After-sales support
November 1st 2007 Deciding which CMMS software to use is only half the story: the support and expertise provided by the software vendor is as crucial as the software itself as Shire Systems' Chris Williams explains
The quality of support can mean the difference between a fast and effective implementation and one fraught with delays with the computerised maintenance management system (CMMS) failing to deliver on its promise and not providing a proper return on investment.
Many Engineering Managers choose CMMS because it can significantly improve productivity by enabling them to manage their time more effectively – besides ensuring regulatory & quality compliance and cutting the cost of maintenance. However, the pre-planning and implementation stages which are essential, even for out-of-the-box systems, will initially add to their already overstretched workload. This is why corners can sometimes be cut and the full benefits of the CMMS lost. An evaluation of the support services offered by each vendor is, therefore, as important as the evaluation of the software itself.
Help from the software vendor's support services can be used in addition to, or in place of, the customer's own team. Even easy-to-implement systems like FrontLine from Shire Systems will deliver so more benefits when implementation support services are used: support services help lift the load from the hard-pressed, timepoor maintenance team and, by fully exploiting the software's capabilities, ensure the CMMS implementation meets and exceeds the business goals.
Most vendors offer support during the initial installation, which is typically carried out by the in-house IT Department, although having the software installed by the vendor could be a very attractive option for some organisations with limited resources.
It's important that at least one person receives thorough training in the use of the software – including an adequate introduction to the fundamentals of implementing a CMMS.
Installation and user training are only part of the story and more wide-reaching and intensive support can make a crucial difference to the long-term return on investment. Shire Systems, for example, offers one-day implementation workshops where key members of the customer's inhouse team can firm-up on crucial decisions and really get to grips with managing an effective implementation process. These decisions include essential factors such as the initial system configuration, an implementation road-map and the reports needed to gain control of the plant and asset maintenance management activities. The workshops also help staff to determine key tasks that will kick-start the implementation and ensure a fast payback on the initial investment.
In addition to an implementation workshop, some organisations may need help to firm up on their asset maintenance plans and to align these with their strategic aspirations. Pilot schemes can help demonstrate the latent power of the CMMS.
Developing practical policies for asset management, maintenance strategy, and regulatory compliance is a complex process which can be simplified and speeded up with some external support.
On-site training can help the engineering manager to tackle one of the prime implementation tasks: building up a list of maintainable assets. The allimportant question is: what is an asset? Is it, for example, a complete production line, a individual machine within the line, or even a module within a machine? The combination of the engineering manager's knowledge of previous maintenance work, and the vendor support team's expertise in CMMS, can mean the difference between the asset policy being too simplistic or bogged down in unnecessary detail.
The same approach can help to determine the optimum strategies for developing preventive and predictive maintenance schedules, as well as providing audit trails for regulatory compliance and due diligence.
While it is possible to register assets into a CMMS in stages, by logging data as maintenance events occur, using external support to register all maintainable assets up front helps the CMMS to deliver its productivity rewards earlier and pay back its investment faster. This initial input of assets can be made significantly easier with a combination of Shire Systems' Asset Data Collector, data capture from other sources, existing documents and on site survey.
Additional support can also be invaluable for asset identification. In the FrontLine system, for example, assets can be identified with conventional labels, barcode labels or Radio Frequency ID (RFID) tags. Properly identified and labelled assets ensure that maintenance tasks are carried out on the correct equipment.
An efficiently-implemented CMMS will change the dynamics of the company, cutting cost, reducing risk, increasing productivity and providing a higher level of management reporting. It's sensible, therefore, to undertake a business health check some time after the CMMS has had time to deliver its initial gains. Facilitated by Shire Systems' support team, a health check can allow an organisation to identify refinements to their existing system, learn about new developments, explore 'what if' scenarios and satisfy new aspirations.
In short, support is not just for installation, it's for the life of the CMMS system. A careful review of the support offered by potential software vendors can mean the difference between an adequate CMMS and a system which in an integral part of a continual drive to greater efficiency and profitability. More articles from Shire Systems Ltd: | 
