Is it Possible for Small Sites to Implement CMMS Best Practices?

Is it Possible for Small Sites to have CMMS Best Practices?

The answer is Yes.

Every company, every organization, has business systems. Some of these systems provide essential reports necessary to operate the business. The onus however is on the leadership team to use these systems wisely with the staff they have. This is especially important for maintenance and engineering teams within small sites.

Most best-of-breed, CMMS products are designed to support large, asset intensive industries. These same products are sometimes purchased by smaller organizations. It is these small-to-midsize organizations that need to be very clear as to what is expected in terms of product usage (input and output) in order to maximize staff resources.

Small or large, you still need good data; and not just any data - it has to be the right data.

When designing a system, the outputs should be identified first. Once (the outputs are) known, then the inputs can be identified, i.e., who enters what data and when. Data requirements can include both foundation data and transaction data. There can also be data described as text or free-format-entry where the user can type whatever he wants, such as abbreviations and even misspelled words. The opposite of free-format-entry is validated fields where the entry is validated against a drop-down (i.e., choice list). It is the analytical reports however that often separate the best from the rest.

The next step is process flows and roles. To be truly exact, the process flows need to show the application screens down to the field level. Some CMMS fields are required and some are optional based upon work order status (WO), e.g., new WO versus completed WO. And sometimes, it is up to the person entering the data to be trained to "enter the right stuff", or, the gatekeeper (role/position) to verify correctness. An example here is the work order problem description, such that, it needs to "describe the problem" and not the fix.

Admittedly, best practices are subjective and depend upon the experiences of the person talking. There are also "bad practices" which can hinder the implementation of best practices.

What are Advanced Processes?

A CMMS has basic features and it has power features. But asset management is more than just software. Assuming the CMMS can be configured, and the staff has the knowledge, some organizations pursue advanced processes to help optimize return on asset (ROA). This type of process enables decision makers to do something they couldn’t do before, without hiring a bunch of new staff. It is these advanced processes which typically separate the best from the rest – and become best practices. Some examples are:

Small Sites can Implement Advanced Processes

The trick is for leadership to create a long-range plan which identifies the shortest path to value. Obviously, you cannot implement everything at once.  So, what advanced process should you pursue first? Many experts will have many opinions, but for me, the 2 most significant processes within a CMMS system are chronic failure analysis and autonomous scheduling. Imagine a reliability team that actually trusts the CMMS and data within. This group will leverage data to make improvement recommendations and take action. Pretty soon, you will see a reduction in reactive maintenance.

Large or small organization, this is how a CMMS should be used.