Lessons from a Reactive Maintenance Strategy
A reactive maintenance strategy is simple—when something breaks, fix it. And it’s still very common today in many maintenance departments. Replacing non-essential lightbulbs, fixing broken windows—a reactive approach works fine and makes sense for plenty of maintenance tasks. There’s a time, however, when it becomes more effective to move from reactive to proactive. That’s what happened to MPulse customer Gerry. The Value of Proactive Maintenance If you’ve ever had a day where something breaks at the wrong time (production equipment during the busy season or an HVAC failure during a heat wave), the value of proactive maintenance becomes clear. Gerry’s team had that day. They had six breakdowns on high-use assets that brought production to a screeching halt. His techs were trying to troubleshoot problems or find replacement parts, while Gerry and his foreman were on the phone with frustrated coworkers, angry bosses, and vendor reps. “We called it D-day,” he said. “The ‘D’ stands for dreadful—or for something else not suitable for polite conversation.” Afterwards, the team decompressed by talking about what they could do to prevent it from happening again. The first step was easy. Gerry explained, “We needed a proactive maintenance program that worked for us.” Getting a preventive maintenance program off the ground can feel intimidating at first. Gerry’s team started like many maintenance departments, with simple spreadsheets. But the limits of this manual system were soon evident. So, Gerry turned to CMMS software. CMMS Software for Preventive Maintenance CMMS software will generate a schedule of PM tasks, making it simpler to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines. Scheduling preventive maintenance (PM) tasks—replacing filters, conducting safety inspections, check oils and fluids—often prevents those stressful situations and emergency repairs, not to mention the expenses related to these types of breakdowns. You can schedule maintenance intervals based on time, usage, or on asset/part condition, which triggers a work order just before the point when system inefficiencies or failures begin to occur. Regular preventive maintenance tracking also ensures equipment is properly calibrated and lubricated. Ignoring preventive maintenance leads to more breakdowns. That translates into lost dollars and intense pressure on the maintenance team to get production running again. Proactive maintenance lowers costs, improves reliability, and helps with compliance reporting. Contact us to learn more.
Take Multisite Inventory to the Next Level
As maintenance managers know, inventory is one of the most challenging parts of any maintenance operation. But when you are trying to manage inventory across multiple sites, however, the challenges are exponentially larger. So, that’s where CMMS software can help. CMMS software is the best tool for tackling inventory management across multiple sites. MPulse Multisite Connector MPulse Multisite Connector provides a universal framework, which connects all the locations across your distributed enterprise. That means you can have truly global settings, global reporting, and—yes, that’s right—enterprise-wide inventory search and transfer. So, you’ll know what inventory is available across the company, not just in your local storeroom. Enterprise Inventory Transfer Manager is a feature of MPulse Multisite Connector. It allows you to do things like… Discover available inventory in other storerooms across the enterprise Issue an inter-office request to retrieve parts Track the fulfillment and transfer process Save Time & Money Across the Enterprise MPulse Enterprise Inventory Transfer Manager helps you prevent time- and money-wasting problems like… Running out of parts Searching for lost parts Duplicating inventory you didn’t know you had Plus, you ‘ll have all the standard capabilities of our Parts & Supplies Inventory Management feature—such as stocking levels, reorder points, storage locations, and supplier information. You can also track various units of measure for a single inventory item. For example, you might purchase oil by the barrel, but use it by the quart. In conclusion, Enterprise Inventory Transfer Manager can help quickly identify what you need for which piece of equipment, no matter where it’s located. Most importantly, when an emergency arises, this information provides critical data for making cost-efficient decisions. Additionally, it helps your organization save time and money by improving tracking, stocking, ordering, and inventory processes. As you know, many organizations have multiple locations—like storerooms, warehouses, offices, or buildings. So, managing inventory across the entire enterprise helps your entire organization maximize resources and minimize costs. What challenges could Enterprise Inventory Transfer Manager help you solve? Leave a comment or contact us. We’re here to help.
