The right computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) can streamline your operations and reduce costs. And the wrong one? It will waste your valuable time and money. Finding the right fit, however, can be a challenging task.

With so many options to choose from, the process can feel overwhelming. This guide will explain how CMMS can benefit your team, help you determine if it is the right solution for your organization, and outline key aspects to keep in mind before making a decision.

Why Should You Opt for CMMS?

CMMS helps teams across companies in a variety of ways. Some of the benefits include:

• Streamlining maintenance by creating, assigning, and monitoring work orders at one place
• Managing inventory by allowing your team to track the movement of spare parts and ordering new parts or replacements as and when needed
• Reporting asset failures and raising repair requests while technicians are on site using their smartphones, reducing the length of equipment downtime
• Gathering data and insights to help you make well-informed, cost-effective decisions
• Cataloging assets by serial number, date, location, and category to simplify asset management

And it’s not just talk based on speculation. According to a survey by A.T. Kearney and Industry Week involving 558 companies that used CMMS, 28.3% reported an increase in maintenance productivity, 20.1% noticed a reduction in equipment downtime, 19.4% achieved savings in material costs, and 17.8% saw a decrease in maintenance inventory.

What Do You Want to Achieve with CMMS?

Since CMMS offers many features, it is important for you to determine how you can customize its capabilities to benefit your organization. Before choosing a CMMS for your organization. Start by defining your goals and needs. Here are a few questions that can help:

• What are some pain points you want to address in your current processes?
• What are the long-term goals of your maintenance department?
• What KPIs do you want to improve in the short and long term?
• Which features of CMMS software are essential for your business operations, which are nice-to-haves, and which can you do without?
• What is the daily workload of your maintenance team?
• What health and safety regulations must your team comply with?

Things to Consider Before Selecting a CMMS

Answering the questions above is a good starting point. Once you have given them some thought, consider these critical aspects:

• Customization and Flexibility: When evaluating CMMS software, prioritize flexibility and customization. Your chosen system should adapt to your evolving operations, not just meet today’s needs. Look for solutions that let you modify workflows, processes, and interfaces to fit your unique requirements.
• Scalability: As your business expands, you will need a CMMS that can scale with it. A scalable system can handle increased demands, such as more users and larger data storage, without compromising performance. Be sure to factor in the potential costs of scaling, including extra licenses or usage fees.
• Features and Benefits: Pick a CMMS that supports your operations with the right tools, which can range from real-time reporting and analytics to mobile access. Make sure that it’s easy to use, too, since that will affect how quickly your team adopts it. And don’t forget to review your goals from time to time to be sure the system still fits your needs over time.
• Cloud-Based or On-Premise: When implementing a CMMS, you can choose between on-premise and cloud-based models.

On-premise systems run on your own servers, providing full control but requiring a significant initial investment, as well as infrastructure and IT resources for setup, maintenance, and data protection. Cloud-based systems, on the other hand, are hosted by the vendor, accessible online, and typically subscription-based. They reduce upfront costs and maintenance needs while offering automatic updates.

• License Pricing: Licensing and pricing models play a major role in your decision. Choose a solution that fits your budget while providing flexibility and long-term value. Factor in initial setup costs, maintenance fees, and the charges required for periodic upgrades or new features.
• Technical Support: Good technical support can make all the difference when using a CMMS. Be sure you know what kind of help is offered and if there are any extra charges. Most vendors provide phone and email support, interactive tutorials, detailed onboarding documentation, and access to online knowledge bases.

Conclusion

CMMS platforms make your life easier. Once you identify how it can be tailored to meet your team and organization’s specific needs, you can choose a reliable and effective CMMS solution. Things to consider when selecting one include the features you want, your budget for the platform, whether you require cloud-based support, and the level of customization available in the software. These factors can make all the difference between a CMMS that transforms your operations and one that simply becomes dead weight.