Key Functions Of Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS)

CMMS software performs functions supporting the management of maintenance including: 

• Work order generation and tracking
• Preventive maintenance
• Planning and scheduling 
• Equipment resource planning
• Job cost calculation 
• Failure analysis
• Inventory control
• Purchase requisition
• Calculation and reporting of costs
• Production of management reports
• Multi-level security

When evaluating a supplier, the selection criteria should include the ownership structure of the company; the portfolio and diversity of maintenance management products from a single supplier; the global geographies in which they are headquartered and operate; the range of server operating systems their products operate on; and most important, the type of solution they provide as their core business. In the latter case, a maintenance management application, or functionality, is provided by very large ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) companies, as well as the traditional CMMS companies. Even the traditional CMMS company is not so traditional anymore, as this group further divides into the asset care solution providers and the low-end, high-volume marketers of maintenance management software packages. 

Users of the sophisticated computerized maintenance management systems are often able to directly access other systems from the maintenance application. Interfaces are available to CAD systems, business systems, and document management systems. Video can also be integrated into the maintenance process, both for employee training and assistance in actual maintenance work. Integrated packages and integrated databases continue to gain in importance, and end users can integrate their financial system into their maintenance management system. Many high-end CMMS software packages permit full integration to General Ledger, Accounts Payable, and Purchasing, and a number of the high-end CMMS solutions provide these functional modules as part of their suite of applications. 

Due to the nature of maintenance management and spares inventory, maintenance management applications provide a sophisticated Purchasing module of their own. End users can also directly import word processing or other text documents into their CMMS. Interfaces permit entry of data via light wands or bar code readers. Screens and reports can be customized. Some systems offer optional graphical and ad hoc query tools and report writers for SQL databases -- Structured Query Language (SQL) is a standard language for creating, updating, and querying databases. These higher-end systems seek to capture operational data -- generally from process monitoring devices, PLCs, SPCs, or predictive maintenance systems -- analyze the data, and then perform appropriate corrective action. 

One of the key elements of any maintenance management system should be its ability to capture, present, and provide a mechanism for understanding the patterns associated with your maintenance costs. An integrated decision-support capability can be the catalyst for fundamental change in the business, production or maintenance process, thereby leading to a better ROI. 

Besides your own corporate asset care programs, you need to stay abreast of the mergers and acquisitions which are affecting the consolidation within the ranks of maintenance management suppliers. A number of acquisitions have occurred recently, and you may be faced with a migration decision to a new system.