By
Arne Oas
Computerized Facility Integration
Jamison, PA
So here you are, your maintenance information software doesn't give you the results you want or even work the way you want. Orders lay around for months, even if they are finished, and then the computer hasn't been updated to reflect the actual work. Forget about parts inventory control, you don't have a process to track it. Getting accurate reports on cost is next to impossible.
On top of that, you are experiencing unacceptable levels of forced outages as well as excessive Maintenance Repair and Operation (MRO) costs because of the current problems with present maintenance methods and systems.
Some issues you are most likely facing:
· The present CMMS packages used throughout the company are not user friendly or robust enough to meet current demand.
· The CMMS platforms need to be replaced and standardized to allow improved communication and exchange of information with corporate and production systems.
· The present CMMS does not allow for messaging.
· The current programs do not provide hand held or mobile computing options.
· Operator tours cannot be documented and recorded in an effective manner.
· Gage, safety valve, tool documentation and calibration tables are maintained in separate applications with no tie to plant maintenance systems.
Because current technology will allow you to improve or correct the issues, you're thinking of upgrading your system, getting the latest and greatest.
Supplemental analysis shows that combining the various computer based maintenance management systems (CMMS) currently in place in your company, into a corporate standard gives you the potential for improving regulatory compliance and prevention of catastrophic failures. How? By providing improved equipment histories, preventive maintenance scheduling, procedures and failure tracking for analysis. A standardized CMMS can also substantially reduce the time and cost of repairs by supplying maintenance crews with complete parts, tools, and special condition lists.
Finally, you're getting a system that will offer no excuse for not showing the return you were supposed to show when you got your first system in 1978. Do you want to bet on whether you'll get the results this time or not?
Care to hazard a guess as to the reason so many CMMS applications fail to meet expectations? When you decide to give up on your current software and get a new CMMS, there is a key item that you must remember, "Computers and software don't do anything for maintenance!" That said, what should you look at before you select your next system?
First, what you need to know is why isn't your current CMMS giving you the desired results? Did you define your goals for the system up-front? Did you limit those goals to the half dozen or so big payback items? Was a ROI established for the important items? When reviewing why your current system failed, pay very close attention to the database structure. Is it really necessary to track plastic ball valves as a piece of equipment? Are the hierarchies correct? Do you care about detailed history if you don't have anyone who is going to analyze it or update your files? How are you getting the information into the system? How accurate is the information currently in the system?
Look at your process issues. How many of the following are true?
· Business procedures for the use of the CMMS, such as work order flow and parts flow have not been maintained at the site level or reviewed at a corporate level.
· Current system operating procedures have not been developed to support the CMMS packages.
· Current work documentation practices only capture about 40-50% of all work performed. (I am willing to bet that 9 out of 10 times the maintenance staff never saw a work order before they completed the job.)
· There is a lack of training on database maintenance requirements.
· Equipment/asset information (make, model, etc.) is suspect.
· Coding, tables and other information required to design and develop relevant management reports have not been standardized across the company.
· PM tasking exists in some form for most of the equipment (especially at the plant level) but it is not in a standard format or design.
· PM scheduling is currently not optimized throughout the year.
· Parts information is not readily identified to equipment.
· Few Bill Of Materials (BOM) exist for equipment, other than manufacturers technical manuals.
· Equipment information in the current systems is not sufficient to create part trees, required for proper BOM development.
If you answered yes to any of these, then the CMMS is not the problem. In most cases, you'll find it is rarely the application that is the real cause for lack of results. With correct understanding and the legwork done, it's time to select your new technology.
Selection of a new or corporate standard for a CMMS application is not to be undertaken with the thought it is an easy task. Unlike many applications in the computer world today, the selection of a CMMS to assist in the management of your corporate infrastructure requires a thorough understanding of real estate, facility operations, discrete and bulk manufacturing processes, regulatory re- quirements, organizational structures and design, accounting, purchasing, and more.
So to start, determine what you really want the maintenance department to do in the long and short term. Develop a plan to get there. You need to look at all your processes: work order, inventory, purchasing, database maintenance, and reporting. Remember the industry, economics, culture, and organization structure all combine to make your facility unique. Therefore the maintenance application you choose needs to be designed to fit your processes and strategic plan. If it doesn't fit, you will have to change the way your department operates.
