Machinery is the second largest capital investment that most agricultural companies make after land. In the U.S., agricultural machinery is a $42 billion industry, and has been growing at a rate of 3.9% over the past several years.

Considering the amount that is spent on In honor of National Agriculture Day, we’ve pulled together a list of the key ways that ManagerPlus products help agricultural companies maximize ROI on all of their equipment, while also streamlining regulatory compliance and streamlining operations.

+ Moving from reactive to preventive maintenance. Maintenance on major pieces of farm equipment, like combines, tractors, harrows, and balers, can add up to as much as 90% of the original purchase price. These machines already carry hefty price tags, making the prospect of having to essentially pay for them twice over especially unpalatable.

Yet many companies fail to factor these maintenance costs into the price upfront, and may not realize that a small investment in asset maintenance software can help bring these costs down over the lifetime of an asset. By minimizing catastrophic breakdowns, which tend to cause the longest delays and rack up the most repair costs, preventive maintenance implemented with a CMMS helps make maintenance costs more predictable and manageable.

And by tracking asset data in a centralized location, companies can generate accurate reports to determine exactly where their money is going, and help them target specific areas for improvement.

+ Streamlining inspections. Agricultural companies must contend with a broad range of regulations from the USDA, EPA, and OSHA among others. Performing all the necessary checks and inspections is a heavy administrative burden, and fines for noncompliance can be steep—one California-based company recently had to pay over $60,000 for improper storage and containment of pesticides.

Compliance with these rules is easy, however, if a streamlined work order system is in place that provides maintenance staff and workers with everything they need to make sure that no checks are missed. For instance, in ManagerPlus – Enterprise asset management software, instructions on the proper disposal of batteries can be used to create schedule groups, which can automatically generate work orders at pre-defined time intervals, or based on log values.

As the case of the California company illustrates, these regulations aren’t necessarily complex in nature—storage and containment aren’t highly technical or specialized tasks. The important thing is to ensure that accurate, easy-to-access information is available to workers in order to get the job done right.

+Planning. For an industry that is particularly vulnerable to unpredictable variables, like the weather, it is critical to maximize control wherever possible. With detailed reporting, companies can get a more accurate sense of where their money is going, and make better decisions about equipment life cycles, leasing options, and warranties.

Reliable data also makes it easy to create and disseminate asset management best practices. Reports showing historical repair costs can be used to gauge the efficacy of certain types of maintenance, and can determine areas that are consuming excessive parts and labor.

Data from maintenance management software also make it easier to get a clear idea of common types of issues, which can drive more accurate decisions over extended warranties or leases.

These, of course, are just a few of the ways that CMMS software can benefit agricultural companies, but they help illustrate the central lesson: increased organization and analytical capacity can deliver huge benefits for the bottom line.             

About the author

ManagerPlus

ManagerPlus is the preferred solution across the most asset-intensive industries, including Fortune 500 companies, to improve reliability and minimize downtime.
Share this post

Suggested

cmms
The Importance of CMMS in the Agriculture Industry
Industry Specific Blogs
CMMS Survey: What Companies want in CMMS Software?
Industry Specific Blogs
Machine Learning in Maintenance: Tech is taking it by storm

Subscribe to the ManagerPlus blog

Stay up-to-date with ManagerPlus’ news, tips, and product updates by subscribing to our weekly email notifications.