Businesses need many things to operate properly, ranging from resources to a sound business model and buying customers. Internally, businesses require all departments to work together to meet business objectives from the marketing department to the HR and production team. However, many enterprises, especially manufacturing companies, neglect the maintenance department.
The maintenance team plays a fundamental role in an organization of ensuring that all machinery and equipment are working optimally. Indeed, this role can be daunting and overwhelming for maintenance managers. That is where maintenance management software comes in to help the maintenance department operate efficiently and contribute to the greater good of the business. Below are five benefits of maintenance management software.
1. Stop Reacting and Start Preventing
Imagine this scenario: you report to work as always, making the day pretty slow. Three hours into the workday, crucial business equipment breaks down and, thus, business stops. The entire maintenance department goes into firefighting mode and rushes to fix the problem. This is a familiar scenario in many maintenance departments that comes up often. It is a reactive approach to issues and not a sustainable maintenance strategy.
Maintenance management software helps you move from a reactive approach to maintenance to a proactive one whereby problems are identified early and fixed. Rather than waiting for a machine to break so that you scramble to fix it, you identify the issue early and fix it. Maintenance management software lets technicians log a problem as soon as they spot it and schedule it for maintenance. For example, if a technician notices that a machine is making a weird noise, he can log it so that it is checked and the problem fixed.
2. Reduce Paperwork
Technicians spend loads of time and effort on paperwork. They have to write reports, search for missing work orders and service warranties, and navigate through piles of files to find old records when need be. All this paperwork can take a toll on a technician and consume time that could otherwise be spent working.
Maintenance management software reduces the time technicians, and other members of the maintenance team spend on paperwork. It does this by consolidating all maintenance-related information in a single searchable database. You can easily and conveniently search for documents and generate reports. By reducing the time spent on paperwork, the software increases the time spent on productive tasks such as maintaining assets.
3. Improve Accountability
With paper-based maintenance management, it is hard to uphold accountability because there’s no visibility into who is responsible for what. Maintenance management software improves accountability in three ways. First, it allows maintenance managers to see all maintenance data in one place; they can see the work in progress and finished one. If work is taking too long, a manager can follow up with the allocated technicians.
Second, maintenance management software sends notifications to technicians who are allocated different assignments. Cases of miscommunication and forgetting your role become a thing of the past. When a project takes longer to complete, you know who to ask.
Third, the software has report-generating features that allow you to generate different reports when needed. You can track the performance of your team and identify areas that require improvements. Managers and other senior officials can use the data generated in reports to inform decisions on the maintenance team and organization as a whole.
4. Become More Complaint
Maintenance management software is an ideal way for your business to be compliant with certifications and regulations. Below are some of the ways the software can help you become compliant.
Industry Certification
Maintenance management software keeps a central database for your assets and procedures. This can help to prove compliance with regulations on assets and procedures. Also, MMS ensures that systems run efficiently and effectively and cut emissions and operating expenses. All these can earn your business ISO or LEED certification.
Government Regulations
If you operate in a government-regulated industry like healthcare, maintenance software can help you adhere to government regulations and avoid liability.
Audits
Audits are a crucial part of a business that occurs mostly when you are considering mergers and acquisitions and after accidents and incidents. Many people fear audits because they are demanding and time-consuming. With maintenance management software, you don’t have to be fearful of audits. Maintenance management software provides an accurate record of maintenance and repair activities on machinery to make the audit process less stressful and time-consuming. You don’t have to go through huge files to locate maintenance work orders and other records.
Insurance Policies
The software ensures that machinery is in top-notch condition and well-maintained. When you apply for insurance for your machinery and facility, the software can help you qualify for policy savings.
Maintenance Requirements
Big companies like Boeing require enterprises they do business with to have a solid preventative maintenance program in place. Maintenance management software comes in handy in such a case.
5. Save Money
The grand prize of maintenance management software is cutting costs and saving money. Maintenance management software reduces costs in many ways. First, when vital machinery in a business break down, they cause downtime that is expensive, monetarily and non-monetarily. Downtime results in loss of revenue and a tarnished reputation.
Maintenance management software focuses on preventative maintenance that reduces the probability of equipment breaking down and causing expensive downtime. Also, preventative maintenance reduces repair costs because problems are caught early before severe damage occurs. Notably, unforeseen equipment damage can cost a business hundreds of dollars. A decline in repair costs reduces operational costs substantially.
Preventative maintenance also extends the life of machinery, and the company does not have to incur the hefty costs of buying machinery regularly. Second, maintenance management software increases the productivity of technicians by relieving them of paperwork-related tasks that are time-consuming and tiresome. They concentrate on maintaining assets, which enhances the performance of the business. Third, the software increases compliance with industrial and government regulations that reduces the likelihood of non-compliance penalties and fines.
Learn More About Maintenance Management Software
With the possibility of attaining cost savings, increasing accountability, focusing on preventative maintenance, and improving compliance, maintenance management software is an excellent investment for businesses that are aiming to be cost-effective and efficient. With these benefits, why wouldn’t you want maintenance management software for your enterprise? Contact us today to schedule a demo.
