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Recently I had a meeting with Ted, a long-time MPulse user and maintenance manager for a medium-sized manufacturing company. Like so many others, Ted’s organization recently found itself fighting for market share as the competition lowered their prices—forcing his company to do the same. Ted’s bosses started looking at every expense to keep the company competitive.
Maintenance teams get a lot of questions when company officials look at costs because they keep the organization’s major assets running—production equipment in Ted’s case—which is a big line item on a balance sheet. As they looked for ways to save money, Ted’s bosses wanted hard data on maintenance costs and asset productivity.
Management Asks Tough Questions
While Ted’s managers understood that cutting back on maintenance can be counterproductive, they also needed to see the dollars were spent wisely. Ted’s management team began looking closely at maintenance staffing levels and overtime costs. They wanted to know when it was more cost effective to repair an asset or replace it. They asked questions about the biggest repair parts expenditures and wanted ideas to improve inventory control management.
This phenomenon is increasingly common in the maintenance world. It’s called data-driven management, which means decisions are made based on reliable data, instead of perceptions or assumptions.
CMMS Provides Solid Answers
CMMS software is the best tool for gathering, analyzing, and reporting on maintenance data. In just minutes, Ted created reports using his MPulse CMMS data to show how his department was functioning and where they might make changes to improve.
Because Ted’s managers could see the numbers in front of them, the changes they made helped the maintenance team become more efficient—and the company more competitive. They invested in the areas where the savings were clear, and it paid off. Ted’s company is stronger than ever.
Maintenance Contributes to the Bottom Line
When Ted shared his experience with me, he mentioned something else that I found interesting. After reviewing Ted’s reports, his management team began to see the maintenance department in a different light. Company executives could clearly see the value his maintenance team brought to the organization, and respect for his department grew. That made it easier for Ted later when he needed to get approval or support for his projects and ideas.
It’s likely your maintenance team is experiencing a similar situation, or it will be soon. With solid CMMS data and easy-to-read reports, your organization can make good decisions based on hard evidence, which will improve its ability to compete effectively and efficiently. And that’s something that works to everyone’s benefit.
