Five Ways CMMS Can Make a Facility Manager’s Job Easier
I recently had coffee with my long-time friend and customer, Teresa, who’s a facility manager for a major university. Talking to Teresa reminded me how facility managers are constantly pulled in different directions, and prioritizing is complicated. “How do you keep on top of everything?” I asked her. “The biggest challenge is we’ve had to really tighten our security measures in the past 15 years,” she said. “That means a lot more paperwork. Honestly, I don’t know how we’d do it without our MPulse CMMS software. It makes all the difference.” I blushed a little here, but I asked her: “How does CMMS software make your job easier?” Teresa listed off these five ways… 1. Systems Integration: Teresa’s organization is a large, state-run institution, so she needs to share information all the time. Her MPulse CMMS software easily shares data with departments from purchasing to human resources to executive administration. Plus, it works both ways, so her CMMS software collects key data too. That means Teresa spends less time on paperwork and more time on her important tasks. 2. Flexibility: Teresa’s department has been an MPulse customer for years, so we’ve been there whenever they needed to upgrade, add licenses, or train new employees. Plus as the university has grown by adding buildings and assets, MPulse’s flexibility has enabled their CMMS software to grow with them—no matter how much the maintenance team’s workload has increased. 3. User Management: Teresa uses MPulse’s Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) extension module to manage her team and customers. That means her staff members or service requestors only see the records that are relevant for them. RBAC also helps Teresa with data security, making sure private information remains private. 4. Security: As Teresa mentioned, security has really ramped up in facility management. Teresa’s team uses MPulse Key and Lock Management to manage and track keys as well as authorized users, reducing the problem of lost or misplaced keys. At a glance, her team knows who has which keys out and when they are scheduled to be returned, so they spend less time searching for keys or following up with staff members. 5. Mobility: Maintenance doesn’t happen in the office. Teresa’s team uses MPulse’s adaptive interface and smart devices to report problems as they find them and capture data when they are working on the job. Best of all, her team members don’t need to come back to the office to get the next work order—they can see their work assignments wherever they are. I was pleased to hear how MPulse Software, Inc is making a difference for Teresa and her team. This business is about more than the bottom line. Helping people like Teresa do their jobs faster and more efficiently is a big part of what makes it satisfying to come to the MPulse offices every day. And the coffee’s not bad either.
KISS Principle: Achieving CMMS Success is as Easy as 1, 2, 3
Yesterday I asked a new MPulse customer: “Jim, what’s keeping you up at night?” It’s same question I’ve asked our clients for years. Yet I’m still surprised at how often I get the same answer. Most maintenance managers say almost exactly what Jim told me: “Steve, I need to figure out where I start with this new CMMS software.” Jim isn’t alone. Many new CMMS users feel exactly the same way. The answer I gave Jim hasn’t changed much over the years either. The best way to start with a new CMMS is to follow the KISS Principle—“keep it specific and simple” or, more colorfully, “keep it simple, stupid.” The KISS principle maintains that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated. Now Jim is a smart guy, like most maintenance managers I’ve met. But he’s overwhelmed at the thought of what he needs to accomplish—which is also true for a lot of maintenance managers. So how do we boil down a CMMS implementation plan to the simplest steps? Here’s what I suggest. 1. Focus on Key Assets Take 10 minutes and write down your top 10 to 20 assets. Think about the ones your team spends the most time or money on, and those most critical to your business’s success. Then, for each asset, set up the PM schedule in your CMMS software. Tell your team that it’s now mandatory to log all PMs and repairs on those key assets in your CMMS. And tell them that you’ll be checking to ensure it’s been done. 2. Provide Regular, Consistent Feedback Create a report in your CMMS that tells you when and if the PMs and repairs on your key assets are being done. Check it weekly and follow up with your team members with “atta-boys” for completing them correctly, or with reminders and corrections when they’re not. Post the reports in a public area. It’s imperative that you do this regularly and that you let them know you’re checking. Once you’ve proven it’s important to you, it will become important to them. And the feedback conversations will give you opportunities to fine tune and improve how you’re using the CMMS. 3. Slowly Add More Assets Now simply repeat step 1 with 10‒20 more assets. Over a relatively short period of time, something that was new and scary will become routine for all the assets you want to track in your CMMS. By keeping things simple with these three steps, you’ll be surprised how a seemingly daunting project turns into a successful implementation. Managing maintenance with a CMMS is the fastest way to get visibility into your operation, see where there’s room for improvement, and find out where you’re spending your dollars. Before you know it, you’ll be on your way to achieving the bigger goals of CMMS software—reducing failures and emergencies and increasing the usable life of your assets.