Tracking the True Cost of Maintenance
How To Track Maintenance Cost Maintenance Managers are asked to make two fundamental decisions when presented with a maintenance-related problem: Should we repair or replace the malfunctioning item? Should we do the work internally or should we outsource it to a supplier or vendor? Of course, there are many factors in making these decisions. However, there is one factor that stands out above all else and that is the cost. Translated simply, it is dollars (insert your country’s currency here). “What will it cost to alleviate the problem and prevent it from returning?” When figuring the cost of a job you must include all the costs, including internal labor costs. Related: MPulse’s Preventative Maintenace Feature The Need for Labor Management Software I have worked with many maintenance departments and maintenance managers over the years setting up CMMS and EAM systems. During initial planning, a discussion point that is often contentious is whether to enter labor hours and labor charge rates. This is especially true when it comes to tracking and reporting on the cost of internal labor on work orders. Most department managers are more than willing to track the direct cost of parts, supplies, and outside labor consumed to complete a job. The argument against entering internal labor costs is “internal labor is on the payroll anyhow, so there is no additional cost.” While the statement may be correct, the action is incorrect. Tracking only the additional cost of a job really has no value other than possibly matching up invoices for your Accounts Payable department. There is certainly no value in reporting on, and making decisions based on, cost information that only includes an additional cost. There is not a maintenance manager in the universe who has not come under fire for keeping maintenance costs down. This directive is not to keep the additional cost down, it is for the total cost. The cost of labor in a maintenance department can run as high as 80% of the total cost. How can you manage costs if you are not tracking them? Remember, if you are not tracking costs, then someone above your pay grade is! So what rate should be used as the multiplier for labor hours to calculate the labor cost of a job? Here are some thoughts: Individual employee wage—this is probably the least desirable option as it severely understates the true cost of labor. Also, using employee wages in your CMMS is a real security breach and may be against the internal HR policies for your organization. Another problem with using actual employee wages is sorting out which hours are at straight time and which are at one or more overtime rates. This can be a real bookkeeping nightmare. Individual loaded labor rates—the loaded labor rate usually includes things such as wages, taxes, benefits, overtime, and other direct costs to employee the person. Using the loaded labor rate is much closer to the reality of the true cost of labor. Loaded labor rates are typically computed by multiplying an employee’s salary by a department-wide factor of typically around 1.5 – 3.0. Your finance department can most likely provide you with this factor. Shop rate—this is used in many industries and can be used quite successfully by a maintenance department. When you enter an automotive repair facility, the shop rate is generally posted as their labor charge rate. I recommend the use of ‘shop rate’ as the multiplier for determining the cost of labor on a job. Using shop rate masks individual compensation from visibility; it includes administrative overhead, and it typically includes the entire cost of doing business. You can find many articles on the internet for methods to determine your shop rate. Using shop rate is the best way to compare what a job costs you to do internally versus what it cost by contracting it out. By tracking internal labor costs, along with all additional charges, on all your work orders you are providing yourself with meaningful comparative data. Remember, the CMMS is not a bookkeeping system, it is a maintenance tracking system for you to use to make data-driven decisions. This is why you need the whole picture. How do you calculate the total cost of a job, especially internal labor? Contact us for more information today!
Unleashing Team Productivity with CMMS: A Guide on Performance Management
Performance management is a long-established approach to measure employee efficiency and productivity. But the maintenance team has historically flown under the radar, and many maintenance managers haven’t focused on performance management. But the emergence of data-driven management (i.e., making management decisions backed by reliable data) has changed that. Technological advances—like CMMS software—have continued to make more and more detailed, relevant data available. And with that increased capability comes increased opportunity to improve organizational performance at all levels, and in all departments—including the maintenance team. Performance Management in the Maintenance Department For your organization’s executive and management team, performance management is a process where the organization identifies its goals and objectives, determines available resources (including labor, inventory, materials, etc.), and sets priorities. For the maintenance manager and technicians, it’s an opportunity to clarify the department’s goals and the competency, skills, and knowledge required to meet those goals. Performance management in the maintenance department achieves five things. Communication: CMMS software helps maintenance managers communicate with employees about their goals, job responsibilities, key deliverables, and performance standards. Development & Training: With solid performance management data from CMMS software, maintenance managers can identify areas to improve employee performance through formal training, mentoring, coaching, etc. Administrative & Human Resources: Performance management systems are often the basis for human resources and administrators to determine an employee’s promotion, demotion, salary increment, transfer, or termination. Goal Setting: Performance management reviews provide maintenance managers with the information needed to plan for the future—including setting new benchmarks, designing training programs, and creating goals for both employees and the department as a whole. Documentation: The performance management process enables maintenance managers to track safety training records, certifications, attendance, overtime, and productivity. This information also helps organizations follow standards for regulatory agencies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Beyond these practical purposes, a performance management system also can help maintenance managers show people in positions of authority what your maintenance program does and the value you bring to the organization. It’s another way to share your projects, goals, accomplishments, and results for both the department and for your team members. And that comes in handy when you need approval for pay increases, new equipment, or special projects. How could your organization use performance management? Contact us!
