Discover the benefits of CMMS and how it can optimise your maintenance processes. From seamless integration into your operations to increased asset performance, CMMS systems provide a digital solution to make your maintenance effective.
Learn how companies are successfully implementing CMMS and get the best practices to improve your operations. Step into the future of maintenance technology and revolutionise your business with CMMS!”
List of contents
What is a CMMS?
CMMS stands for Computerised Maintenance Management System. There are different names for a CMMS, such as CMMS software, CMMS system, CMMS platform, CMMS solution or maintenance management software.
They all refer to the same thing: software used to manage the maintenance and upkeep of equipment.
CMMS helps in Facility Management planning, execution and monitoring of maintenance tasks, management of equipment, and documentation of maintenance activities.
With CMMS software you manage:
- Production facilities & plants
- Maintenance personnel
- Inventory for maintenance, repair and operation
- Delivery vehicles
- Storage facilities
- CAFM: Management Software for Efficient Facility Management
How does a CMMS work?
A CMMS system is all about work orders. They can be tracked in real time, edited, marked as completed, archived and used to generate detailed reports.
For example, if your preventive maintenance schedule includes several tasks in the HVAC system, you only need to create one maintenance request, such as a filter change, schedule it for a specific date and time, and assign it to a technician.
Once the technician has completed the task, he marks it as “done” and has one less task on his (and your) list. This is the main purpose of any maintenance management software. This process applies to both reactive (or corrective) maintenance and preventive maintenance.
Key features of the CMMS
In addition to work order management, other features will vary depending on the CMMS used in your organisation. However, the essential role of CMMS software is to speed up the management of maintenance requests, simplify communication and improve control over all maintenance work.
Here are some examples of the main features of a CMMS:
- Asset Management, so you can access all asset information for each device at any time.
- Task scheduling and preventive maintenance and repair functions so you can schedule routine inspections.
- Mobile CMMS app for maintenance teams, service providers and other workers.
Today, a CMMS should absolutely offer mobile access. With Wowflow’s mobile app, you’ll never lose track of your work orders again. Test Wowflow for free.
Error reporting and reactive maintenance capabilities to address unexpected equipment failures.
Warehouse management to control the inventory and avoid disturbances in the warehouse.
Creation of maintenance requests from any employee or customer, enabling faster fault detection.
Conducting audits of your facilities and infrastructures.
Monitoring of energy consumption, e.g. of water, gas and light in your buildings.
Performance reports, because there is always room for better maintenance strategies.
Integrations: Modern CMMS software can be integrated with other applications.
Wowflow ensures the perfect end-to-end solution through its compatibility with leading software solutions. Find out more about Wowflow’s by booking a demo here!
Who uses CMMS software?
CMMS is suitable for anyone involved in the maintenance of a business or organisation with many assets and a complex physical infrastructure.
CMMS software helps these teams optimise their maintenance management. These stakeholders include
- Maintenance Manager
- Maintenance and Repair Technician
- Inventory Manager
- IT staff
- Facilities Manager
- Production Teams
- Executives
- Security Consultant
- Service Provider
Overview of CMMS benefits
CMMS software has numerous benefits that can result in significant financial and energy savings, as well as a safer environment and overall more efficient operations:
Unplanned downtime: why it must be avoided at all costs
The cost of unplanned downtime for large manufacturing and industrial companies increased dramatically since 2020.
An hour of unplanned downtime costs manufacturers at least 50% more today than it will in 2019-2020.
In 2021, downtime will cost the automotive industry 2 million euros lost per hour.
To minimise downtime, we recommend the use of CMMS software.
6 Most Important CMMS Benefits.
CMMS systems have a lot of potential. We have selected the key benefits that will enable your business to operate efficiently, whatever your industry.
1. Overcome the never-ending maintenance backlog with CMMS
The maintenance backlog is the accumulation of pending or deferred maintenance that has not yet been completed.
Some maintenance backlog is inevitable. However, with a large maintenance backlog, it is only a matter of time before you are faced with an increasing number of breakdowns, equipment failures and high downtime.
The cost of deferred maintenance in US national parks is estimated to be $12 billion. This is an extreme case, but it illustrates the importance of keeping maintenance backlogs to an acceptable level.
