PSIwebware Blog

Today’s CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Software) is capable of scheduling much more than preventive maintenance.  CMMS Software has become an integral part of daily operations for many facility service providers.

Here are 5 key roles of CMMS:

1. Instant Communication - Modern CMMS Software is 100% Web Based.  This allows you to create and access your maintenance schedules, inventory, employee profiles, training performed, timekeeping, and on-demand work orders from anywhere at any time.

2. Raise Employee Accountability.  Since maintenance work schedules and work instructions are easy to share and updates on work reporting is instant, it is much easier today to keep track of work performance.

3. Increase Client Visibility.  Clients wonder if the work they have paid for has been performed and was the work done well.  With instant reporting and possibly even limited Client access to your web based CMMS Software, they can be part of the action and feel more empowered.

4. Improve Corporate Control.  Your management team will gain most of the benefits of being on-site without the wasted travel time, since they can see work performace as it happens.  When issues arise, they can instantly see if they are being addressed and can assist if needed.  They will be better informed when discussing performance with clients and can respond quicker to serious issues.

5. Save time.  The goal of all CMMS Software systems is to save your team time.  From scheduling, to tracking, to reporting, to analysis of performance and cost, your team will have the tools they need to achieve profitable results.  Since work staff has been stretched thin in most facilities, if your on-site managers attempted to perform all of these functions manually, you would find that work doesn’t get done on time, or not done well, or both.

CMMS Software improves your ability to take effective control of facilities, assets, equipment, and maintenance.  A company’s main challenge is to do more with less.  Efficient maintenance processes with instant work performance feedback will help you prevent issues, perform better, improve costs, and prove performance to your clients.

Every day poses new challenges to minimize waste for facility management companies in today’s economy.  Maximizing the resources that you already have is critical to your success.

One of the “tools” you may already have is CMMS Software.  You may have had your current CMMS Software for a decade or more, but ask yourself – is your team using it properly?  The biggest challenge facilities face is keeping up with service demand on a tight budget.  If your team was coordinated in a way that was visible to you and your client, they were accountable for their work, and you could prove it – what could your business achieve?

As we all know, we live in a constantly evolving world where business has to be able to turn on a dime.  To keep pace with little to no extra resources is nearly impossible.  So how can you do it?

Companies who have successfully answered that question have started with the easiest way to minimize wasted effort.  They didn’t start out with big ideas, they started with small improvements.  They have worked a little every week to carve out time that allows them to invest that time to carve out even more time the next week.  They worked on Preventive Action to avoid wasted effort and needless “emergencies”.

It hasn’t been easy for companies to make that transition, but it has been worthwhile.  Because they began making the most of their current systems, they were then in a position to evaluate how they needed their CMMS Software system to work.  They clearly defined what objective had to be met, spent the time they have carved out to implement their optimized solution, and made the extra effort in management to ensure they were successful.

So ask yourself again, “How can you do it?”  You will probably have to embrace an element of “bootstrapping” that start up companies use to survive and thrive.  Once you have identified your bootstrapping opportunities, your choice of CMMS Software can be a critical component of the solution.  We have found that the most flexible systems give you a better chance of success, since they can adapt to course corrections that are needed to achieve your management goals.

Web based CMMS Software gives you the visibility needed to raise accountability, improve client understanding of your value, and provide the management oversight you need to succeed.  By maintaining a database of the information needed to get the job done, this tool works hand in hand with everyone who is critical to your success.

Getting the most from your CMMS Software investment is a logical next step towards managing your company’s future.