Realistic Goals During the First Year of a CMMS Implementation
Reena Sommer, Ph.D, Content Writer and Trial Consultant
Posted on 10/17/23
Numerous articles espouse the benefits of implementing a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS). Regardless of the source, the overall takeaway is that a CMMS can significantly improve maintenance operations in various businesses across industry sectors. However, the question remains, “How do these benefits realistically translate into achievable and tangible goals during the first year following implementation?”
Realistic Goals for the 1st Year of a CMMS Implementation
Improved Work Order Management
A CMMS software centralizes and digitizes work order creation, assignment, tracking, and completion. Maintenance teams can quickly generate and prioritize work orders, assign them to technicians, and monitor their progress in real-time. Additionally, detailed documentation can be generated, enabling technicians to input information about the work performed, parts used, and associated costs. The CMMS maintains a historical record of all work orders, allowing for data-driven decision-making, trend analysis, and the ability to schedule preventive maintenance more efficiently.
OBJECTIVE
Streamline work order creation, assignment & completion processes
REALISTIC GOAL
20-30% Improvement in work order efficiency
Increased Asset Uptime
Through scheduled preventive maintenance, CMMS ensures that assets receive regular check-ups and servicing, minimizing the likelihood of unexpected breakdowns. It also facilitates efficient work order management, enabling timely responses to emerging issues. It tracks the entire maintenance history of each asset, providing valuable insights into its performance trends, which helps make informed decisions about repairs or replacements. With predictive maintenance based on data analytics and trend analysis, CMMS can identify and rectify potential issues before they escalate into major problems. Furthermore, CMMS helps inventory management by ensuring the availability of necessary spare parts, reducing downtime associated with waiting for replacements.
OBJECTIVE
Reduce downtime and increase the availability of critical assets
REALISTIC GOAL
5-20% decrease in unscheduled downtime
Enhanced Preventive Maintenance Compliance
CMMS makes it possible to systematically schedule routine maintenance tasks based on predefined intervals or specific triggers, ensuring that inspections, servicing, and repairs are conducted on time. CMMS software provides notifications and reminders to maintenance personnel, reducing the likelihood of overlooked or delayed preventive maintenance activities. Through accessible historical maintenance data, teams can track and analyze the performance of assets over time. This visibility helps to identify patterns and optimize maintenance schedules for improved efficiency.
OBJECTIVE
Ensure that preventive maintenance tasks are completed on schedule
REALISTIC GOAL
Achieve 90-95% compliance with preventive maintenance schedules
Inventory Optimization
A CMMS facilitates real-time visibility into inventory levels, enabling maintenance teams to accurately monitor stock levels and usage patterns. The software can also establish reorder points and generate automatic alerts when inventory falls below a specified threshold, ensuring that necessary supplies are replenished promptly. Additionally, CMMS helps categorize and classify items, reducing inventory costs.
OBJECTIVE
Reduce excess inventory & stockouts through better management
REALISTIC GOAL
20-25% reduction in excess inventory levels
Improved Safety and Compliance
CMMS helps maintain equipment and assets under regulatory standards and manufacturer recommendations. This proactive approach minimizes the likelihood of malfunctions or failures that could lead to accidents or non-compliance issues. Additionally, CMMS facilitates the scheduling of routine inspections and preventive maintenance tasks, ensuring that equipment is regularly assessed for potential safety hazards. Moreover, it helps track and manage safety-related documentation, streamlining the compliance process. CMMS improves accountability and transparency, assisting in demonstrating adherence to safety protocols and regulatory requirements. These measures reduce the risk of accidents and help protect businesses from legal and financial consequences associated with non-compliance.
OBJECTIVE
Ensure that maintenance activities meet regulatory & safety standards. Reduce the time required to prepare for compliance audits.
REALISTIC GOAL
15-20% reduction in safety incidents related to maintenance. Reduce time to prepare documentation for compliance audits by 50%.
Data-Driven Decision Making
CMMS is pivotal in enabling Data-Driven Decision-Making (DDDM) within organizations. It collects and organizes vast amounts of maintenance-related data and then provides a comprehensive view of equipment performance, maintenance histories, and resource utilization. This data is then transformed into actionable insights through analytics tools, enabling managers to identify trends, forecast maintenance needs, and optimize resource allocation.
CMMS platforms often offer real-time monitoring and reporting capabilities, allowing for quick responses to emerging issues.
OBJECTIVE
Use CMMS data for better decision-making in maintenance planning
REALISTIC GOAL
Configure and make necessary reports accessible to maintenance and facilities managers. Reports should be accessible through the CMMS available on dashboards and configured to be scheduled and emailed to recipients.