Get CMMS Buy-In from Your Toughest Stakeholders: Maintenance Technicians
Gaining buy-in from your maintenance technicians is essential for the successful implementation of CMMS, as their engagement directly influences the system’s effectiveness and long-term impact. After working hard to get purchase approval for his new maintenance software, Chuck called me up with a pretty typical problem. “Steve,” he said. “My maintenance techs are really making it difficult to get this CMMS project off the ground. All they do is complain about how much time data entry in the field is gonna take. This isn’t gonna work if my guys cut corners because they just don’t wanna take the time to use the system.” Oftentimes, maintenance managers focus so strongly on getting upper management to approve their purchase request, they forget all about other key stakeholders. One of the worst groups to leave out is the maintenance technicians who will use it every day. CMMS Buy-In from Stakeholders The people responsible for the bulk of the CMMS data entry are also the people who will benefit the most from it. But it’s your job to help them understand that. The key is showing them how to embrace the output. In other words, “What’s in it for me?” I call this the “WIIFM.” I believe maintenance techs get two huge benefits from CMMS software: More efficient workflows Less finger-pointing when things don’t go as planned. CMMS Makes Maintenance Work Easier CMMS software stores and organizes data gathered by your technicians, who in turn will use that data later on to do their jobs better and faster. Your maintenance techs will suddenly have access to key information that will become invaluable, including… Work history Condition monitoring Access to vendor information, guides, and manuals Inventory/parts availability. With CMMS data at their fingertips, your maintenance techs can answer questions quickly, access key information, see trends, and make faster decisions. They can do their jobs more efficiently and reap the rewards accordingly. CMMS Has Their Back Your techs know that when things go wrong, the maintenance department often gets the blame. Here’s how CMMS can support your maintenance techs when things aren’t going well: Validate the issue and provide the big picture Show who did what when Measure accomplishment Make the process visible Reduce stress level. With CMMS, it’s not their word against someone else’s. Now they have verifiable proof that they did what they needed to do when it needed to happen. Make Sure You Have Their Back Too If your maintenance technicians have concerns about your new CMMS software, make sure you hear them. Take the time to figure out what they are really worried about. Also, remember many concerns can be alleviated with good training, so make sure your implementation plan includes the funds to get them up and running. If you want your maintenance techs to support your project, make sure you have their back too. They may be your toughest stakeholders, but they’re also your most important allies. Have questions? We have answers. Contact us.
Is It Time to Schedule a PM for Your CMMS Software?
