Maintenance teams are tasked with an extremely wide range of responsibilities. Your maintenance personnel play a critical role in ensuring the safety, efficiency and continuity of your business operation.
But playing this role requires a versatile maintenance team, one that is armed with the knowledge, skills, and experience to handle the upkeep, inspection, and repair of critical assets including machinery, equipment, vehicles, facilities and infrastructure.
These essential maintenance tasks are compounded and complicated by responsibilities such as inventory management, documentation and record-keeping, regulatory compliance, and adherence to current safety standards. Taken together, these responsibilities present a challenging landscape for modern maintenance teams.
Why maintenance management software is important
Fortunately, the current generation of leading-edge technologies is designed to help maintenance personnel navigate these challenges with greater ease. Maintenance management software has become an increasingly standard part of the maintenance and asset management strategies for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Maintenance management software solutions often include features such as preventive maintenance (PM) scheduling, Work Order management, inventory management, compliance tracking, and more.
In the discussion that follows, we’ll take a deeper look at the role that tech-enabled solutions such as Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) can play in streamlining your organization’s maintenance program, improving workplace safety conditions, lengthening the expected useful life of your critical assets, and improving your organization’s overall productivity.
What is maintenance management software?
Broadly speaking, maintenance management software refers to a suite of digital tools designed to help organizations plan, track, and optimize their maintenance work. An effective maintenance management software solution will help streamline the management of maintenance tasks, preventive maintenance (PM) scheduling, resource allocation, and more.
Most maintenance systems are designed to help manage the organizational, administrative, and analytical components of your maintenance program. This can simultaneously offset the burden on your maintenance technicians and enhance the efforts of your maintenance team, ultimately helping to improve the efficiency, functionality, and longevity of your equipment.
Common types of maintenance management software
There are several types of leading maintenance management software. The right one for your organization will depend on a host of factors including your operational needs, the types of physical assets you utilize, and the scale of your business. Among the most common types of maintenance management software are Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS), Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) systems, and Asset Performance Management (APM) Software.
These widely used maintenance management systems have some overlapping features but there are a numberof features distinguishing each software solution. Below, we take a closer look at these similarities and differences.
- Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) are software platforms designed to simplify and automate maintenance management tasks such as work order management; preventive maintenance (PM) scheduling; asset management; inventory management; detailed reporting; advanced data analytics; and integration with a wide variety of other systems. CMMS software platforms are ideal for organizations looking to improve their maintenance processes, reduce downtime, and extend the life of their assets, particularly asset-intensive organizations like those in the manufacturing, energy production, and refinery sectors.
- Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) software offers a more comprehensive approach to asset management relative to CMMS platforms, encompassing not only maintenance but also the entire lifecycle of assets. Key features of EAM systems include comprehensive asset lifecycle management from procurement to disposal; advanced data analytics and reporting; seamless integration with other business systems; and detailed tracking and reporting to support and demonstrate regulatory compliance. EAM systems are particularly well suited for large organizations with extensive and complex asset portfolios who wish to maximize the performance of their assets while minimizing the total cost of ownership (which generally includes acquisition, operation, upkeep, maintenance, and disposal).
- Asset Performance Management (APM) Software uses advanced analytics and real-time monitoring to measure asset performance and efficiency using a combination of predictive maintenance analytics; risk assessment strategies; and emergent technology such as condition monitoring sensors and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. APM software is particularly beneficial to organizations in sectors where asset reliability and performance are tantamount to operational continuity and success such as in the manufacturing, energy, and transportation industries.
Who uses maintenance management software?
An effective maintenance program depends on seamless collaboration and communication between relevant stakeholders. One of the core benefits of an effective maintenance management software solution is the utility it provides for coordination between key professionals across your organization.
The right maintenance management software solution should provide a centralized platform for access to work orders, maintenance schedules, written Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), asset specs, tracking and location of key equipment, and much more. This means that your maintenance management software will be used by key professionals in both your maintenance department and throughout the organization.
For instance:
- Maintenance technicians utilize maintenance management software to receive, track, and complete work orders; access detailed histories and manuals for individual assets; and use mobile devices to update work status and log tasks in real-time.
- Maintenance managers leverage maintenance management software to schedule maintenance tasks; track the performance of maintenance activities and team members; and generate reports on maintenance costs, asset performance, and compliance.
- Inventory managers use management software to track the usage and stock levels of spare parts; set up automatic reordering for critical parts; and monitor and control inventory costs.
- Reliability engineers use maintenance management software solutions to predict and prevent equipment failures; monitor the health of critical assets in real time; and conduct failure analyses aimed at identifying and resolving recurring issues.
- Safety managers utilize maintenance management software to compile audit trails detailing safety inspections and other compliance activities; identify and address potential safety hazards; and document safety training efforts.
Why is maintenance management software valuable?
Maintenance management software offers many features that can significantly improve the effectiveness of your maintenance program. Key use cases and benefits of maintenance management software include:
- Reduced downtime through a combination of streamlined work order management and tracking; automated preventive maintenance scheduling; and integration with predictive data analytics and condition monitoring technology.
