution needs to be 21 CFR 11 compliant. Is MPulse Software certified for 21 CFR 11?” That’s a great question, but the answer isn’t simply “Yes” or “No.” What is Title 21 CFR, Part 11? If you work in the pharmaceutical, medical device, biotech, or related industry, Title 21 CFR Part 11 is a major part of your operations. The name refers to the part of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations that establishes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations on electronic records and electronic signatures—defining the criteria under which electronic records and electronic signatures are considered trustworthy, reliable, and equivalent to paper records. Naturally, 21 CFR 11 compliance is closely tied to software. And in the maintenance department, that software is—of course—CMMS software. Can CMMS Software Be 21 CFR 11 Certified? Eric’s question, however, relates to a common misconception about software and compliance. To be Title 21 CFR 11 compliant, Eric’s organization must show it has… Procedural controls Administrative controls Technical controls. Now a software vendor can provide the technical elements of a 21 CFR 11 compliant system, which MPulse Software factors—procedural and administrative controls—relate to the organization’s process, not the tool. So the answer to Eric’s question is MPulse Software provides the technical elements of a compliant system. However, we do not claim compliance as the bulk of compliance is related to the use of the tools, not the tools themselves. As such, there is no recognized certification process for software developers. Just like you cannot buy a 21 CFR 11 compliant socket wrench, you cannot buy 21 CFR 11 compliant software. It’s an important distinction that is sometimes not fully understood. However, CMMS software is the best tool for maintenance departments to achieve the technical controls for 21 CFR 11 compliance as well as other regulatory certifications like ISO or HIPAA or Sarbanes-Oxley. Learn more about the tools you need for CMMS and CFR 11 compliance. Or contact MPulse with questions. We have the answers you need.
Infographic: How to Calculate the Return on Your CMMS Investment
When our MPulse team talks with maintenance managers who are researching CMMS software, we get a lot of similar questions, such as… How can we use CMMS to reduce our company’s equipment downtime? How can CMMS help me control my costs of maintenance? How does CMMS save us money? How can we use CMMS to make our maintenance team more productive? How can CMMS software help us manage our parts and inventory? Although the questions are different, these maintenance managers are looking for the same thing—their return on investment (ROI) for purchasing CMMS software. CMMS Software is an Investment ROI measures the amount of return on an investment relative to the investment’s cost. And I believe CMMS software is an investment. Organizations want to see the return on their money. Also, like most successful investments, CMMS benefits compound over time. As your maintenance data becomes more comprehensive, your organization becomes more efficient and the return on investment climbs. Use Your Maintenance Data Effectively CMMS software helps your employees use maintenance data more effectively. Organizations can improve their maintenance processes and reduce costs through these five major areas: Labor costs through improved efficiencies Parts and inventory management Equipment downtime and emergency repairs Equipment life cycle and replacement forecasting Manufacturing scrap and rework It’s a great way to see the different components of CMMS ROI and how they can affect your maintenance operation. This quote from H. James Harrington on the infographic sums it up nicely: “Measurement is the first step that leads to control and eventually to improvement. If you can’t measure something, you can’t understand it. If you can’t understand it, you can’t control it. If you can’t control it, you can’t improve it.” That’s maintenance software in a nutshell. CMMS software helps you measure the productivity of your operations, which gives you a deeper understanding of your maintenance processes, and therefore the ability to improve them where necessary. Have questions? Want to talk about the ROI of MPulse Software, Inc? We’re here. Give us a call.
Find Labor Cost Savings with CMMS Data
Maintenance managers know unexpected tasks pop up. These days, those unexpected tasks come not just from the plant floor or the field, but from the management team. A long-time MPulse customer, Glen, experienced this phenomenon when his managers asked him to analyze the labor costs for his maintenance team of ten people. His company’s accounting folks had noticed the maintenance team’s overtime costs were steadily increasing over time. “I was surprised when they showed me the numbers,” Glen told me. “Overtime pay was increasing so slowly, I didn’t notice how much extra time my team was putting in. It simply became part of our work week because it had to get done.” CMMS Software Has the Answers One of CMMS data’s most powerful benefits is maintenance managers can answer questions they never dreamed they’d need to ask when they starting using the software. That flexibility is invaluable in our ever-changing, modern maintenance world. CMMS software helps maintenance managers accurately estimate labor hours for both repair and preventive maintenance (PM) tasks, so they can balance staffing levels and the workload as well as reduce overtime costs. CMMS reports also can determine when it’s more efficient to add more staff members instead of paying current employees more overtime. Using his CMMS data, Glen charted out the time his maintenance techs spent on jobs. The data was clear—each team member was averaging 3‒4 overtime hours per week. With a little information from human resources, he calculated his company could save about 40% of their current overtime costs by hiring another full-time maintenance technician. Gold Mine of Maintenance Data Glen never imagined he would need this kind of data when he implemented his MPulse Software, Inc. But the steady collection of maintenance data over time meant it was available when he needed it. And his data’s value will keep growing with every work order or parts purchase. Interestingly, Glen didn’t stop with that first analysis. He also used his CMMS data to determine which employees were most efficient at which tasks, enabling him to balance the workload. By tracking repair times, he also created benchmarks for the team. Then he identified areas where his team needed more training or when it might be more efficient to outsource the repair. “I was sitting on a gold mine,” Glen told me. “All this fantastic information was in my maintenance software, and all I needed to do was ask the right questions.” Start mining your own CMMS gold. Contact us to get started.
Give Your Organization a Competitive Edge with Maintenance Management Software
Recently I had a meeting with Ted, a long-time MPulse user and maintenance manager for a medium-sized manufacturing company. Like so many others, Ted’s organization recently found itself fighting for market share as the competition lowered their prices—forcing his company to do the same. Ted’s bosses started looking at every expense to keep the company competitive. Maintenance teams get a lot of questions when company officials look at costs because they keep the organization’s major assets running—production equipment in Ted’s case—which is a big line item on a balance sheet. As they looked for ways to save money, Ted’s bosses wanted hard data on maintenance costs and asset productivity. Management Asks Tough Questions While Ted’s managers understood that cutting back on maintenance can be counterproductive, they also needed to see the dollars were spent wisely. Ted’s management team began looking closely at maintenance staffing levels and overtime costs. They wanted to know when it was more cost effective to repair an asset or replace it. They asked questions about the biggest repair parts expenditures and wanted ideas to improve inventory control management. This phenomenon is increasingly common in the maintenance world. It’s called data-driven management, which means decisions are made based on reliable data, instead of perceptions or assumptions. CMMS Provides Solid Answers CMMS software is the best tool for gathering, analyzing, and reporting on maintenance data. In just minutes, Ted created reports using his MPulse CMMS data to show how his department was functioning and where they might make changes to improve. Because Ted’s managers could see the numbers in front of them, the changes they made helped the maintenance team become more efficient—and the company more competitive. They invested in the areas where the savings were clear, and it paid off. Ted’s company is stronger than ever. Maintenance Contributes to the Bottom Line When Ted shared his experience with me, he mentioned something else that I found interesting. After reviewing Ted’s reports, his management team began to see the maintenance department in a different light. Company executives could clearly see the value his maintenance team brought to the organization, and respect for his department grew. That made it easier for Ted later when he needed to get approval or support for his projects and ideas. It’s likely your maintenance team is experiencing a similar situation, or it will be soon. With solid CMMS data and easy-to-read reports, your organization can make good decisions based on hard evidence, which will improve its ability to compete effectively and efficiently. And that’s something that works to everyone’s benefit. Contact us for more information.