Your CMMS keeps your team on top of your preventive maintenance (PM) tasks for your assets and equipment. But when is it time to step back and perform a PM on your CMMS itself? Technology changes fast, and if your CMMS hasn’t had a good review in a few years, you’re probably missing out on updates that’ll make your team work faster and better. If there’s anything I’ve learned in this business, it’s that things change. When you’re caught up in your day-to-day work, it’s hard to step back and see the bigger picture. But that’s exactly what good maintenance managers do. It’s not enough to know what you’re doing now. Be proactive by making sure your maintenance team has the right tools to meet tomorrow’s demands too. Here are a few things to think about when crafting your “CMMS PM Checklist”: How Often Should You Schedule a PM for Your CMMS Software? I suggest checking in every six months. Schedule some quiet time away from your office to think about what’s going on and what you need to do. Make a list of the easy stuff first. If you’re on a software maintenance plan, have you downloaded any updates? Are there reports you need that you haven’t taken the time to set up? Are there reports you previously created that are really working for you anymore? Does your organization have plans to purchase new assets? Do you have enough user licenses for new employees? Ask Yourself the Tough Questions After you write down the easy stuff, don’t shy away from the questions with hard answers—or no clear answers at all. What’s making you nervous at work? What changes have you noticed and how will they impact your maintenance team? What resources might help you successfully navigate these changes? Get Feedback from Your Users Check in with your team to make sure they really are working as efficiently as possible. Do you have new employees who would benefit from some training? Could other team members use a refresher? Do you have new service requestors who need help on the best way to fill out work order requests? Does anyone have questions or ideas for doing things better? Ask for Help Pick up the phone and ask for help when you need it. Your CMMS vendor likely has some effective and affordable services to expedite your path to improvement. You don’t have to do everything yourself. Look for services like MPulse Reset, which helps our customers reconfigure workflows and benchmarks, and then determines where adjustments to your CMMS software can help. Good maintenance managers know that plans are fluid, and they need to adapt to changes in their organization. Scheduling PMs on your CMMS software has the same effect as it does on your other assets—protecting your investment and maximizing your maintenance savings for your organization.
Mobile CMMS Technology is Now a Must-Have
The future CMMS mobile technology is here. After more than two decades in the maintenance software industry, I’ve seen lots of technology changes. But I’ve never seen anything that’s been as readily and widely adopted as modern mobile technology. The smartphone I carry in my pocket today is far more powerful than my first desktop computer. It’s transformed the way I do business, from how I communicate with employees and customers, to how I track sales numbers and learn about what my competitors are up to. Mobile devices are clearly changing the way maintenance operations work, too. The recent Mobile CMMS Software UserView survey from Software Advice sought to understand how maintenance organizations were using mobile. It demonstrates why mobile CMMS functionality is now a “must-have.” Among its top findings, it showed that… Tablet users reported the greatest efficiency increases, Real-time data access and easy-to-use interfaces topped requirements lists, and Older users demonstrated the least improvement in efficiency from mobile tech. It’s clear that many organizations have discovered mobile technology is a natural fit with maintenance workflows—and mobile CMMS, specifically. It allows maintainers to access information and record data on the spot—where maintenance happens, instead of in a plant or campus office. I’m convinced every MPulse customer can benefit from mobile technology, and I think it’s on the cusp of transforming the way CMMS fits into maintenance workflows. Software Advice’s findings helped me better understand the ways mobile technology is being used in the maintenance world—and what maintainers should be thinking about as this technology becomes ever more commonplace. Here are a few of my key takeaways. Old Dogs and New Tricks Organizations using mobile devices in maintenance operations are reporting some impressive efficiency gains. 43 percent of respondents reported a significant increase in efficiency, with another 28 percent reporting a moderate increase. That’s encouraging, because increased efficiency is what CMMS users want most of all, and mobile devices are helping them get there. Dig a little deeper into the data, though, and you’ll quickly realize one of the key challenges in mobile adoption. It’s still hard to teach an old dog new tricks. As you might expect, younger employees account for the bulk of efficiency increases, because they’re more comfortable with the future mobile technology. Efficiency Increase by Age Group Part of the solution to this problem involves companies like MPulse continuing to make future mobile technology easier to use. And we’re working hard to do so. But you can get ahead of the game by ensuring your older employees get good, hands-on training on mobile tech. Don’t just assume they know how to use the latest apps—or that they’ll figure them out, like “digital natives” tend to do. Tablets Rock All mobile devices are not created equal, and maintenance technicians are already leaning toward tablets over smartphones. 