How CMMS Changes the Culture of Your Organization
You know how CMMS software streamlines workflows and improves productivity. But there’s another, more subtle change that happens to MPulse customers after they implement CMMS software. “After our first year with MPulse, I could see our team was communicating better and collaborating more,” said Heidi, a maintenance coordinator with a property management company in the Midwest. “MPulse changed the culture of our department—and our whole organization.” Small Changes Add Up Heidi is describing the result of many small changes that affect the way a maintenance team and service requesters work together, such as… Preventive maintenance schedules that update automatically, so nothing is missed because someone didn’t update a spreadsheet or logbook Automatic work order generation based on specified triggers Easily accessible information about what parts and inventory are available (and where), as well as what needs to be ordered Recorded details about previous work and repairs on assets, so everyone knows who did what when Configurable dashboards with the most important data front and center, so you know what you need to know at a glance Easy access to the reports and numbers needed to make important decisions Customized calendars, so your team can see what needs to happen when The ability to monitor multiple meters (e.g., revolutions, psi, hours) on a single asset Automated email responses to service requests keep requesters happy, and off the phone asking for updates Updates to work orders from a smartphone or tablet in the field, so no one needs to run back to the office to input information into a computer Automated routing and notification when work orders are assigned and completed Historical asset information about previous repairs and services, so no need to rely on other people’s memories or track down old work orders in the filing cabinet Documented workflows that are easily accessible, rather than stored in someone else’s brain Information about who checked out what keys as well as authorized users, reducing the problem of lost or misplaced keys Over time, these little things add up—and your maintenance team is working together better than ever. “We’re less stressed, and we’re doing fewer emergency repairs,” Heidi said. “MPulse has completely changed our workplace dynamic.” Want to know more about how CMMS software can help your organization? Contact us. We’re here for you.
Six CMMS Features Your Techs Want
Maintenance managers know how CMMS software can capture critical data for making good decisions, while helping you save time and money. But your maintenance techs have different needs—and wants. [related-content] Your technicians will use CMMS software in their day-to-day jobs. So, it’s vital that the software you choose is easy for your team to learn and navigate. Here are six important features that your techs want in CMMS software. Work order management: Your technician’s day revolves around work orders. Make sure the CMMS software you choose streamlines the way your techs will receive, update, and close work orders, making their workflows more efficient. Also electronic work orders don’t get lost or ruined like paper work orders do, saving time and hassle for everyone. Custom fields: Probably one of the most undervalued features is the ability to customize what information your techs see, and what they don’t. The latter is as important as the first, and maybe more. Custom fields and drop downs can help your techs fill in important details quickly, helping to significantly reduce time spent on data entry—which is everyone’s least favorite task. Historical information: CMMS captures key information with every work order, and that comes in handy for the next tech who works on that asset or has a similar issue. No more lost information between shifts or tracking down a coworker to ask questions. Media and resources: Manuals, warranty information, websites and vendor information right on the screen? That’s a huge time saver when your techs are looking for important information and resources. Mobility: Maintenance happens in the field, so techs benefit from an adaptive interface that make it easy to access work orders and make updates wherever they are, without stopping by the office or needing to find a computer. Automated communication: No reason for your techs or admin staff to constantly make calls or send emails to provide updates. Your service requesters can check the status of their requests themselves and received automated emails when work orders are completed. Remember if your techs don’t use the software the way it’s intended, you’ll never get the results you need. So, when it’s time to buy or upgrade your CMMS software, think like your techs and prioritize the features they want too. Your investment will pay greater dividends faster. Contact us to find out more.
