Keep on Top of Fire Safety Inspections with CMMS Software
When I visit with MPulse customers, I ask a lot of questions like, “What takes up the most time in your day?” I almost always hear the same response from facility managers—fire protection systems and safety inspections. It makes sense. Fire protection is a key component of the health and safety of building occupants. So spending that time wisely makes a big impact on your workload. “Fire safety and related systems take up about 15-25% of my work week,” said Joe, a facility manager for a medium-sized healthcare organization in the Southwest. “Making those tasks more efficient has a big impact on what I can accomplish.” Time management was one of the biggest reasons Joe’s organization invested in CMMS software about four years ago. “We had Excel spreadsheets and printed checklists,” he said. “But keeping the paperwork updated was taking more time than doing the actual tests and inspections.” Fire Protection Systems Maintenance Joe’s team of 12 maintenance technicians are responsible for the inspection, testing, and maintenance of the organization’s fire protection system—which includes fire extinguishers, automatic sprinklers, fire alarms, heat sensors, and other equipment. “Letting these tasks fall through the cracks is not an option,” Joe said. “People’s lives are at stake.” When Joe started using MPulse, he began by documenting all fire safety equipment as well as the inspections and tests that needed to be done on a regular basis. He also recorded vendor information, such as the company he uses to conduct standpipe flow tests, which are required every five years. “It took some time,” Joe said. “But it paid off. Having that information at my fingertips makes all the difference when things are busy. And things are always busy around here.” For example, Joe’s team maintains more than 500 fire extinguishers alone. The location and equipment information of each one is documented in MPulse—helping his team quickly see what needs to be tested, what needs to be replaced, or what has gone missing. “Imagine trying to keep track of that information with just a spreadsheet,” Joe said. Fire Safety Regulations for Healthcare Organizations Like all facilities, Joe’s organization is subject to audits to make sure it’s compliant with local fire codes as well as the standards of the Joint Commission, an organization that accredits and certifies U.S. healthcare organizations and programs. “When the auditors are here, our CMMS documentation is vital,” Joe said. “Everything is recorded, and we can answer any questions with just a few clicks. It’s not only a time saver. It reduces the stress level because we know we’re compliant before they walk through the door.” That’s what I like to hear from facility managers—reduced stress levels when you know what needs to be done. How does CMMS software help your facility maintain its fire protection system? How does it reduce your stress level? Leave a comment or contact me.
How CMMS Helps You Answer Questions You Didn’t Know You Should Ask
Most organizations implement CMMS software because they need to solve a problem. Maybe it’s improving work order management, capturing real-time repair data, or streamlining preventive maintenance schedules. Maybe it’s establishing better inventory control or documenting maintenance procedures. Once you solve one problem, however, something else inevitably comes up. And new problems mean you need to ask new questions that you might not have considered. But with CMMS software, now you have a powerful tool in your corner. Value of CMMS Data The power of CMMS software is in the data you collect. And the value of that data compounds over time—just like compounding interest on your bank account. That’s what MPulse customer Cathy discovered. Her department bought CMMS software about three years ago to track—and control—their cost of maintenance. With MPulse, Cathy could easily monitor the company’s key performance indicators (KPIs) and run monthly reports for her managers. “In the beginning, our needs were simple,” she said. “We were looking for work order management, preventive maintenance scheduling, and service requesting capability. MPulse had all of those things, and more.” But things changed. New Questions, Same CMMS Data “After about a year, we reviewed our standard KPIs—PM completion rates, emergency repairs, response times, etc.,” Cathy said. “Then our management team began asking other questions—questions that we didn’t even know to ask when we started using MPulse.” Those questions dug a little deeper and included things like inventory counts, regulatory compliance documentation, and labor performance. Some of those questions prompted Cathy’s organization to add MPulse’s software extensions. “We upgraded to Advanced Inventory to expand our inventory control processes,” she said. “We realized how important inventory control was to our larger goal of cost control.” But other questions were answered by creating new reports with the same data they’d already collected. “Labor performance was a big one for us,” she said. “We knew some of our techs were faster at specific tasks. But when we looked at our labor data, we realized we needed to cross train more employees so more than one person could do the work. We also created standard repair times for specific tasks, which helped set realistic expectations for the team.” As a result of reviewing their CMMS data, Cathy’s organization ended up refining their training process and improving their maintenance procedure documentation. She said it’s made a difference in measurable ways—like improved response times—as well as ways that are harder to measure, like employee morale. “That’s just one example of what we’ve found by mining our CMMS data,” Cathy explained. “I know we are just skimming the surface. Tomorrow we’ll be better able to answer other questions that haven’t even occurred to us today.” How has CMMS data helped you answer questions about maintenance management? Leave a comment or contact us.