- Improved spare parts management through enhanced stock level monitoring and inventory tracking; automatic reordering for critical spare parts based on usage patterns; and more precise cost control measures through stock level optimization and waste reduction.
- Data-driven decision-making through advanced performance analytics; detailed reports on maintenance activities, costs, and asset health; and customizable dashboards for monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) in real-time.
- Enhanced safety through improved record-keeping; detailed compliance tracking; and comprehensive risk assessment and mitigation.
- Increased operational efficiency through a more optimal allocation of resources including materials, tools, and personnel; mobile access to work orders for enhanced collaboration and communication; and automated scheduling for routine maintenance tasks.
- Extended asset lifespan through proactive maintenance activities; real-time monitoring; and lifecycle tracking,
Maintenance management software: must-have features
Maintenance management software solutions like Limble’s industry-leading CMMS offer features designed to streamline maintenance operations, optimize workflows, enforce compliance, and improve reporting. Below are some of the key capabilities to look for when choosing the right maintenance management software for your organization:
- Asset management tools including a centralized asset database for storing detailed asset information such as location, maintenance history, and warranty information; an internal asset hierarchy for easier organization, visibility, and management of assets; and lifecycle tracking and management
- Work Order Management tools including automated Work Order order creation, assignment, and prioritization; real-time updates on, and mobile accessibility into, the status of work orders; and customizable workflows ensuring consistent execution of maintenance tasks with predefined checklists and procedures
- Preventive maintenance (PM) planning with automated maintenance scheduling based on metrics such as usage, time, or performance and designed to prevent equipment failure
- Predictive Maintenance strategies including the incorporation of advanced data analytics and IoT sensors, both of which can help your maintenance team predict and present potential equipment failures
- Spare parts management through streamlined inventory tracking; real-time stock level monitoring; and automatic reordering for critical spare parts based on usage patterns
- Safety management through detailed compliance tracking and reporting; comprehensive records of safety inspections, audits, and certifications; and easy access to safety manuals, procedures, and compliance documentation
- Reporting and analytics, including detailed reports on maintenance activities, costs, asset performance, and compliance; customizable dashboards for monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) in real-time; and analysis of maintenance data for identifying trends, recurring issues, and areas due for improvement
Selecting the right maintenance management software
Maintenance management software is a rapidly growing sector, which means you have a lot of options to choose from. While this is great news for organizations looking to improve their maintenance programs, it can also present a challenging landscape for consumers.
How can you choose the best maintenance management software for your organization and how can you ensure a dependable return on investment (ROI)?
Below, we offer some helpful tips for vetting prospective vendors, asking the right questions, and making an informed decision about your maintenance management software provider:
- Define your needs and goals, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your current maintenance processes; determining which features are essential in your software solution; and defining the objectives you hope to achieve with the new software, such as reducing downtime, improving inventory management, or enhancing reporting capabilities.
- Create a short list of vendors who can demonstrate experience in your industry, can present case studies or testimonials from other organizations in your space, and have the technology to handle your organization’s needs.
- Ask the right questions of prospective vendors regarding the functionality and usability of their software, its integration capabilities, vendor-provided support and training services, data security strategies, compliance track record, associated costs, projected ROI, and more.
- Request live demonstrations to see the software in action, and be sure to ask about free trials or pilot programs so that you can test the software with your team in a real-world setting.
- Gather feedback from key stakeholders including maintenance technicians, managers, and IT professionals as part of the process to evaluate the software’s ease of use, functionality, and overall fit for your organization.
- Make an informed decision by measuring the vendors on your shortlist against criteria such as functionality, ease of use, integration, support, and cost; and consequently negotiating the terms of a contract, including pricing, support, and service level agreements (SLAs).
Challenges in implementing maintenance management software
Organizations may need to navigate a number of challenges to see the benefits.
CMMS implementation challenges may include:
- Resistance to cultural shifts, particularly for employees who are not provided with the training or who lack the background to adapt to new technology, changing workflows, and new quality control measures
- Up-front costs, including the initial costs to purchase and obtain the necessary licenses for relevant software; the costs of implementation and customization; training expenses; and the heightened investment in preemptive maintenance tasks
- Integration challenges, including incompatibility with existing systems such as outdated ERP software or financial accounting tools
- Data management discrepancies as a result of inaccurate, incomplete, or duplicate data or through an absence of consistent data entry procedures
- Progress tracking issues, often resulting from a failure to define key performance indicators (KPIs), set realistic goals, continuously monitor performance outcomes, or create open communication channels for feedback from end users and other personnel
Limble customers rate the platform highly for both ease of use and implementation. Check out some of the awards we’ve earned from G2.
Learn more with our guides to maintenance management software
- To learn more about the functions and features available in today’s top platforms, check out our Essential Guide to Maintenance Management Software.
- For a closer look at the characteristics you should seek in a software provider, check out our comprehensive CMMS Buyer’s Guide.
- And for a deeper dive into the process and challenges of implementing a maintenance management program, check out our Guide to Getting the Green Light.