44 percent of those surveyed report using a tablet, versus 34 percent who use a smartphone. Based on personal experience, I wasn’t surprised at this finding. A tablet’s larger screen size (when compared to smartphones) is easier on the eyes, and allows big, hard-working, indelicate hands to more easily work buttons and drop-downs menus. As smartphone screens (like Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus) continue to grow, though, we may see some changes to these numbers. Consider providing your employees with large-screen devices like tablets or big smartphones. It will go a long way to encouraging adoption of the technology and will eliminate some frustration along the way. Real-Time Data is King When it comes to what CMMS customers expect from mobile CMMS, real-time data tops the list. 40 percent of respondents said it was their number-one priority. Ease of use came in a close second. These top two requirements make perfect sense, when you remember CMMS customers strive for improved efficiency. Access to real-time data is the best way to save time and help your maintenance staff boost productivity. And an easy-to-use interface means better acceptance from your workforce and a better way for maintainers to quickly enter data on the job. Be sure to highlight these two key requirements to your CMMS vendor as “deal breakers” if they can’t provide them. You don’t want to get stuck with mobile technology that’s hard to use and doesn’t give you immediate access to the data you need. If they can’t fulfill these requirements, you should look elsewhere. Mobile CMMS is Here to Stay If these findings haven’t convinced you that mobile tech is here to stay, consider this sobering fact from a recent Boston Consulting Group study, titled The Mobile Revolution: How Mobile Technologies Drive a Trillion-Dollar Impact: Small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) “that are mobile leaders are winning. Typically, the 25 percent of SMEs that use mobile services more intensively see their revenues growing up to two times faster and add jobs up to eight times faster than their peers.” The organizations that aren’t? They’re falling behind. Truly capable mobile devices are still relatively new to the maintenance management world, but they have huge potential to change the way maintainers track data. Mobile CMMS can help your team spend less time on the computer and more time doing what you hired them for—maintenance.
CMMS Setup: Get it Right the First Time
Many MPulse customers get so excited about their new CMMS software they want to jump in with both feet and start entering data right away. I get it. I feel the same way when I start a new project. But the old adage “garbage in, garbage out” says it all when it comes to setting up CMMS software for the first time. It’s important not to get carried away importing outdated, incorrect, or insufficient information. To get the most out of your CMMS investment, you need to proceed carefully so you have a solid foundation of good data that will build in value over time. If your CMMS software gets bogged down with bad data, you’ll never get truly meaningful information about your assets—which is why you bought the software in the first place. So how do you setup your CMMS software right the first time? Here are a few tips I’ve picked up through years of experience. Step 1: Identify Your Key Assets Start by making a list of 10-20 of your important assets. You can always add more assets later, but first pick the ones that play the largest part in your operations. They’re likely to be the ones your maintenance team works on most, so a quick review of your past year’s work orders should show you where to focus. Step 2: Determine Each Asset’s Maintenance Policy Next determine the best maintenance policy for each asset. Plant Services contributing editor David Berger, in his 2013 article, “How to determine the best maintenance policy,” outlines three ways maintenance can be triggered: use-based maintenance, fail-based maintenance, or condition-based maintenance. Use-based maintenance (UBM) is triggered by time, meter, or event. This type of maintenance is pretty common in maintenance departments, as preventive maintenance programs are based on a certain time, meter, or event triggers—such as changing the oil every 3,000 miles or every 3 months. Fail-based maintenance (FBM) is running an asset to failure. A simple example would be replacing a burned out lightbulb. While the point of CMMS is to reduce fail-based maintenance in favor of a more proactive maintenance plan, there are some exceptions. Plus, if your assets have been maintained based on failure in the past, you have important data that can help you predict future failures. Condition-based maintenance (CBM) is triggered based on meters and gauges on assets. When an asset’s condition changes outside of a specified range, maintenance events are triggered. CBM data can be gathered manually or automatically. Step 3: Build a Work Plan Once you have determined each asset’s maintenance policy, you can use your CMMS to build work plans. For assets on a UBM policy, you’ll build a work plan and schedule maintenance tasks based on the factors you’ve chosen. For CBM, you’ll create a range of conditions that will form the basis of a work plan and schedule as well as forecast when CBM will likely occur. Last, but not least, while it’s hard to plan for FBM, you can forecast when failure is likely to happen and ensure you’re ready to react, with the right parts in stock and repair procedures in place. Step 4: Support the Maintenance Plan with the Right Data Next you’ll decide what data you need to capture to support your plans. Some may be available in your archives, but much of it will need to be collected from this point forward. And that’s okay, because over time, it will grow in quantity and in value. If you choose the right data, it won’t be long before you realize its value—and you’ll be glad you took the time to get it right. Creating a solid foundation with good CMMS data will make everything run more smoothly and successfully. Don’t create more work for yourself by taking shortcuts on the front side just because you’re in a hurry. Take the extra time to get it right the first time, and your CMMS investment will pay dividends for years.
