Which Is the Main Tool for Effective Maintenance Management?

Maintenance can be very hectic for the organization because big level organizations have a plethora of assets. There are lots of tools that help in maintenance management. However, you need to know about maintenance management tools so that you can use them effectively.

Which Is the Most Important Maintenance Management Tool for Business?

The most important maintenance management tool for business is CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) or AMS (Asset Management Software). These maintenance management tools are used for maintenance purposes.

Maintenance management tools like AMS or CMMS are essential when you have hundreds of assets and scheduling maintenance is not simple. This software automatically schedules maintenance, saving time for managers who can then focus on other activities.

It increases assets and equipment lifecycle, as the automated software provides data and tracks the asset lifecycle from procurement to disposal. Furthermore, with the help of data, you can know if an asset had some problems and what solutions were provided. Data history is very helpful in optimizing asset performance so that you can try new solutions.

These tools not only provide asset maintenance but also keep track of assets, helping to keep assets safe and avoid theft and misplacement. Asset misplacement is one of the reasons for an employee's decreased productivity.

CMMS or AMS lets you know the health of assets in real-time. If you think that any particular asset needs maintenance, you can schedule it. You can also set the priority of asset work orders so that the maintenance team can plan their work according to the asset priority.

What Are the Essential Features of Maintenance Management Software?

Essential features of maintenance management software are as follows:

1. Effective Work Order

For every maintenance, a work order is created so that no maintenance work is skipped. Since it is an automated process, it alerts the maintenance team about work orders so they can plan accordingly. Furthermore, this software allows you to make a list of activities that need to be done in each work order so that no activity is forgotten. It also enables managers to see work order status and track the progress of work orders.

2. Preventive Maintenance

Preventive maintenance is one of the best maintenance practices. It is proactive maintenance, meaning it schedules maintenance in advance. This type of maintenance strategy saves assets from sudden breakdowns and is cost-effective. Furthermore, it plays a crucial role in performance optimization. If you want your assets to be used for the long term, then proactive maintenance must be implemented.

According to the 2018 Plant Engineering Maintenance Survey, “Predictive maintenance is gaining some more attention. Preventive maintenance still is favored by 80% of maintenance personnel in a multi-faceted maintenance strategy.” Preventive maintenance is popular because it is simple and easy to implement. The purpose of this maintenance is to reduce maintenance expenses and increase asset life. When you implement preventive maintenance, you will notice decreased downtime and reduced unexpected asset failures.

3. Asset Maintenance Reports

Reports and analysis are important when maintenance is a sensitive topic for your organization. CMMS keeps monitoring assets and alerts the manager as soon as any potential problem is noticed. CMMS provides reports related to work orders, asset history, asset lifecycle, resources used, expenses incurred, and so on. When you have data available for these types of aspects, you can predict the future. For instance, asset expenses can be predicted, and after asset maintenance, you can estimate how long the asset will work efficiently. Reports help optimize asset performance and minimize maintenance expenses while increasing asset performance. They provide accurate information and assist in making business decisions.

4. Inventory Management

For effective maintenance management, you need to ensure that inventory is available. It has been seen in several cases that maintenance is scheduled, and everything is set, but when the operation starts, inventory is not available. When this kind of scenario occurs, productive maintenance is not delivered. Therefore, keeping track of inventory is also important to deliver effective maintenance work. The maintenance management tool provides real-time information so that you can make instant decisions. Furthermore, this software provides a reordering facility, meaning you don't have to keep track of inventory manually. This software will alert you about low stock, then the responsible person will start refilling the stock.

Conclusion

Maintenance is an important aspect of an organization, and when maintenance is neglected, business operations suffer. Maintenance keeps assets in good condition and improves uptime. More importantly, maintenance makes the asset more reliable, reducing the chances of sudden asset failure. Furthermore, manual tracking of maintenance should be avoided, and automated maintenance management tools such as asset management software should be utilized. This will simplify the process and minimize stress. Additionally, both employee and asset productivity will increase.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the benefits of asset management software?

Below we have mentioned a few of the benefits of asset management software:

Accurate information

Save money

Avoid asset theft

Decreased maintenance expenses

Quick and effective audit

Asset tracking & inventory tracking

Reports and analysis

What is the difference and similarity between CMMS and AMS?

The difference between a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) and asset management software (AMS) is that CMMS mainly focuses on asset maintenance, whereas AMS focuses on the entire asset lifecycle management, including maintenance management. The similarity between CMMS and AMS is that both use cloud computing technology and consider maintenance a significant part of their functionalities.

Does cloud computing technology provide additional benefits?

Cloud computing technology provides several benefits, such as:

Data security: The cloud service provider is responsible for data security, so you don't have to worry about it.

Reduced IT expenses: You don't have to buy expensive software, upgrade systems, or hire IT experts. You only need to pay subscription charges.

Work flexibility: With cloud technology, you are not bound to your office workstation. You can access data and update it anytime and anywhere.