The mysteries behind the CMMS

There are many challenges encountered in day-to-day maintenance. Anyone looking to optimize their asset management processes must have come across the term CMMS. But what does this huge acronym mean? I will bring you a series that unravels the mysteries behind the CMMS.

Rodrigo, what is CMMS?

Basically, CMMS stands for Computerized Maintenance Management System/Software which, in literal translation, means Computerized Maintenance Management System. In the market, this solution can also be found as CMMS software, CMMS system, CMMS platform, among others.

It facilitates the maintenance management of a company's assets, unifying in a single place the information and data relevant to the maintenance routines. This reduces numerous processes by automating tasks that would require time and resources.

But how does a CMMS work in practice?

Most modern CMMS systems work as cloud-based solutions. This means that maintenance information and data is stored on an online server and can be accessed from any device using a username and password.

The system organizes information such as work orders and maintenance requests, crossing these data with others such as spare parts stock, professional in charge of a certain function, among others. In addition, it organizes schedules for preventive maintenance plans, assigning a certain task to the technician in charge at a pre-programmed frequency.

With all this cross-information, orders can be monitored in real time and complementary information about their execution can be monitored, marked as complete, saved and, above all, filed as very detailed reports, without paper and automatically.

Functions of a CMMS

Among the functions of a CMMS system, we can highlight:

- Registration of equipment, components and structures;

- Organization of the life cycle of machines and equipment;

- Registration and management of supplies and personnel;

- Creation of preventive maintenance plans;

- Service planning;

- Opening and monitoring of service requests;

- Prioritization and scheduling of work orders;

- Generation of reports and KPIs.

Benefits of CMMS in asset management

Basically, it organizes the available information: maintenance software eliminates the need for forms and programs such as Excel or similar. By centralizing all information about work plans, breakdowns, technical manuals and images in one place, access to this data becomes easier, and can even be accessed in a mobile environment.

Greater reliability: through the CMMS, the monitoring of maintenance schedules is automatic and recurring. This helps ensure that the right resources are available when needed and prevents oversights and process failures.

Agility in processing requests: With a CMMS, the maintenance manager and his team receive and process maintenance requests 24/7, even if they are busy with other work. The software allows you to streamline processes by prioritizing jobs and creating work orders.

Better Inventory Management: Managing your inventory with a CMMS makes it easy to keep track of the cost of parts used in maintenance. By creating automated reports, you can optimize orders and parts usage, reducing last-minute ordering costs, avoiding long out-of-stock stops and improving availability.

Predictive maintenance made easy: By collecting data on maintenance, repairs and inventory usage, the CMMS will use this information to predict when maintenance projects are due to occur, alerting maintenance teams of impending issues before they occur. Unplanned downtime is reduced, keeping the asset in good working order for longer periods of time. A recent survey indicates that 55% of the maintenance done in North American companies is still reactive. The ideal scenario is that only 20% of the maintenance is done this way, with the rest of the 80% being proactive or scheduled.

Reduction of repair costs: With all these benefits it is possible to achieve a more effective management in the maintenance of your equipment. We have fewer breakdowns, a longer period between repairs, a lower probability of malfunctions, and a longer asset life, resulting in cheaper repair costs.

Less downtime: Using data to manage tasks and schedules and ensuring the right technician and parts are available at the right time, CMMS reduces downtime for your asset. This occurs as a direct consequence of reducing unexpected downtime due to equipment failures and makes it easier to schedule preventive maintenance so expected downtimes occur at times of low impact.

More Security Less Risk: A CMMS system reduces operational risk by confirming that equipment operates within acceptable limits and that all security features and components are functional. Plus, it makes it easy to manage work permits, manage risk, manage safety procedures, legislative compliance, and more.

Next week, we'll bring you the main differences between CMMS and EAM – I know, I know, I'm getting hard on the acronyms, but to go deep into the world of asset management, come with me they are important and I can prove it.

See you!

Ah, to delve deeper into the topic, follow the link on Manusis4's blog: Guide CMMS: Guide CMMS: Check out everything about Maintenance Management System (manusis4.com)

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