Some Practical Tips for Successful CMMS Implementation

Based on the concepts above, here are a few practical tips to assist you in making your CMMS Implementation more successful.

Apply "Big R" Re-engineering principles

Small thinking gains small benefits. Apply some creativity when re-engineering your maintenance management processes to make sure that you take full advantage of the benefits that the software may enable. For example, the capability to enable payment of spare parts invoices on receipt of the goods may permit direct purchase items to be delivered directly to the worksite, rather than to the warehouse.

Link software selection with the process review

When re-engineering your maintenance management procedures, it is essential that the re-designed procedures can be implemented with the selected CMMS software. Similarly, to obtain maximum benefit from your CMMS implementation, it is essential that the CMMS software supports the changes to maintenance management processes that will give the greatest benefits. The general approach taken is to select the new CMMS software first, and then think about re-engineering the processes. A better approach is to perform at least a high level business process redesign, and then review the packages available to see how well they will support that redesign. For example, if the intention is to have production operators (who may only be occasional users of the CMMS) raising Work Orders in the Maintenance system (and thereby achieving better quality defect data, at source), then the need for a GUI interface may be considered o be essential. Similarly, you may consider that the capability to handle Work Requests (before conversion to Work Orders) is also essential in this situation.

Document New Processes

Make sure that everyone understands the new processes by documenting them. Effective use of flow-charting tools can help to aid understanding. If a process is not documented, then there is no way of checking whether it is being adhered to.

Gain Commitment to new procedures

People don?t change the way they work just because they are told to. They need to:

see the need for change see that there will be some personal benefit for them in making the change, and feel that they are a part of setting the direction for change

We have obtained great success in bringing about successful changes to Maintenance Management processes by:

training all maintenance and key production personnel in Best Practice Maintenance Management principles involving key maintenance and production personnel in developing the new procedures trialing the new procedures, and then giving the opportunity for further "fine tuning" of the procedures.

Establish regular procedure compliance audits

Following implementation of the new Maintenance Management Procedures, an essential measure to ensure that the procedures "stick" is to conduct periodic compliance audits. These can be conducted by means of self-assessment, by peer review, or with external assistance. However, to be successful, the audit procedure must be documented, with each audit element being able to be objectively verified.

Link compliance with new procedures to personal rewards

Better again is to link the results of compliance audits and other measures of maintenance performance to individual rewards via the Personnel Annual Evaluation process. We have found that this has "focused the mind" of many otherwise recalcitrant Maintenance Foremen!

Train maintenance personnel in the procedures, not just the software

Frequently, CMMS vendors sell excellent training in how to use their package, including, for example, how to complete all the fields on a Work Order Entry screen. Quite frequently what is missing is training in why those fields should be completed, and which codes should be completed in which situations. We have found that it is vital to put the training in the computer package into some sort of business context that makes it more relevant to those undergoing the training. This frequently requires the development of some customized training material to suit each individual operation.

Don?t under-estimate the training requirement

Generally, sufficient finds are budgeted for the initial training of personnel in the new system. Frequently, however, insufficient attention is given to the need for ongoing training (as new employees join and others leave), and re-training (to consolidate learning in areas that might have only been half-understood the first time around).

Include the Production department in your plans

Bear in mind that the Maintenance process actually crosses departmental boundaries. In particular, the Maintenance/Production interface is critical. Maintenance requires accurate information from Production to be able to plan and scope maintenance work. Effective scheduling requires Maintenance and Production plans to be consistent. An effective CMMS implementation requires that Production Management, supervision and operators are just as committed to the changes required as Maintenance personnel. Yet frequently they are "left out of the loop". You must formally included them in your plans.

Consider your reporting requirements

Often the focus in CMMS selection and implementation is on transaction processing - how to raise work orders, how to plan and schedule work etc. Equally important, if not more important, is for you to consider what information you require to manage the Maintenance function. A formal review to determine the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that you may want is a very good start. Then consider where the data to produce these KPIs is going to come from. Can the system easily provide you with a report that shows the percentage of last week?s weekly schedule that was achieved, for example? Frequently you will find that producing these KPIs will require data to come from different systems - for example Maintenance Costs per ton may require data from the CMMS (or accounting system) and the Production systems. Maintenance safety statistics may need data from a totally separate system again.

Clearly there is an advantage in being able to produce all of your KPI requirements from one system, real-time, at any time you choose. Consider whether your CMMS can provide all your required data, and if it can?t can it at least link to a suitable package that will. Frequently we see CMMS packages (even the more reputable ones!) that do an excellent job of processing Work Orders, but lack even the fundamental reports that are required to manage the Maintenance process

From an implementation point of view, bear in mind that if you will not want information out of the system in the form of a query or report, then there is no point in putting it in there in the first place. Be ruthless and beware of the "Just in Case" syndrome - "we may want that one day". If you don?t have a report which requires the data from Day 1, then don?t enter that data.

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