Using CMMS Software to Support Lean Manufacturing
How do you eliminate waste in your organization? That’s the basic tenant of lean manufacturing—an idea that continues to develop after decades of refining by some of history’s top business managers. The term was coined by James Womack in his 1990 book, The Machine That Changed the World, although its roots lie in the Toyota Production System of the 1950s. In a nutshell, lean manufacturing considers the use of resources for any goal other than the creation of value for the end customer to be wasteful. It will come as no surprise to maintenance professionals that lean manufacturing has a tremendous impact on their department. From increasing asset life cycles to reducing scrap material, the maintenance team continually works towards reducing waste. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that maintenance teams were working under the lean manufacturing philosophy long before the concept was named. “Our management team embraced lean manufacturing during the recession,” explained Ed, a maintenance and engineering manager for a multi-national manufacturer. “But it wasn’t a new idea for the maintenance crew. We were already looking for inefficiencies—or waste. It’s our job to eliminate as much inefficiency as possible.” Lean Manufacturing and CMMS Software One of Ed’s biggest tools? His MPulse CMMS software, which pinpoints areas where productivity can be improved. CMMS applications help his maintenance team find and eliminate inefficiencies, or waste. But Ed is the first to admit that defining waste isn’t always simple. Lean manufacturing is a journey, not a destination, he explained. “Now we’re focusing on other forms of waste,” he said. “There’s obvious stuff, like stocking unneeded parts and tracking your annual inventory turns. But there’s also wasted time—when someone has to finish one task before someone else can do another task. Or when the production team needs something repaired to get things moving again.” The Categories of Waste Lean manufacturing experts categorized waste into eight types, many of which directly relate to maintenance tasks: Overproduction Wait time Inventory Transportation Over-processing Movement between tasks Defects Workforce All of these elements boil down to one thing—money. Waste costs your company money, and eventually it costs your customers as well in terms of higher prices and/or delays. And both pricing and availability, of course, are directly related to your organization’s ability to compete in the current business environment. Not Just for Manufacturers In spite of the name, the lean manufacturing idea doesn’t just apply to manufacturers. I’ve seen lean manufacturing ideas applied in facility management, professional services, and other businesses. That’s because every organization wants to streamline workflows—thereby reducing wasted materials, time, energy, etc. Does your organization subscribe to the lean manufacturing philosophy? How do you eliminate waste or inefficiencies with your CMMS software? Leave a comment about the many applications of our CMMS or contact us.
How CMMS Software Helps with Asset Disposal
When I talk to maintenance managers researching CMMS software, we usually discuss work order management, preventive maintenance scheduling, inventory management, and the many other benefits of streamlining maintenance workflows—all with the goal of production. But down the line, it also helps when it’s time to dispose of assets. That was the situation facing Nate, a maintenance manager at a medium-sized healthcare facility in the Midwest. While Nate is relatively new to his job, his company was an early adopter of CMMS. So Nate is experiencing the benefits—and the challenges—of decisions made by someone else more than a decade ago. “We’re upgrading some equipment and reconfiguring our office space,” he told me. “Which means now I have all this equipment that needs to go… well, somewhere.” Asset Disposal Options Asset disposal is inevitable. Nate has seven choices for each piece of equipment: Redeploying or reusing somewhere else in the organization Refurbishing or reconditioning equipment to extend the life cycle Participating in the manufacturer’s “buy-back” program, where available Selling on the open market or using an auction service (locally or online) Reclaiming or recycling Trading in the old equipment as part of the purchase of new equipment Sending it to a landfill. The Value of CMMS Data When it’s time to make the right choice for asset disposal, your CMMS data becomes very valuable. CMMS software can document the purchase price, the total cost of maintenance, and… with a few calculations, it’s value at the time of disposal. Additionally, there’s the added benefit of providing all the maintenance records to the new owner—potentially increasing the sale price. Thanks to some foresight on his predecessor’s part, Nate knows a lot about his assets: in-service dates, warranty information, original costs, etc. Additionally, he has years of maintenance data gathered with each work order as well as hazardous materials documentation. “They did a great job of setting things up,” Nate said. “Plus, now I understand what I really need, so I can start now to make my job easier later on.” Resale Value In the future, Nate plans on using his CMMS data to calculate the total cost of ownership (TCO), which will help him forecast when it’s time to repair or replace equipment. His organization will benefit from these data-driven decisions that will minimize disposal costs as well as increase an asset’s potential resale value. How could your organization benefit from CMMS software to manage the cradle-to-grave costs of your assets? Contact us. We can help.
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.