The benefits of a CMMS span a variety of areas in your department. From work order management to preventive maintenance to inventory management, a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) helps to reduce costs, increase asset efficiency, and improve productivity.

But it doesn’t stop there. Here are 17 benefits that you can gain by using a CMMS for your facilities management and maintenance operations.

Table of contents

  1. Financial benefits of CMMS software
  2. Benefits of CMMS software for your equipment
  3. Benefits of CMMS software for your processes

Financial benefits of a CMMS

financial benefits

1. Decrease maintenance costs

A CMMS allows you to easily track all of your maintenance, labor, and inventory costs so you can see how much time and money are going into each maintenance request. With this data, you can gain insight into problem areas within your team and adjust processes that help save your department money and improve your bottom line.

2. Make data-driven maintenance decisions

The data collected in your CMMS can be customized to help you manage the metrics that matter most. Data such as total maintenance repairs, hours spent on work orders, average resolutions times, and maintenance and inventory costs can be used to justify capital and labor expenditures, determine when it’s time to replace an asset, and identify the resources needed for your maintenance department to operate efficiently.

3. Manage inventory items

When it comes to maintenance inventory management, many organizations run into shortages, or even high expenses, because they don’t have a structured system for managing spare parts. With a CMMS, you can easily track and manage all of your inventory items. From keeping up with low quantities to associating inventory with work orders to even ordering more right from the system, you will be able to reduce inventory shortages, increase storage space, and decrease high ordering costs.

4. Track and report maintenance costs

Whether it’s ordering new parts or hiring an outside vendor, facility maintenance can come with many associated costs. A CMMS can help you track these costs as they occur, allowing you to monitor expenses, create reports to share with upper management, and justify budgeting needs for the future.

5. Track worker hours

In addition to tracking maintenance costs, a CMMS also makes it possible for you to track your team’s hours, calculate labor costs associated with each work order, and give you better insight into how your team is performing. This information helps you identify any weaknesses in your processes so that you can address and improve them, ultimately increasing efficiency.

6. Save energy

A good CMMS has the ability to turn HVAC, lighting, and security systems on and off depending on activities in your buildings and business hours. This creates an efficient way of controlling the energy usage and comfort levels of your buildings—saving you money in the long run.

Benefits for your equipment

equipment benefits

7. Extend the lifespan of equipment and assets

Implementing routine inspections of your equipment and assets is a great way for you and your team to gain full visibility into how each item is performing, which items need attention, and which parts might need to be replaced. Asset and equipment maintenance software allows you to maintain your assets regularly. This ultimately extends their lifespan, helps them work to their optimum efficiency, and reduces the frequency of unexpected breakdowns.

8. Reduce equipment downtime

By closely tracking preventive maintenance tasks in a CMMS, you can ensure that your assets are operating efficiently—and ultimately reduce unplanned downtime. In addition to this, your CMMS will be able to calculate the mean time between failures (MTBF) for each asset that is down, helping you to predict, and be prepared for, the next breakdown.

9. Meet compliance and safety standards

A CMMS keeps a thorough record of all the maintenance performed on each asset or piece of equipment in your facilities, which is useful during an audit when determining if an asset is being properly maintained. In addition, it allows you to store pertinent information about each of your equipment items, such as product requirement documents, warranty information, safety guides, and much more. This information is easily accessible to you and your team, making it easier for you to keep up with compliance and safety standards.

10. Manage maintenance in one central location

A CMMS acts as a one-stop-shop that houses all of your work orders, preventative maintenance, inventory, equipment, and more. As a result, you can conveniently associate inventory or equipment items to work requests and preventive maintenance tasks. This helps to ensure proper inventory levels, asset efficiency, correct maintenance procedures, and more. A mobile CMMS makes accessing maintenance even easier for your maintenance team because they can pull up tasks on their phone or tablet.

Benefits of a CMMS for your processes

process benefits

11. Increase productivity

With an easy-to-use CMMS, your team will more efficiently submit, track, and resolve requests – ultimately increasing productivity. In fact, industry analysts and independent studies note that CMMS solutions can save 10-50% of lost productivity every year.  Organizations that use a CMMS system for their facilities management operations have seen a decrease in work order response and resolution times, and maintenance teams spend less time managing requests, giving them more time in their day to get their work completed.

12. Improve team accountability and efficiency

By keeping all maintenance and facility operations in one place, your team can gain better visibility into prioritized tasks and assigned them directly to their maintenance schedule. This allows each team member to stay up to date on their daily tasks and gives you insight into their work, improving accountability and efficiency for your entire team. Your organization’s CMMS administrator also has a complete picture of what’s going on in each facility and when.

13. Schedule and track preventive maintenance initiatives

A CMMS gives you the ability to create a structured, proactive maintenance plan so you can maintain your equipment, assets, and facilities regularly. Preventive maintenance software improves efficiency and extends the lifespan of your assets.

14. Streamline processes and improve workflows

A CMMS allows requests to be routed to appropriate technicians or staff members while sending real-time updates to requesting users. In addition to this, the system allows you to create an approval process that follows your organization’s chain of command, ensuring that no request goes unseen. Other features that help improve workflows include adding attachments to work orders, such as pictures or videos, and creating checklists for technicians when they are completing preventive maintenance tasks.

15. Increase visibility

When it comes to maintenance, work orders, preventive maintenance, event schedules, and more, it can be difficult for facility managers to keep up with maintenance activity going on in their facilities. With a CMMS solution, all of these activities are located in one central location, giving you better visibility into how your facilities are operating and how your team is performing.

16. Improve communication

A CMMS keeps all staff members aligned and on the same page, helping to improve communication within teams, across departments, and even with outside vendors. Better communication cuts down on unnecessary tasks and allows you to dedicate more time to the work that matters most to you and your organization.

17. Keep a record of all historical data

Not only is a CMMS great for keeping track of all of your real-time facilities and maintenance activities, but it is also ideal for storing a detailed record of all of your historical data. This data can include the number of work orders completed, maintenance costs, worker hours, downtime, and more. Data like this is beneficial when it comes to facility audits and planning for future budgets.

Conclusion

With countless benefits ranging from reduced costs to increased productivity, a CMMS can be a game-changer for you and your organization.

Get ahead of your maintenance operations with FMX maintenance management software, a highly configurable, easy to use CMMS solution for maintenance managers and technicians alike.

Ready to see if CMMS software is the right solution for your needs?

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