The benefits of a solid computerized maintenance management software (CMMS) system are manifold.

Yet sometimes a CMMS program sometimes doesn’t deliver as much as is expected of it. This can be a frustrating experience, but before you give up on your CMMS, ask yourself: is your system not delivering the end results you anticipate because it hasn’t been updated or optimized for the job you want it to do?

Your CMMS Program: Just Another Tool

CMMS software can very often be the magic bullet that solves a company’s maintenance problems. However, in the end, it’s not going to be able to work miracles. It’s just a tool — and tools have to be used properly in order for them to be effective.

Your company can’t get what they want from a CMMS if you have inefficient and flawed work processes to begin with. Likewise, you can’t do much with a CMMS if you’re not using the platform to its full potential, or if you’re not feeding the right type of data into the system in the first place.

This is a major shortcoming, but it’s not the fault of your CMMS. Using your system simply for recordkeeping purposes, for example, is all well and good, but the functionality of any CMMS goes farther than that.

In fact, if you focus on using your CMMS software as much as possible in the ways it’s been designed to be used, you’ll see both productivity and profitability increase by significant numbers. The trick is knowing how to maximize that potential — and that’s something you don’t necessarily learn how to do overnight.

Achieving an Optimized CMMS System

Making sure your CMMS system is optimized for your company use isn’t going to be an easy process. There are a number of obstacles you might end up having to overcome in your quest to get your CMMS up and running to the point where you can access the maximum usefulness in the platform. These obstacles may include:

• Inflexible IT policies, lack of IT support, or lack of management support
• Incomplete or inefficient implementation strategies
• Insufficient CMMS training
• Not updating your CMMS when new versions are made available
• Choosing a CMMS with the wrong capabilities
• Neglecting to take the disparate department or organization needs into account

These hurdles may be high, but they’re not insurmountable. It’s important to ensure you select the CMMS solution that is going to fit your company’s needs, just as it is to choose the software vendor that will be a good fit for your company. 

Keeping your software updated to the newest version and understanding how these latest updates change the core functionality of your CMMS solution is also integral to CMMS optimization.

The Last Word on CMMS Program Optimization

Your CMMS program is only as good as the data you feed it — and it can only give you answers if you know the right questions to ask it. Keep your software updated, work to understand its full capabilities, and ensure that you have full company support in installing and integrating it into your maintenance cycles, and your CMMS system will prove to be the invaluable tool you’re hoping for.