The next phase entails the field collection of the system requirements. Or in other words, interviewing the end users to determine what they want and require to efficiently carry out their job. The purpose of these interviews is to determine the necessary requirements of the system and how important each requirement is to the overall plan. People or functions that need to be interviewed: Site or Plant Managers, Production Managers, Plant Engineers, Maintenance Supervisors, Maintenance Planners, Storeroom Managers/Clerks and the Facilities Managers. In addition, interviews should be scheduled with IT, Purchasing, Project Engineering and Environmental groups. The following areas are usually discussed during the interview process:
· General System Requirements & Interfaces
· Work Flows
· Asset Catalog Requirements
· Inventory Management
· Purchasing
· Warehousing
· Invoicing
· Work Management (PM, PdM, Mobile)
· Imaging
· Document Management
· Personnel Management
· Technical Requirements
· Reporting
Other questions needing answers include: What information do you have available that you would like included or tied into your new system? How accurate is the legacy information? How will the information get into the system? Do you need a call center? Are you going to need parts templates, CAD interfaces, hand held computers, document management, ties to control systems or PdM systems, or financial and human resource information? This list can go on forever.
I like to start the interviews with information services (IT) department requirements. Review the network design, connectivity issues, operating system, current reporting tools, software, hardware and Internet applications. You should understand what you can or can't change and what your IT department will support. Without them, you will have to do all the database and system administration. Interview people where they work. By doing so the individuals can show you features that they like and dislike in the current system, references and documents are available, and they are comfortable.
When the interviews are done, I make a matrix showing the requirements and the sources. Then you have your people weigh the requirements. How important is each item to them? The resulting document will be the base of your Request for Proposal (RFP) and provide the software evaluation document. If you are a small to mid-size site you might want to ask one of the software vendors for their generic RFP (almost all have them) and modify it to fit your requirements.
Determine who and where to send your RFP. There are several sources you can utilize. The Internet is a great source. One such site for information is www.plant-maintenance.com/freestuff. Another excellent source is the Thomas Register, they have an excellent CMMS evaluation package available for a few hundred dollars.
In addition to what your end user community has developed, look closely at:
· User interfaces
· Security
· Process flows
· Helps
· Reporting
· System interfaces / Integrations
· Audit trails
· User groups
· Help line
· Product development cycle
· Price
· Stability/Size of the company
Select 3 or 4 vendors and ask them to demo their product. You should provide the vendors a list (script) of what you would like to see in their product.
The demo should involve people from all parts of your organization. When the demos are finished, pick the best application match to your operation and ask them for a prototype.
The prototype is more than an expanded software demo. This phase is used as a reality check-to prove the viability of the system against the functional requirements, and to ensure that the final product will meet your expectations. During this phase, your selected CMMS solution needs to be setup and configured with some of your data, data that will be used in implementation of the new system. The application and data should be installed at your site and a workshop held for the proposed core users. The workshop is to ensure that the users are familiar with the system, have a chance to ask questions, verify your data, and validate the workability of the solution. Have your technical staff test the system on the appropriate hardware and infrastructure. Remember, during this time, confirm the basic functional requirements and then verify that those requirements will be met by the proposed CMMS solution to be provided.
With all that done, it's time to evaluate your personnel and other system users. Look at their skills and technological competence. These people are the ones that will make or break your CMMS. Most people under-estimate or try to reduce the amount of training that will be required with the new system. If you do, you may not get your desired results. Don't forget on-going reinforcement training. One way the old system probably failed was that most of the department didn't know what to do with the computer.
Summary
Find out why your are unhappy with your current system and devise a plan to improve the process. In the CMMS selection, look at the operating platform, vendor maintained integration into other systems, the number of users the application has in your industry, the size of the CMMS company, and the length of time the vendor has been in existence. Prototype the product and make sure the end users like the feel of it and understand it. If you do all that, then maybe you'll get past 1978, and get the results you want.
July - August 2001
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