“Nothing in business is so valuable as time”
DALLAS – TECH – Truer words have never been spoken yet in most businesses across the world, time is spent squandering away resolving maintenance issues or updating inventory. Yes, both of these are very important in order to maintain a productive workflow and thus integral to running a business; but in the era of modern technology, making a manager perform these menial tasks is one of the worst utilisations of human resources a company can indulge in.
So how can a company strike a balance between being efficient with its managerial resources while still maintaining stringent control over its production line and other assets? The answer to that is pretty simple, but several companies shy away from it. CMMS or Computerised Maintenance Management Systems have somehow over the years accrued a reputation of being advantageous only for large enterprises.
Today we are going to break that myth and highlight 4 reasons why it is imperative for any company regardless of how big or small it is to implement a proper CMMS system.
1. Reducing Unforeseen Downtimes
One of the primary value propositions of implementing a CMMS is the risk-based maintenance abilities that it brings along with it. There are multiple potential points of failure in any production line and it is near impossible for even a team of human maintenance engineers to always keep a vigilant eye on the every aspect of the machinery. This is where a CMMS excels as the automated computer software can very easily keep a track of all the assets for a company and enforce preventive maintenance practices to ensure that downtime is kept to a minimum. Prevention is always better than cure, even when it comes to machines, and the presence of a CMMS with automated scheduled maintenance can end up saving companies millions of dollars that would have been other wise been lost in replacement of assets and decreased productivity.
2. Increasing Workflow Efficiency
One of the best utilisations of a CMMS is automating inventory management. Often workflows are disrupted due to stock running low on a key component and that results in a disrupted manufacturing line which leads to production delays and sometimes in extreme cases even failure to deliver orders on time. Additionally, even though production might go on without a hitch, sometimes delays in deliveries and shipping a product out can cause companies to miss deadlines which results in heavy losses being incurred. The presence of a CMMS solves both of these issues as the computerised software can handle all the inventory needs of a company without any human intervention and if configured to do so, can even automatically order products once their stock runs low.
3. Decreasing the Cost of Paperwork and Employees
Asset management is one of the primary duties of any manager and traditionally most of it is done through excel spreadsheets. Once a CMMS is introduced though, it provides a centralised hub for all data beginning from the maintenance state of machineries to ongoing work flow processes and other relevant production line metrics. This means that a single consolidated interface is available to the management so that all work processes and resource management can be handled easily and effectively, Not only does this mean that companies can cut down on paperwork and let go of excess employees, the remote management capabilities baked into most CMMS software allow the managers to remotely change the workflow to changing customer demands.
4. Providing Actionable Data For Increasing Profit Margins
The presence of a CMMS eliminates the need for managers to spend their time overseeing menial tasks that can be easily automated. Not only does this boost employee happiness, it also leaves the management with enough free time to come up with new innovative ideas to increase the profit margin on products. One of the major reasons why companies refrain from investing in new technologies is that they’re unsure if the newer methodologies will ultimately lead to a positive effect in increasing productivity. A CMMS provides a one-stop solution for all of these problems as the manager can easily access KPIs for the company such as Inventory, Assets, Orders, Asset Failure Rates and then focus on pain points to improve.
Making data-centric business decisions is one of the long-term benefits of implementing a CMMS and the earlier it is integrated into the framework of a B2B business the better it can guide them towards increasing their bottom line. In the end, a CMMS is more than just a computerised software, it is one of the stepping stones that is required for any business looking to be a disruptor and an innovator in their field of operation!