Computerised Maintenance Management Systems Save Money, Time and Lives

What is CMMS?

Computerized Maintenance Management Systems, also known as CMMS, are designed to help protect organizations from losses associated with equipment, servicing and time management failures.

Such losses may result in costly mistakes or repairs and replacement of capital investments, in addition to the downtime associated with repairs, retooling, and rescheduling of client orders. More than a simple calendaring tool, this software is capable of tracking upcoming needs for a wide variety of industries and processes, as well as documenting actions taken to maintain equipment, service levels and staff compliance in a broad range of situations.

Virtually any large organization can benefit from using them to save money, reduce errors and even save lives.

Using computerized maintenance management systems in Machinery and Equipment Maintenance

Utilizing a CMMS system assists companies in scheduling necessary ongoing maintenance of equipment to ensure that breakdowns don't occur as a result of failure to properly service machinery at recommended intervals. According to Reliability Magazine, 38% of machinery failures result from improper maintenance.

This is often associated with failure to maintain machinery in compliance with recommended manufacturer guidelines. Having a computerized system in place which monitors the need for periodic service facilitates these activities in a timely manner.

Integrating maintenance schedules with production needs eases the burden of caring for machines in the face of tight production deadlines by predicting the need for downtime and integrating it into production time. This saves money by allowing performance of scheduled tasks to occur during slower periods.

Promoting Safety

Utilization of CMMS systems ensures that machinery is maintained in safe working order, and reduces the possibility of employee or patient injury associated with machinery breakdown. This can provide significant cost savings to companies utilizing computerised maintenance management systems by keeping employees out of the hospital and on the production line.

In other settings, it saves money by ensuring accurate readings from sensitive machinery such as diagnostic equipment.

Vehicle and Building Maintenance Applications

Computerized maintenance management systems software can also be utilized for vehicles and building maintenance. For example, a fleet of 10 lawn maintenance vehicles may require oil changes after 60 hours of use and transmission fluid replacement after 30,000 hours.

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The headache of tracking usage hours and needed maintenance for each vehicle can be avoided with service reminders and can avert costly part replacements that can result from neglect or oversight. In building maintenance, where scheduled service may include furnace filters on a quarterly basis, or weekly, monthly or quarterly cleaning schedules, CMMS systems can help keep cleaning crews on task and important mechanical structures in good working order.

Hospitals, for example, may utilize cleaning schedules to ensure that no areas of the building are being neglected during periodic sanitizing procedures. They may also use the system to ensure that medical equipment is properly calibrated to protect patient safety.

Multi-disciplinary use in Institutions

Computerised maintenance management systems can be utilized effectively in virtually any situation where timely action is required to maintain normal operating parameters, while also maintaining a written record of the actions taken to address the organization's needs.

In a large nursing home, for instance, CMMS might be applied to feeding and showering patients and providing periodic healthcare screening, maintaining the home's fleet of vehicles and maintenance equipment, maintaining medical equipment, keeping up with the cleaning schedules associated with the patient's rooms and public and administrative areas and maintaining the building in which patients live.

Not only does this ensure that necessary actions are completed, it documents the date and time of these actions, ensuring that there is an accurate record of compliance, which is especially important in industries where compliance is monitored by outside agencies. This can reduce the burden of record keeping during periodic inspections and therefore reduce the associated payroll costs of tracking activities.

The more structured and time-sensitive the needs of an organization become, the more likely they will be to benefit from these important business tools. The flexibility of these systems allows them to be customized to fit the needs of each institution, providing integrated solutions with documentation of task completion in multiple departments within an organization.

The savings associated with equipment maintenance, safety, accuracy and documentation make them well worth the investment.

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K2 Technology Pty Ltd specialises in Asset Management Services, Engineering, Technical Support and Asset Management Technologies for industry. We regard our personnel and our reputation for high quality service as our most valuable assets. Visit our website today at www.k2techno.com.au.