Reduce Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)
A CMMS allows maintenance managers to measure the time required from asset failure to completion of the repair. Maintenance managers should monitor MTTR monthly and find ways to shorten the time required to repair assets.
OBJECTIVE
Reduce MTTR and equipment downtime
REALISTIC GOAL
Reduce MTTR by 10-20%
Improved Reporting and Analysis
CMMS software quickly retrieves and generates comprehensive reports by systematically recording and organizing maintenance data. This leads to improved decision-making processes as managers can access critical information about equipment performance, work orders, maintenance costs, and asset history. Additionally, CMMS enables tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and trends over time, providing valuable insights into maintenance efficiency and resource allocation. This data-driven approach makes proactive maintenance planning possible, helping to identify potential issues before they escalate, ultimately reducing downtime, increasing overall operational efficiency, and ensuring that maintenance practices adhere to industry regulations.
OBJECTIVE
Generate meaningful reports for better performance tracking & analysis
REALISTIC GOAL
Configure 5-10 relevant reports with meaningful KPIs
Maintenance Cost Reduction
Taking into account the achievable goals noted above, a CMMS reduces costs. The CMMS systematic approach enhances operational efficiency, helps with asset lifecycle management, and ultimately leads to significant cost savings for organizations.
OBJECTIVE
Reduce maintenance-related costs through better resource allocation
REALISTIC GOAL
Achieve a 10-15% reduction in maintenance costs
Customer and Stakeholder Satisfaction
A CMMS enables timely and proactive maintenance scheduling, minimizing unexpected downtime and disruptions in services or operations. This leads to increased equipment reliability and availability of products or services, directly translating to improved customer satisfaction. Additionally, CMMS facilitates accurate maintenance history and cost tracking, providing stakeholders with transparent and detailed insights into asset performance, thus building trust and confidence in the organization’s management of its assets. Furthermore, CMMS often integrates with customer relationship management (CRM) systems, enabling better communication regarding maintenance schedules, updates, and potential client disruptions.
OBJECTIVE
Meet or exceed customer and stakeholder expectations regarding equipment reliability & performance
REALISTIC GOAL
Achieve a 10-15% improvement in customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores
A Few Words About Organizations with Smaller Teams
When organizations with smaller teams undergo CMMS implementation, their goals and realized outcomes may differ slightly from those with larger teams due to scale and resource availability differences. Here are some key differences between larger and smaller teams when using a CMMS:
Scale of Operations
Smaller teams often have a more generalized approach where technicians might be responsible for a broader range of maintenance tasks. Maintenance teams in larger organizations tend to be more specialized and structured, with dedicated technicians for different equipment or systems.
Complexity of Assets
Compared to larger organizations, smaller operations may have fewer and less complex assets to manage, leading to simpler maintenance requirements.
Work Order Volume
Smaller teams may deal with fewer work orders, allowing for a more personal and less automated approach. Due to the scale of operations, larger teams might manage a higher volume of work orders and require more efficient prioritizing.
Resource Allocation
With fewer resources, smaller teams may need to be more creative in resource allocation, often relying on outsourcing or contractors for specialized tasks. For organizations with larger teams, the CMMS must help assign tasks based on technician availability, skill sets, and priority.
Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance may be more ad-hoc in smaller teams with less structured schedules.
Larger teams often have a more robust preventive maintenance program.
Download IDCON INC’s FREE Guide to Developing your Preventive Maintenance Program in 8 Steps.
Reporting and Analytics
Reporting may be more straightforward in smaller teams, focusing on basic metrics like uptime, downtime, and maintenance costs. Reporting and analytics are crucial for larger teams for tracking KPIs, evaluating performance, and making data-driven decisions.
Integration with Other Systems
Smaller teams may require less extensive integration and rely more on standalone CMMS functionality. CMMS integration with other enterprise systems (like ERP, EAM, or IoT platforms) may be more critical for larger organizations to ensure seamless data flow between different departments.
User Training and Support
Training might be more straightforward in smaller teams, potentially requiring less extensive onboarding. Training a larger team to use the CMMS effectively can be a significant undertaking requiring robust training resources and support options.
Cost Considerations
Smaller teams may be more budget-conscious and opt for a more straightforward, cost-effective CMMS solution. Budget considerations are essential for larger organizations. They might be willing to invest more in a sophisticated CMMS with extensive features.
Conclusion – CMMS Implementation
The goals and expectations outlined in this article can vary depending on the industry, the business size, and the CMMS implementation’s specific objectives. Nevertheless, the success of any CMMS implementation also depends on factors like organizational commitment, user engagement, and ongoing system maintenance. To achieve the best and most realistic outcomes for businesses, large and small, it’s also crucial to regularly monitor progress, gather user feedback, and make necessary adjustments to achieve desired results.
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