The facility management department plays a vital role in the repairs and maintenance of business assets. Their responsibilities include: tracking work orders, service requests, cleaning schedules, preventative maintenance among other duties.

As the business grows, the need for a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) increases. But at what point does the facility manager know they need to invest in a new CMMS software?

Well, the answer may vary from one company to the other. But these are some of the signs that your firm needs to buy a new CMMS software.

1. Changing Business Needs

It’s the starting point for many businesses. When starting, most firms rely on paper, Excel spreadsheets, and home-grown databases to track asset maintenance. With business growth, facility managers need more to manage the maintenance of assets.

Typically, preventative maintenances scheduling and work order management are the biggest areas that need change. Other areas that might need change include vendor management, reporting capability, inventory control, service request tracking, and software integration.

And yes, the business needs the right tool to handle the right job. CMMS software is the right tool for your maintenance needs.

2. Consistent Breakdown of Business Equipment

Most people believe that frequent machine and equipment problems are ‘business as usual. However, this doesn’t have to be the case. It points to a problem that needs urgent fixing.

If the important assets are always breaking down, it may be because there are no preventative maintenance measures in place. The repairs being done may be incorrect or there’s no follow-up to ensure that repairs are timely done.

Is your equipment always breaking down? This is a sign that you should invest in CMMS.

3. Need to Be Sure What Your Team is Doing

As a maintenance manager, are you having a rough time determining what your employees are doing daily? There’s a problem.

It doesn’t mean that your employees are slacking off, but there’s no accountability. Plus, you don’t have to waste the whole day or hours trying to track your team. You also have other activities to undertake.

If this is the case, then you need CMMS software. The system helps you to plan, schedule, and track the process with corresponding documentation by the staff. With this, you’ll get the maximum return on investment you’ve made in human resources.

4. Missing Inventory and Repair Parts

It’s a common trend in many organizations where repair parts and inventory goes missing all the time. Well, missing inventory means the parts:

• Are untracked
• Are used and no recording was done
• Are never checked out in the system
• Were checked out but they were not returned
• Returned in the wrong place

Missing repair parts might become a big issue when an important asset breaks down and needs to be fixed within the shortest possible time. Installing a CMMS system tracks all the inventory and sends notifications when the stocks are low for a reorder to be done.

Conclusion

The business future is ‘smart’. It means that the right information should be generated and delivered to the right person at the right time. This is what CMMS software seeks to achieve. It gathers information on the status of equipment and alerts technicians on these issues within a stepwise recommendation on what to do.