How to Support an Asset Management Plan with CMMS
In an earlier post, we met Bill and John—two MPulse customers who discovered how their CMMS data could support long-term asset management planning. While Bill needed to make some adjustments to his approach, John made a proactive decision early on to set his CMMS up right—and it paid off. Of course, we’d all like to be in John’s shoes, so let’s talk about how he set up MPulse to support an asset management plan—and how you can too. If you recall, Keith Mobley, a member of the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP), defines an asset management plan as a comprehensive strategic plan designed to help your organization get the maximum value from the assets it owns. Asset management isn’t just for your accounting folks though. It affects your maintenance team because their work impacts the uptime and total lifecycle cost of those assets. And that’s valuable information for your whole organization. Start Your Asset Management Plan with Data Tracking While supporting an asset management plan might sound complicated, in John’s case—and potentially yours—it actually boils down to making a few key decisions about your MPulse data. Here’s what John did: Use Your Asset Management Plan to Make an Informed Decision When the time came for management to decide whether to repair or replace a failed asset, John had the data right in MPulse Software to make an informed decision. With MPulse’s easy-to-use User-Definable Graphic Reporting, John quickly calculated the cost of maintenance by month/year, and he saw the overall cost trends for the asset were steady. With a little help from his accounting department on the estimated replacement cost and productivity improvements, John saw it was better to repair the sheet metal press than buy a new one—at least this time. After this experience, John decided to take the next step by linking his MPulse CMMS data to his organization’s asset register software with MPulse’s DataLink Integration Adapter. He’s seen the value of his MPulse CMMS data, and he wants to take it even further by supporting a company-wide asset management plan. Whether or not you’re a current MPulse customer, you can learn from John’s experience. Take a look at your CMMS data with an asset management mindset. You can create a wealth of asset information, helping your organization make more informed decisions, and potentially saving it a lot of money. Give us a call anytime if you’d like to learn more about how to get it done. We’re here to help.
CMMS Asset Management: Why Should I Care?
If your maintenance team supports a large organization, you may already have a formal CMMS asset management plan in place. If you’re in a small or medium-sized business, though, chances are you don’t have one. So why use asset management? While you’ve probably heard or read the term “asset management,” you might not be sure how it differs from the maintenance management you’re already doing. I mean, you are maintaining assets, right? Today I’d like to try and clear up some of the confusion—first by helping you understand what a CMMS asset management plan is, and second by explaining why it matters to you. Keith Mobley, a member of the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP), defines an asset management plan as a comprehensive strategic plan designed to help your organization get the maximum value from the assets it owns. Often, this is measured by financial professionals as Return on Net Assets (RoNA), and it’s roughly calculated as total productive output minus total asset cost during an asset’s lifecycle. And that’s all well and good for the folks in finance and accounting, but you’re probably thinking right now, “Why should I care?” You should care because setting up your CMMS with an asset management frame of mind is a great way to get the most out of it as a maintenance manager. If you’re thinking in terms of maximum uptime and total lifecycle cost, you’ll move beyond using your CMMS as a simple work order tracker and PM scheduler. Let me give you an example, a tale of two customers, Bill and John. Asset Management: Repair or Replace? Both Bill and John came to me on two separate occasions with the same question from their bosses: “Should we keep repairing that sheet metal stamping press, or should we buy a new one?” Bill called me in a panic. “The boss wants an answer today,” he said, “and I don’t know where to get it. We’ve been using MPulse for 8 years now. Can you help me figure this out?” “Calm down,” I said. “That should be easy to calculate.” We just needed to answer a few questions using the data in his MPulse database: What was the purchase price of the press? When did we acquire it? How much has it cost to maintain it, especially in the past year? How much downtime is the asset experiencing lately? By answering these questions, Bill could show how much the press was costing his company, currently, on an annual basis, as