When you are reactive everything slows down. What would it mean for your company in terms of hours and dollars to have planned and scheduled maintenance? What would making the switch from reactive to proactive maintenance mean? Saving money because you take the time to track your equipment more in depth is something that will catch the bosses eye. Let a computerized maintenance management software (CMMS) take the woes of asset management off your hands. CMMS systems are built for seamless maintenance management, making you shine a little brighter and making your job easier too.
Proactive Maintenance vs. Reactionary Maintenance. What is the difference between these two? One happens before breakdown and the other occurs after. This means if you have a machine that has run its maximum hours before a specific part needs to be replaced, you ensure the correct part is in stock prior to the scheduled maintenance on the machine. This will eliminate interference with production schedules. The opposite of this scenario would be reactive maintenance. This means the machine runs until it breaks down. You may not know exactly what is wrong with the machine, but you may have an idea. At this point, daily production has been halted. There is no backup machine to keep production up and running, nor do you have the correct part in stock to make repairs on the broken unit. Not only does the machine need a part replacement but you now have a production downtime crisis.
Planned Maintenance is going to save you money. In fact “it is generally assumed to cost 2 to 5 times more for breakdown maintenance as the same job in a planned, scheduled environment.” that’s money in the bank. An initial investment on preventive maintenance software might make you uneasy at first but ignoring the ROI you can provide to your company, in the long run, is going to put you far behind. You can see this happening as regular and timely maintenance means less time overall you have to spend working on machines. When you don’t plan and have a catastrophic breakdown the downtime increases and you increase the amount of time worked on the asset. If you have a proactive maintenance strategy you are reducing time spent working on down machines. Regular and routine maintenance will also cut down on the number of catastrophic breakdowns. With your machinery maintenance plan more proactive your dollars become more effective.
Where should you start? A great place to begin is by purchasing a CMMS which will organize all your information for you. There can be so many moving parts when it comes to maintenance management that is why we have computerized it. Let your technology do the heavy lifting. Proactive maintenance feature of your CMMS system can tell you when you need to work on what machine. A CMMS system should be like an ultimate employee, always on time, never forgets when to follow up, and always exceeding expectations. For instance, if you know that after a certain number of working hours you must replace a belt, hose, or any other part of your machinery, to be compliant with your warranty, Leave it to your software to remember for you. Wouldn’t it help to schedule that beforehand and have a work order triggered automatically from your CMMS? By tracking the hours a machine is used in your CMMS system you better project when a part might fail. By knowing when something might fail the month before you can make sure to have a specific part ordered. A CMMS system can help improve the accuracy of your inventory management and provide better overall management of your business.
The next step would be to begin using the system properly. Like anything, you must be consistent and accurate. It is vital for a program like this to work correctly. Make sure to utilize your CMMS company’s onboarding team. They will be able to guide you to success. Why reinvent the wheel? Trust those who are part of your onboarding team. They have done it before and they can know what the best option is for your company.
Continually using and improving is the last step. When you use a CMMS maintenance management system you need to constantly and continuously use it so that you maintain accuracy, eliminate downtime, and schedule timely maintenance.
Leave reactive maintenance in the past. Allow a CMMS system to take your maintenance to the next level using some of its features like preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance. Make your job easier, decrease work time on machines, and create improved record keeping with a CMMS. The best thing you can do for your data is having the most accurate information possible. A CMMS can help you accomplish this goal.
