Old Article I wrote while with Ingersoll Engineers The original article is a White Paper and is 12 pages. This is the Readers Digest Version Todd McCann

1. 8 Manufacturing Insight
H
istorically, Computerized
Maintenance Management
System (CMMS) programs
were developed with limited features
and functions, operated under a
minority of operating systems,
required little to no integration with
existing systems, and were reason-
ably priced. The list of software ben-
efits was almost magical: increased
equipment uptime and utilization,
enhanced preventive maintenance
programs, improved MRO inventory
control, increased maintenance pro-
ductivity and efficiency, and
increased service levels to customers,
to name a few.
Today’s CMMS programs have
an expanded list of benefits, have
become extremely complex and fea-
ture robust, operate under the major-
ity of operating systems, require
more integration and, of course, the
costs have escalated proportionately.
And the claims of benefit were no
more true yesterday than they are
ComputerizedMaintenance
Management Systems —
JustAnotherInformationTool?
system benefits, establishing enter-
prisewide support, ensuring thorough
implementation, and providing train-
ing.
User buy-in: Proper “buy in” is
particularly important if no CMMS
existed in the first place. The organi-
zation may feel it needs to move
away from a manual system and
automate the process. The greatest
hurdle to overcome is cultural: Many
of the folks involved in the program’s
use may have emotional resistance to
the program for various reasons.
Some may have no computer skills.
Others may be so resistant to change
itself that they will undermine the
benefits by continually talking down
the program. The list is endless. The
fact remains that there will always be
some people who will constantly
fight change.
There is also a possibility the
product was selected without input
from the true system users. All too
often, the software has been “sold” to
the end user, with the seller essen-
tially dictating the users’ needs.
Instead, the users should be specify-
ing the system’s requirements
through a functional specification or
some form of needs analysis. There
should be an immense level of
involvement and perspective in the
software selection phase.
All in all, the aspect of buy-in has
all the social and psychological
impediments one can imagine. It is
often deemed the most difficult and
critical step toward exploiting the
system’s benefits.
Clearly defined expectations of
system benefits: As mentioned ear-
lier, most systems today have become
extremely feature rich. Along with
those added features comes the sales
pitch that using specific features will
today for one simple reason—the
software doesn’t call the shots. In
short, the software serves one pri-
mary purpose—acting as a host for
data.
In some cases the maintenance
tool whose goal was to help the work
force has instead become a hin-
drance, driven by the magnitude of
complex functions and capabilities.
Recent studies estimate that organiza-
tions use only 9 percent of the func-
tions of their CMMS. The immediate
question is “Why is usage of program
functions so low?” Another striking
fact is that 45 to 50 percent of all
CMMS programs fail in the first year
of life. Why is the failure rate so
high?
Let’s take a deeper look at these
two questions.
WHY IS USAGE SO LOW AND THE
FAILURE RATE SO HIGH?
One might initially assume that
the low level of usage is because the
software was the wrong
tool, but we don’t want
to jump to that conclu-
sion as many of us have
spent $50,000 to
$75,000 for software
and support, and another
$25,000 to $50,000 on
implementation costs.
With the assump-
tion that we have the
right software, what rea-
sons could be behind
low system usage? The
answer often lies in the
fact that the following
issues aren’t properly
addressed: obtaining
buy-in from users,
developing clearly
defined expectations of

2. Manufacturing Insight 9
increase, reduce, or have some posi-
tive impact on the majority of
“important” maintenance business
metrics your organization might use,
which couldn’t be further from the
truth. None of those increases or
reductions will occur if no one under-
stands the tool’s intended purpose.
The CMMS is just another tool in the
work force’s toolbox. If people don’t
understand what it does or how it can
benefit them, they will never take it
out of the box.
To realize benefits, some funda-
mental criteria must be met. You
must have:
x Credible data—critical for the
proper use of any program
x A clear understanding of how pro-
gram functions relate to the output
x Working knowledge of how to
exploit the program’s outputs
The outputs allow the user to gain
insight and direction for problem res-
olution and decision making. The
outputs are the sole source for attain-
ing the beneficial increases and
reductions inherent in the program’s
design. All of these requirements are
direct functions of the user. Without
clear definition and understanding of
the system’s capabilities, limitations,
and benefits, the users will not be
able to exploit the program to its full-
est potential, leading to failure
through lack of acceptance and use.
Enterprisewide support: Every-
one must support the system’s use. It
makes no difference if one is a direct
user or an end user, the president or
the plant manager. Implementation
of enterprisewide software requires
resolute change managers in the
trenches and a cast of thousands to
offer ongoing support.
Thorough implementation: One
of the most important steps in any
program installation is performing a
thorough implementation. The first
step is to create an approach to
clearly define how the system will be
implemented. The next requirement
is a well-structured, realistic, and
executable implementation plan to
support the approach.
The most significant mistake
made by CMMS implementors is
underestimating the level of involve-
ment and total time required to “to do
it right the first time.”
The implementation team will be
required to move into uncharted
waters. They will need to define and
clarify items such as new work order
coding and data entry structures,
nomenclature customization, stan-
dardization of work methods, creat-
ing master preventive maintenance
schedules, connecting soft side issues
to hard code, and system integration
issues. Without a thorough imple-
mentation plan, many of the system’s
key feature requirements will be
reduced to nothing more than a data
base of useless information.
Training: Training on any new
process is critical, but CMMS pro-
gram training differs from other soft-
ware programs in a multitude of
ways. Outlined below are four levels
of training associated with the intro-
duction of CMMS programs:
1. PC literacy: The first level of
training is assessment of basic PC
skills. We can’t assume that every-
one is comfortable with computers or
is PC literate. People must feel con-
fident in using the PC before ever
attempting to tackle a new piece of
software.
2. CMMS structure knowledge: If
your organization is performing
implementation without any outside
help, the implementation team must
have an intimate knowledge of what
the system can do. They must fully
understand the program’s structure as
a whole, as well as the functions of
individual features. They must be
able to go from a macro aspect of the
program down to the most detailed
level. The type of training in this
stage of the program’s imple-
mentation has nothing to do with how
to use the program.
3. Basic system functions: This
level of training can begin once the
implementation team has defined
nomenclature, developed the appro-
priate coding structure, made appro-
priate system changes, and addressed
all integration issues. They will have
collected the host of base data
required, which includes such items
as equipment and component num-
bers, spare parts, and preventive and
corrective maintenance tasks. This
level of training occurs before the
system is launched into mainstream
use and also acts as the debugging
step in the implementation process.
Users will range from work man-
agement and central dispatch work-
ers, to work order generators, to the
maintenance work force. Each of
these user groups requires different
skill sets for proper system use. Cus-
tomized workshops become a suc-
cessful tool for performing this type
of diversified user training.
4. Continuous improvement train-
ing: There will be users who will
appear to take the program’s use as a
religion and demand more from it,
regardless of enhancements made by
standard program updates. These
inquisitive individuals will be your
next-generation trainers.
SUMMARY
By knowing the up-front relation-
ships of key events required for full
utilization of the system, one can
build greater confidence and ensure
success for the system’s use and life
expectancy. Having managed
numerous CMMS implementations
in varying operational settings and
sizes, we have seen that when com-
bined with strong change managers,
top-down support, software selection,
and solid implementation planning
and execution are critical to success.
Todd McCann has over 10 years’ experience in the manufactur-
ing and service industries. His career focus has been on CMMS,
and his professional practice areas include developing and imple-
menting scheduling systems, training production staff in manufac-
turing methods, and implementing total productive maintenance
management systems.