well as the average annual cost over the life of the asset. With a little help from the operations manager, we could also calculate the opportunity cost due to downtime. Comparing that to the estimated cost (and potential added productivity) of a new press would get us our answer. Unfortunately for Bill, that information wasn’t available. To “save time,” he hadn’t recorded the acquisition date and purchase price in MPulse. And, while he had recorded planned and unplanned maintenance, he hadn’t bothered to record parts costs. It pained me to tell him, “Bill, I’m afraid the best you’re going to be able to do is SWAG it.” Document Your Asset Data Thankfully, my experience with John had a better outcome. Like Bill, John had been using MPulse for many years. But John had taken the time to better document the assets he wanted to track—recording each one’s acquisition date and purchase price. John didn’t track every asset his company owns; instead, he focused on the important ones that he knew would take a significant investment to replace. Over the years, John tracked each asset’s planned and unplanned maintenance costs, just like Bill. But John also recorded parts costs by automatically linking the inventory used with assets, which allowed him to calculate how much money his stamping press had cost to maintain. With a quick phone call to his ops manager, John compiled a report in about 30 minutes that showed his boss the old stamping press was pretty cost effective—even though it needed more frequent repair. And John saved his company thousands of dollars. Bill and John were using the same MPulse Software, Inc, yet their outcomes were completely different. By taking just a few extra steps—and thinking about things with an asset management mindset—John created a wealth of asset information that allowed his company to make more informed decisions, eventually saving it a lot of money thanks to our asset management software. I know you’d rather be in John’s position than Bill’s. Keep an eye out for a future post, where I’ll explain how John set up MPulse to form the basis of an asset management plan—and how you can too.
What You Really Want from Your CMMS Solution
Ever wonder how much a maintenance repair really costs you? Or maybe if your machines have been lubed as often as they should? Maybe you find yourself asking, “When should I replace that compressor instead of repairing it again?” You might find that you’re often wondering if you’re doing everything possible to improve efficiencies, keep production lines running, or keep facilities in top-notch condition. If you’re a maintenance manager without a CMMS solution, you’ve probably got lots of unanswered questions. Likewise, as the CEO of a CMMS software company, I think a lot about whether MPulse Software is doing everything possible to meet the real requirements of our customers. We work hard to understand what maintenance teams want and try to provide the best CMMS solution. We gather valuable data on what CMMS customers are demanding these days, data that will help MPulse continue to improve the software and services we provide our customers. Here’s what I learned. Why You’re Purchasing a CMMS Solution Efficiency is the key. In fact, improved efficiency is exactly what most buyers of computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) software are looking for. If I know what has happened in the past, I can make better decisions about what needs to be done in the future. This increase in efficiency comes from the use of technology to reduce manual tasks—in many cases, laborious paperwork. Let’s face it; maintenance work comes with its fair share of paper pushing that can take up more time than it should. CMMS software has become a powerful tool for maintenance teams to reduce those tedious tasks while at the same time providing key data for managers and executives to make better decisions. Yet Software Advice’s survey of potential CMMS buyers found 48 percent are still using manual methods to track their maintenance activity. Another 19 percent use nothing at all. Even though I know many maintenance teams don’t use a CMMS solution, it still perplexes me. The good news is these survey respondents are already thinking about making changes to improve their operations. I hope they can see the great strides we’ve made in CMMS technology, which should help relieve concerns about buying a new software system. But it’s clear we have some work to do. Improved CMMS software Implementation The good news is CMMS software has changed so much in the past few years that it’s never been easier to integrate it into an organization’s workflow. Plus, the user interface simply gets better and more intuitive, making training and implementation much faster. And if an organization foresees hurdles with implementation, CMMS vendors like MPulse Software now offer easily affordable services for implementation planning, data entry and migration, asset