10 Ways CMMS Helps You Control the Cost of Maintenance
Controlling the cost of maintenance is a major goal for maintenance teams. Here are 10 ways CMMS software can help. Repair or Replace Maintenance software can not only track the age of the equipment, but the miles, hours, life-to-date repair dollars, and many other metrics—helping you decide when it becomes cheaper to replace an asset instead of repairing it. Reduce Downtime When you use CMMS to schedule and track PMs, you’ll reduce emergency maintenance issues and unexpected production stoppages. This, in turn, cuts overtime costs for emergency repairs and reduces production losses. You can also schedule maintenance for off hours by tracking equipment use time. Extend Lifecycle CMMS software generates a schedule of preventive maintenance tasks, making it simpler to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines. Properly maintained assets perform more efficiently, use less energy, and fail less often—extending their usable life. Inventory Management CMMS software can prevent under-stocking and over-stocking, streamline reordering, and automate cyclical inventory counts. You can also track parts to stock based on availability and automatically generate purchase orders based on need, reducing purchasing overhead. Historic Information Each work order in CMMS automatically records labor time, parts and inventory costs, asset history, and other key information. This information also eliminates lost information between shifts, reducing confusion and errors. Better Communication CMMS software’s automated communication tools streamline the approval and assignment process with confirmations sent to requesters, managers, and technicians. In turn, status updates are automatically emailed to the appropriate people as the technician updates the work order. Vendor/Manufacturer Contact Information Access You can have detailed records of each vendor’s contact information, rates, and personnel in your CMMS database. You can track which vendors provide which goods and services as well as find out who is available for work. Automated Scheduling Automated PM schedules and inspections help spot issues before they occur. Maintenance intervals can be scheduled based on asset or part condition, which triggers a work order just before the point when system inefficiencies or failures begin to occur. Employee Performance By tracking repair times in CMMS, you can measure employee performance and create benchmarks. You’ll also see which employees are most efficient at which tasks, helping to balance the workload. Automated Routing CMMS software can automatically filter maintenance requests based on your predetermined criteria, then quickly route them to the appropriate people for review and approval. CMMS helps you capture key data and turns it into reliable information to help make cost-effective choices about asset management. Contact us to learn how it can help your maintenance team.
Create CMMS Asset Records with Ease
Building a CMMS asset database can feel overwhelming. In fact, it can feel so overwhelming, some organizations give up before they even try. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Dividing up a big job into smaller chunks makes it easier. Use these five steps to create your CMMS asset records with ease. Step 1: Pick 10-20 of your most important assets. Make a list of 10-20 of your organization’s key assets. Start with the assets your maintenance team works on most; assets essential to production or operations; and any that are prone to emergency breakdowns. Step 2: Decide your maintenance strategy for each asset. [related-content] Maintenance can be triggered in different ways: use-based maintenance, fail-based maintenance, or condition-based maintenance. Pick one strategy for each asset. Use-based maintenance (UBM) is triggered by time, meter, or event—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. Condition-based maintenance (CBM) is triggered when an asset’s condition changes outside of a specified range based on data, which can be gathered manually or automatically. Step 3: Create a schedule. Once you have determined each asset’s maintenance policy, you can use your CMMS software to build schedules for each asset. 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: Identify the data you need. 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. Step 5: Repeat with another 10-20 assets. Once you’re done with the first 10-20 assets, pick another group and work through the same steps. Take the extra time to get it right the first time, and you’ll have a solid foundation of good CMMS data that will make your maintenance operations run more smoothly. You’ll be creating CMMS asset records with ease in no time! Need help? Call us. We’re here for you.
