The Importance of CMMS for Machine Maintenance

Global competition has compelled organizations to adopt the best of machinery to enhance their productivity. Further with the expansion of the market and the emergence of the online market, customer expectations have also amplified. Today customers have too many choices and thus companies must strive harder to match up with the growing customer expectations. Thus, to serve the customers, production units must have the capability to deliver goods and services as per the expected quality benchmark. To do so, the two most important criteria are safety and reliability.

If machines are in bad condition, they will never be able to deliver the best quality finished goods, nor will they be able to produce goods in the required quantity, therefore the dependability on machines is very crucial. Further, the man-power working on machines is also an important asset of the organizations, thus if machines breakdown, it might cause accidents. Thus, compromising on the safety of the people. Therefore, management must take the necessary steps to ensure that the machines are well maintained and in proper shape.

Let’s understand the importance of machine maintenance with the help of an example. If an aircraft is not properly maintained and each part within the plane is not serviced well then it might lead to accidents. Most aviation accidents have been due to poor maintenance. Thus, to create an unobstructed workflow, companies are adopting the CMMS based machine maintenance software. With the help of this technology, companies can achieve their production goal without having to compromise on quality and safety.

The CMMS based machine maintenance adopts the best maintenance strategy that envelopes all the assets involved in the working of the unit. Let’s look at the best maintenance strategy – Preventive Maintenance, that is truly a gift of technology.

Preventive Maintenance

The traditional form of corrective maintenance has been replaced by the modern strategy of preventive maintenance. Here, maintenance is performed at scheduled intervals, so that the probability of machine failure is reduced. Preventive maintenance can be scheduled either after the machine has completed a fixed number of functional hours, or it might be performed after a certain number of days.

Preventive Maintenance comes with a host of benefits:

Reduces the risk of breakdown – As every equipment goes through periodic maintenance, the risk of machine breakdown is reduced.

Reduced maintenance cost – By adopting a scheduled maintenance activity, machines require very little repair. Additionally, the cost involved in the sudden replacement of a machine, due to unplanned breakdown is also controlled. With the proper functioning of the machines, the cost of operations is reduced, and the overall productivity of the unit is increased.

Reduces Downtime – Downtime is the biggest impediment to the growth of any organization. It causes a delay in production, loss of man-hours, and idle machine time. Downtime can be caused either due to machine failure, accidents within the unit, or due to labor strikes. However, with preventive maintenance, downtime can be reduced. As machines go through proper maintenance, the chances of breakdown are negligible. Moreover, the CMMS automates these maintenance schedules and sends an automated notification to the technicians, reminding them of the schedule.

How does the CMMS help in Preventive Maintenance?

• The CMMS creates an automated maintenance schedule for every equipment within the unit.
• All data related to each asset is recorded and stored in the CMMS. With the help of a mobile CMMS, every member of the organization can view the information from anywhere in the world.
• Based on the historical data and maintenance report of the asset, the CMMS enables managers to take necessary purchase decisions with regards to machine replacement.
• Managers can track all costs related to maintenance with just a click. Further, the CMMS presents reports in the form of graphs and dashboards which helps in taking calculated decisions.

The Bottom line:

In every industry, machines play a very important role, and ensuring the health of these machines is the duty of the maintenance managers. Thus, switching to a fully automated CMMS system is the best option, it reduces paperwork, makes processes automated, and brings more transparency and efficiency into processes.