inventory, training, and much more. I found it interesting, and encouraging, that so many of the survey participants are from small maintenance operations—70 percent had teams of 10 people or fewer. I believe these organizations are exactly the ones that will benefit the most from the reduced costs of implementing CMMS. Now CMMS software isn’t just for the big operations—it’s more affordable and easier to integrate than ever before for small and medium-sized teams. Proactive vs. Reactive Maintenance There’s a larger trend indicated by Software Advice’s survey results—a fundamental shift among maintenance managers who see the importance of becoming a proactive organization rather than a reactive one. Instead of constantly putting out fires, modern maintenance operations can use CMMS to forecast, manage, and monitor maintenance activities. The goal is to keep assets running and unplanned maintenance to a minimum. Indeed, the survey showed preventive maintenance, work order, and asset management are required features across the board. It’s just a short hop to taking CMMS even farther, perhaps by capturing real-time data and working toward predictive maintenance, where teams can monitor the health of the equipment and foresee problems before they happen. I feel heartened by those findings, because it means the benefits of using a CMMS solution are becoming more and more understood across all industries. Get More for Your Money Wouldn’t it be nice if you had as clear a picture of your maintenance operation as this data has given me of your requirements? You can with CMMS software. CMMS data is a powerful tool that helps maintenance professionals plan proactively—making staff members more successful at their jobs and keeping the organization at the top of its game. If you haven’t considered it in a while, it’s probably time to look again. Prices have dropped. Functionality and usability have improved. You get a lot for your money in a CMMS package these days. After 20 years in this business, I still get excited when maintenance teams see how CMMS can help them save money, improve response times, and keep assets running longer and more efficiently. We have come so far since the days of paper and pencil. I’m eager to show more people how modern CMMS software can change their operations for the better. Want to see how CMMS software can help your maintenance operations? Get a free trial of MPulse, or contact us with questions.
Don’t Use CMMS! (for Payroll Time Tracking)
It happens with some regularity. I send an MPulse trainer onsite to help a new customer configure their CMMS software, and the trainer returns to report the customer wants the CMMS to do payroll time tracking. In some cases, they want to replace an existing timecard system. In others, they’re eager to use their new software as their first time tracking system. In almost all cases, it’s a bad idea. Here are three good reasons not to do it: 1. You won’t capture all their work hours on work orders. A typical rule of thumb is that only about 65% of available hours accrue to work orders. This “wrench time” is the heart of what your maintenance technicians do, but it’s not all they do. Whether it’s safety meetings, shop cleanup, snow removal, or other time spent on non-work order activity, it won’t be captured for payroll. 2. You’ll create unnecessary administrative headaches. Integration between systems is easier than ever; so getting data from your CMMS into the accounting department’s payroll system would be a snap. But do you really want to volunteer to be the person responsible for ensuring they have perfect payroll data? As the CMMS system owner/administrator, that’s what you’re doing if you use CMMS for payroll time tracking. Do yourself—and your hourly wage employees—a favor, and leave that to the bean counters and the systems they’re responsible for. 3. You won’t get good CMMS data. It’s important to remember why you bought a CMMS in the first place. You want to work more efficiently and understand the true cost of maintaining and repairing assets. While labor costs are a big part of that, they’re not all of it. Work orders in a CMMS capture critical information about a whole range of variables beyond labor hours: asset identity and location, repair parts consumed, type of work performed, skill sets employed, service and part vendors involved, and more. Skewed emphasis on using work orders for payroll time tracking can divert employee attention from accurately capturing other critical data. You won’t often hear me advising people not to use CMMS software. In this case, though, it’s good advice. If you need to track labor hours for payroll, a search for “time tracking software” or “payroll tracking systems” on Google and it will give you more options than you might have hoped for. But for getting to the heart of what really matters in your maintenance operation, there’s no substitute for a full-featured work order system, like MPulse.