Business Intelligence Data from CMMS
CMMS software is the best way for maintenance teams to manage preventive maintenance tasks and repairs. But that’s not all. Over time the software gathers data that’s a valuable source of business intelligence information for the entire organization. This data provides insight into your organization’s operations, helping you (and your bosses) make better decisions. Labor Expenses CMMS software tracks labor expenses, which helps organizations accurately estimate labor hours for both repair and preventive maintenance tasks. That also helps your organization balance staffing levels and the workload as well as reduce overtime costs. Plus, you can work with your human resources department to determine when it’s more efficient to add more staff members instead of paying current employees more overtime. Inventory Control Basic inventory in CMMS software links items and their unit costs to work orders and asset. That gives you simple records of inventory items and enables you to track and report on consumption of those items—which is valuable information for your purchasing and/or finance department. Advanced inventory management features are even more beneficial for your organization, as you can add stocking levels, reorder points, storage locations, and supplier information. These advanced tools also track various units of measure for a single inventory item. For example, you might purchase oil by the barrel, but use it by the quart. Asset Failure Analysis [related-content] CMMS data is a treasure trove of asset information. Over time, CMMS software provides a historical record of repairs and maintenance costs, which you can view in relation to other data—like asset age, previous repair history, and replacement cost. That helps you with the big decisions in maintenance management, like when it’s better to replace rather than repair an asset. Financial Insight CMMS data can help you create benchmarks for your maintenance team, plus identify areas where your team needs more training or when it might be more efficient to outsource the repair. You also can schedule maintenance tasks based on actual usage. This capability extends the asset’s lifecycle, increases your staff’s productivity, and saves your organization both time and money. Users can schedule corrective maintenance tasks and prevent emergency breakdowns—fixing equipment before it actually breaks. That’s music to any executive’s ears. Organizations need to stay to competitive now more than ever before. CMMS software can help your organization become more productive and efficient. Learn how it could work for you. Contact us for more information.
Vendor Management and SLAs with CMMS Software
I really enjoy talking to maintenance managers who use our CMMS software in the real world. There’s really no better way to learn about the challenges you face, so we understand how we can help make your work lives easier. Such was the case with Andrew, a relatively new MPulse customer. His company buys assets that typically are purchased with extended warranties and service contracts. Those service contracts usually last 3‒5 years and include scheduled vendor maintenance tasks. When I asked Andrew how his MPulse software helps with his workload, his answer was straightforward. “I couldn’t manage our vendor documentation and warranties without it,” he told me. Manage Service Level Agreements (SLAs) Before his company purchased MPulse, Andrew’s maintenance team relied on paper and pencil as well as an Excel spreadsheet for their vendor management information and schedules. Today Andrew manages all his service level agreements (SLA) in MPulse—which documents contact information, personnel, rates, and more. Plus, he connects those records with asset history and warranty information as well as scheduled preventive maintenance (PM) tasks. The result of SLA driven operations is an improved and automated system that links Andrew’s vendors and the work orders generated by his CMMS system. He can assign work to vendors and email work order details quickly and easily. Related Article: Three Ways Your MPulse Account Manager Can Streamline Your Business “Steve, it’s freed up so much time,” Andrew said. “I can run a quick report, and I know who needs to do what and when. I see the reminders, and I can schedule vendor visits in advance. No more vendor PM tasks slipping through the cracks because someone forgot to update an Excel spreadsheet or there was a data entry error. No more warranty problems because we missed a preventative maintenance task.” Track Vendor Information Even if your maintenance operations don’t rely on service level agreements, vendor management helps document which vendors provide specific goods and services for quick reference when you need them. Plus, it’s easy to contact vendors directly as well as view historical information on previous work. Related article: Five Ways MPulse Can Help You Reduce Downtime “With MPulse, everything is at my fingertips,” Andrew continued. “No more searching through filing cabinets or looking up phone numbers and email addresses on the Internet. I can focus on more important things now.” Andrew also uses MPulse’s report generation features to track warranty expiration dates, related costs, response time, and other key performance indicators that measure how effective his vendors are. “My team is a lot happier because they know what to expect and when,” he said. “It’s significantly reduced the stress level around here.” Are you having issues with your vendor management and service level agreements? Leave a comment, or contact us for a free, no-obligations demo!