A CMMS balances resources and maintenance costs so that the backlog doesn’t get out of control. The software tracks small repairs that might otherwise go unnoticed and allows maintenance tasks to be scheduled, assigned and prioritised so nothing falls through the cracks.
2. Extend the life of your equipment with CMMS
Since it is not always financially feasible to replace old equipment with new, professional maintenance is critical.
To keep equipment in good working condition longer, it needs to be serviced before something breaks. This cannot be achieved with OEM guidelines or guesswork.
Sensors can detect wear, temperature or vibration and can be attached to the various equipment.
With the help of sensor data, you can determine when and what preventive or corrective action should be taken.
Integrating CMMS software with sensors allows you to track the health of a plant in real time, detect failures before they occur, diagnose problems, and schedule maintenance.
3. Save the energy
Well-maintained plants are more energy efficient and are key to reducing your overall energy costs. Reactive maintenance is one of the main causes of energy waste in manufacturing plants, leading to inventory problems and poor planning.
A CMMS solves these problems and provides better predictive maintenance, especially with tools such as automated work orders and easy order management.
4. Predict the materials you'll need for maintenance
If you don’t keep track of your inventory, it can lead to all sorts of costly problems. Spending too much on inventory can add 12% to 20% to your original purchase cost.
If you don’t have the right parts on hand when equipment breaks down (or you can’t find them in a cluttered warehouse), it leads to downtime, rush orders and risky workarounds – all of which are expensive.
Managing your inventory with a CMMS helps you procure, track and organise materials to avoid costly problems.
Features such as automated purchasing, inventory reporting and AI-powered parts forecasting can help you make data-driven inventory decisions and avoid overstocking and understocking.
5. Ensure a safe working environment
A CMMS facilitates job management that considers the well-being of teams. You can add checklists, MSDSs, safety procedures and required protective equipment to ensure technicians perform their jobs safely and avoid risks. CMMS helps improve safety awareness among maintenance teams.
Safety procedures can be made more accessible and visible through checklists and asset profiles. Technicians can instantly access these on their mobile phones, so they don’t miss important safety instructions and your company’s employees stay safe.
- Workforce planning: manage your workforce efficiently
6. Faster repairs and inspections
Downtime occurs whenever a piece of equipment needs to be repaired or inspected. But if repairs and maintenance are inefficient, downtime is extended. These inefficiencies can cost your company a lot of time and money in lost production.
A CMMS makes it easier to repair and inspect equipment and keep downtime to a minimum. Technicians can log into a CMMS mobile application from anywhere and view an asset’s history, diagrams, and parts inventory location to get the job done faster. CMMS software can also help you find work orders that are taking too long, identify the cause of the delay and fix it so the job gets done faster.
Wowflow understands the importance of smooth workflows. With its intuitive collaboration platform, Wowflow guarantees access to all stakeholders, including external service providers.
Looking for a facility management collaboration tool? Start with Wowflow for free!
Do you need a CMMS?
To help you decide for your company, we have prepared a checklist for you:
If you ticked most of the boxes, you should consider a CMMS – or even an EAM if the complexity is even greater than maintenance.
Find the right CMMS software for your business
Look for these 7 key features to find the right CMMS for your organisation.
Configurability and integration: The best solution is tailored to your individual needs. It should integrate seamlessly with your existing workflows. It grows with you over time.
Training and Professional Services: Find a partner who can help you with training, implementation, support and long-term professional services. For our order management softwarewe offer customised onboarding: you can be up and running in minutes. Book your demo here!
Ease of use: This is crucial for software, especially if it is supposed to make your work easier. Navigating and finding information should be easy and intuitive.
Mobile order management software: Order management takes place in real time. It is instantly available to your team, wherever they are.
Reporting and forecasting capabilities:What kind of maintenance reporting and forecasting does your team need, and can the software meet those needs?
Automation Functions: Robust automation capabilities are essential for CMMS.
Last but not least, the total cost associated with implementing a CMMS solution should also be carefully considered. We have captured 4 factors that can impact the total cost of a CMMS solution:
- Scope of service: As CMMS can scale to meet individual functional requirements, this can be one of the biggest drivers of software cost.
