The Most Common CMMS Deployment Pitfalls

Over the years spent talking to customers, doing on-site CMMS deployment, interacting with industry professionals, and reading countless articles, there are a few deployment issues that keep cropping up.  When starting to train staff and deploy the software, watch out for these three mistakes:

1. Not coordinating between maintenance and operations

When switching from a reactive maintenance department (running around fixing things when they break) to a preventive one (which has generally higher performance), scheduled (preventive) maintenance lies at the heart of this transformation.  Coordinating with production schedules, as well as inventory personnel who ensure the right parts for the repair are available, is crucial to maintaining a solid PM schedule. Follow this order for assigning PM tasks:

1. Operator
2. Maintenance technician
3. Outside expert in, for example, heat-transfer or semiconductors.

Following the prioritization will allow for many ‘on-the-run’ inspections and tune ups, freeing up the need for off-hours work during downtime.  It will also eliminate duplicate or redundant PM tasks.

 2. Not getting full buy-in the from end user

As much as you want your CMMS deployment to work out and realize the massive cost savings you’ve been reading about, guess what?  It’s not really up to you.  You’re not the one performing all the preventive maintenance that gets logged, and you’re not the one logging it.  Ever notice how equipment that people hate seems to mysteriously break down more?  If you don’t want employees ‘breaking’ your CMMS, you better make sure they like it.  Buy-in is achieved by demonstrating the specific benefit to employees (better job security, learning a marketable skill) and selecting a CMMS that is easy to use and gives obvious value.

3. Not training thoroughly in data entry protocols

The strength of a CMMS is the business intel gained from diligent use.  Track as much of the work as you can, but also ensure consistent and practiced data entry methods for all users.  If failure codes are used for breakdowns make sure everyone uses them.  Make sure they know what all the codes mean so they aren’t misapplied.  If you’re tracking inventory with your CMMS make sure everyone tracks the inventory they used.  Remember that almost nothing is retained from initial training unless it is immediately practiced, and sitting in classroom is not going to get your point across.  In the first few month you will have to review how data is getting entered and ensure everyone is on the same page.