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Computerized Maintenance Management System [CMMS]

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“Perhaps the biggest resource in many plants is the CMMS or computerized maintenance management system.  All in all, the computer can be thought of as a set of mini-files and forms.  The CMMS electronically links forms to equipment to make data and other information available as needed regarding that equipment.”

“It is critical to be able to visualize the process as done without a computer before computerizing or using a CMMS or even using an Excel spreadsheet.”

“CMMS makes maintenance information readily available.  To make the CMMS information usable requires effort on the part of the planning organization.  The planners normally code work orders to allow future reporting and analysis.”  Palmer, R., (2019). Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Handbook, 4th Edition

  • How many work orders have been processed over the last 2 years?
  • How much have failure and breakdown work orders been reduced?
  • Which crew has the greatest amount of failures occurring in the systems it maintains
  • Which work orders are waiting for planning?
  • Which work orders have been completed, but not closed because of drawing revisions needed?
  • Are there any planned work orders that can be worked along with the emergency job just started in this system?
  • How many hours are spent for preventative maintenance (PM)?
  • How many hours are spent for corrective maintenance that is generated from PM work?

A computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) is any software package that maintains a computer database of information about an organization's maintenance operations. This information is intended to help maintenance workers do their jobs more effectively (for example, determining which machines require maintenance and which storerooms contain the spare parts they need) and to help management make informed decisions (for example, calculating the cost of machine breakdown repair versus preventive maintenance for each machine, possibly leading to better allocation of resources).

CMMS Plan
The different steps of implementing a CMMS plan

CMMS data may also be used to verify regulatory compliance. To properly control the maintenance of a facility, information is required to analyze what is occurring. Manually, this requires a tremendous amount of effort and time. A CMMS also allows for record keeping, to track completed and assigned tasks in a timely and cost-effective manner.

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