For smaller businesses and infrastructures with moderate complexity, lower-end software may be sufficient. More robust offerings can drive up costs fairly quickly, but can also lead to huge cost savings.
Wowflow is suitable for small and medium facility management teams. We offer just the right features to support your daily business. Book a demo here! - Size of the organization: If you are looking to implement a CMMS for a large team with many users, many assets, and dynamic authorization and access requirements, you can expect this complexity to be reflected in the product cost.
- Implementation costs: Setup, training, integration, and possible downtime during installation may involve costs.
Wowflow ensures that the implementation process remains as efficient as possible. Start with Wowlfow for free. - Popularity of the software provider: For CMMS, you may pay a premium for larger software providers. This is the price for their reputation, which sometimes transcends the CMMS industry.
You may be able to keep costs down by choosing software from newer or smaller companies. We recommend that you always carefully check the ratings and available features.
Compare software solutions: What is the difference between CMMS, CAFM, ERP and EAM?
In addition to CMMS, there are other possible technologies that can improve your company’s efficiency. We have listed the differences between CMMS, CAFM, ERP and EAM to help you understand.
CAFM vs. CMMS
- the use of office space
- Cleaning cycles
- Service and maintenance specifications
- Mapping of all building technology
CMMS vs. ERP
ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. An ERP system is an application that helps a company plan its resources. Resources in this case include people, capital, equipment, materials and information technology.
CMMS systems are used for maintenance and repair. An ERP system, on the other hand, can be used in a wide range of industries. Typical functional areas are
- Finance and Accounting
- Human Resources
- Marketing and Sales
- Document Management
- Enterprise Resource Planning
- Needs assessment
The ERP system is very large and usually consists of application modules that are combined with each other. A CMMS is usually not divided into subsystems.
CMMS vs. EAM
EAM or Enterprise Asset Management is a combination of services, systems and software for managing assets. EAM includes: maintenance, order management, operations planning and scheduling, supply chain management, and environmental, health and safety initiatives.
EAM systems are designed to optimise the entire lifecycle of a company’s assets.
An ERP provides a comprehensive set of functions, while the CMMS focuses only on centralising information to optimise maintenance strategies.
So while the EAM system seeks to optimise each individual ‘life stage’, the CMMS focuses on the maintenance and upkeep of buildings or equipment and facilities.
For smaller companies, a CMMS alone is usually sufficient, as it is significantly less expensive than the EAM system.
Wowflow is designed to meet the needs of small and medium sized businesses and offers an easy to implement alternative to traditional CAFM or EAM software. Get a free product demo.
Your benefits with Wowflow:
Compared to CMMS, Wowflow’s solution is specifically tailored to the needs of facilities management teams. Our software supports your specific challenges in maintaining your buildings and facilities, regardless of the size of your organisation.
Too many software features can make work difficult. That’s why Wowflow offers a simple solution to make work easier, collaborate as a team, manage jobs and manage assets.
It’s as simple as that:
- Free Demo: Try the product before you invest.
- Quick setup: With personalised onboarding, we’ll get you up and running within a week.
- Multi-collaboration: Work with external service providers even if they don’t have a Wowflow account.
- Intuitive interface: User-friendly environment with exactly the modules your teams need.
- Integration: Stay connected to your standard ERP or CAFM tools. Easily extend your existing CAFM with Wowflow add-ons. Choose exactly the functionality you need.
Frequently Asked Questions about CMMS
What is SaaS and On-Premise?
SaaS is a cloud-based solution: the CMMS software is centrally hosted and managed by the service provider. With on-premise, the software is installed and operated locally.
CMMS Software: Saas or On-Premise?
SaaS offers greater scalability, accessibility and easy upgrades. The on-premise solution offers more control and customisation options, but requires a higher capital investment and IT resources.
CMMS: What is IoT?
IoT stands for the Internet of Things and refers to the networking of physical devices and objects that communicate and exchange data over the Internet. The more data connected to your CMMS, the better it can prevent equipment failure.
Where does CMMS make sense?
Useful applications for CMMS include maintenance and repair, quality control, field service, audit management and occupational health and safety.
