Asset Management with CMMS
Effective asset management strategies enable organizations to prevent unnecessary downtime and lower costs. Computerized maintenance management software (CMMS) helps companies put their best foot forward when it comes to managing assets. Learn how to enhance your asset management with CMMS software.
An Overview of Maintenance Software
CMMS software was introduced many years ago as a means to computerize the process of maintaining assets. Most CMMS software offers additional features including work order management, maintenance scheduling, inventory control and the ability to maintain multiple groups of users and sites.
Perhaps the key component of an asset management strategy is maintenance management software. Without effective computerized maintenance management software (CMMS), it is nearly impossible to develop a strategy for managing assets. By utilizing CMMS software, an organization can save both time and money in a variety of different ways:
- Labor costs can be reduced as staff efficiency is maximized.
- Delays in asset downtime are minimized, as replacement parts and inventory are available ahead of scheduled maintenance work orders.
- Work order feedback loops are available to create a more granular view of the history of specific assets, allowing for both analysis of similar assets and more accurate maintenance records.
Streamline Asset Management with CMMS
There are countless ways CMMS software simplifies asset management and enhances productivity. One of the most important software features is the ability to stay on top of preventive maintenance. Neglecting to perform routine maintenance on a piece of equipment can lead to its premature failure. In order to reach an optimal lifespan, a standardized preventive maintenance plan should be implemented for each asset.
Thinking Beyond Simple Life Cycles
Several considerations should be made in conjunction with the establishment of an asset management strategy, all of which move beyond a simple assumption of maintenance work order scheduling based on suggested life cycles.
As part of the implementation of an asset management strategy, examine the preventive maintenance requirements for each asset. This will inform the development of a cohesive plan, which can subsequently be programmed into CMMS software.
Use the feedback loop discussed above to include condition-based maintenance concepts into your preventive maintenance. On a more detailed level, this means allowing for adjustments to future work orders contained in the maintenance management software. This will allow personnel to account for unexpected deterioration.
Careful consideration of optimal preventive maintenance times is one additional component to keep in mind. Since maintenance, whether planned or otherwise, removes an asset from production, the goal should be to eliminate the impact of this downtime on the business. This often means taking into account any seasonal business patterns, as well as knowing which days in a typical week are slower.
Ensuring regulatory compliance may be a consideration for your industry. Failure to comply with these laws can result in significant fines or even a temporary shutdown of operations. Facilities management software can be programmed to test against issues of compliance and include the necessary activities to ensure compliance.
Capture information automatically through the course of the workday. For example, if a work order is created and completed to repair a piece of equipment, the software then captures that information and creates a history that is associated with that particular piece of equipment.
Stay on top of what is happening throughout the day. One of the greatest advantages of facilities maintenance software is the ability to generate reports with little to no delay. Reports provide real-time information to key decision makers in an organization, enabling them to make more informed business decisions.
Enhanced insight is provided into employee performance. Each employee will be aware of the exact part he or she plays in the maintenance operation of the facility, and key stakeholders will be able to assess the performance of individual employees against expectations. Employees’ performance can be monitored to determine progress on the job, measure their productivity levels, and identify opportunities for improvement.
Thorough and consistent processes help manage workflow, resulting in a level of efficiency that is difficult to maintain otherwise. The software will help ensure maintenance tasks are adequately and completely described, and these thorough processes will be scheduled on a consistent basis. Certain form fields can be designated as required and controlled as to how users enter information in order to aid in consistency.
Preventive Maintenance
Maintenance management software allows users to extend the life of assets by providing a means to set up preventive maintenance jobs for each piece of equipment. Users can store important data such as date of equipment purchase, warranty information, repair history and more. Preventive maintenance schedules can be set by date or meter reading, and automatically send email reminders to technicians when assets are due for maintenance. An effective preventive maintenance plan helps ensure assets run smoothly and experience minimal unplanned downtime.
CMMS Reporting and Dashboards
Users can also utilize CMMS reporting features to make critical decisions related to asset management, such as equipment replacement. Although an asset may have reached its estimated lifespan, for example, it could continue operating for years to come as a result of effective maintenance management practices. A maintenance manager could determine this by analyzing asset reporting data, and then opt to use funds allocated for its replacement toward other business expenditures.
A maintenance dashboard allows users to track key performance indicators (KPIs) in real-time. Keeping tabs on an organization’s most important KPIs helps management spot trends and identify areas for improvement. For example, an asset with a high mean to time failure (MTTF) could indicate it has a defect. Management can quickly determine the right course of action to get an asset (and production) back on track. The ability to access each asset’s warranty information, stored within CMMS software, also proves beneficial in processing claims and recouping costs.
iMaint asset management software allows you to collect information such as:
- All work orders associated with an asset
- All parts and procedures associated with an asset
- Schedules set up for an asset
- General ledger accounts
- Asset status and location change
- Recurring and non-work order related costs
- Date purchased
- Warranty tracking
- Meter readings
- Codes and condition monitoring
- Seasons
- Repairs and equipment downtime
- Attachments and comments
With the help of CMMS or EAM software, maintenance management problems can be avoided. DPSI provides a variety of maintenance management software solutions for industries including manufacturing, facilities, fleet, food and beverage, government and healthcare.
Our Professional Services Team, which is made up of experienced trainers and consultants, take an in-depth look at your company’s maintenance management processes and puts together a step-by-step plan for transitioning smoothly to our software.
All work orders associated with an asset
All parts and procedures associated with an asset
Schedules set up for an asset
General ledger accounts
Asset status and location change
Recurring and non-work order related costs
Date purchased
Warranty tracking
Meter readings
Codes and condition monitoring
Seasons
Repairs and equipment downtime
Attachments and comments
Powerful and Versatile Asset Management
In addition to entering standard information, you can set up user-defined fields for all assets and specifications by asset type in iMaint.
The asset tree displays each asset and its parent or children. Other asset options include asset types, asset locations, asset groups, meter types, meter updates and lines.
Manage Assets in iMaint Fleet
Group similar vehicles together within a Unit Group to save time scheduling the group for work that can be performed on each vehicle at the same time.
Learn More
Read a few of our blog posts on asset management strategy, best practices and more.
Integrating Spare Parts Management into Your Preventive Maintenance Plan
Effective spare part management involves minimizing the amount of capital blocked in inventory while ensuring the timely availability of spare parts.
How to Create and Implement an Asset Management Strategy
An asset management strategy is a high-level but very important document that guides asset management activities within an organization. Learn more.
How to Select the Best Maintenance Policy for Your Assets
A maintenance policy defines your approach to maintaining a particular asset. Learn about the different types of asset maintenance policies.
