Saving Money

With CMMS
How a software investment can reap cost-saving benefits.

By: Richard DiPaolo, Senior editor

Mobile solutions are Are you trying to save
what today’s facility money?
managers need. Well, nowadays, who isnʼt
looking to find shortcuts and
maximize spending for
short-term gains?
One way facility man-
agers can save — without
having to cut corners — is
by investing in software,
particularly in a computer-
ized maintenance manage-
ment system (CMMS).
As budget cuts continue to
tion.
correct deficiencies in services as they are
found, but you will be able to monitor perform-
ance over time and make permanent changes
that will bring about the most effective results
from your employees, thus helping them be more
productive.”
And when evaluating the total cost of facility
operations, including waste reduction and pro-
ductivity, Jason Lanier, who is @hand
Corporationʼs vice president of products, notes
other indirect savings.
When properly designed and implemented,
Lanier says, CMMS solutions provide a means
for paperless data capture, electronic collabora-

zero in on slashing mainte- tion among work teams and intelligent data min-
Corpora

nance costs, validating services ing to support forecasting activities.

@hand

is now more important than ever “These capabilities can increase the ratio of
before. preventive maintenance to corrective mainte-
urtesy of

“Historically, maintenance has nance and this improvement has a direct rela-
Photo co

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Software.
lived in the basement and no one
really cared about it,” asserts Roger
Davies, director of MainBoss for
Thinkage Ltd. “But now with the econ-
omy the way it is, the management of
controls and the concerns about liabili-
ty are increasing, and building owners are starting
to realize that maintenance does impact their bot-
tom line substantially.”
Cost-savings: Productivity
CMMS allows users to control, optimize and val-
idate maintenance tasks and procedures.
According to Michael Jenkins, who is the pres-
ident of CleanTelligent Software, CMMS can help
facilities increase productivity and lower costs in
several different areas.
“CMMS software gives companies the ability to
easily measure performance,” notes Jenkins.
“With just a few clicks and/or a few barcode
scans, you can measure time, quality and quan-
tity of performance. Not only will you be able to
tionship with reductions in equipment downtime
and facility costs,” adds Lanier.
Additionally, simply planning your maintenance
duties can lead to a solid return on your invest-
ment.
Typically, planned maintenance is one-third the
cost of unplanned maintenance.
Cost-savings: Liability
As mentioned earlier, CMMS can also possibly
provide the validation that some businesses and
facilities need for protection against frivolous law-
suits.
“If someone in a facility is hurt, for whatever
reason, then hopefully the historical records in
the CMMS can be used to show that mainte-
nance was performed on a regular basis and/or
inspected on a regular basis,” says Davies. “If
you can potentially reduce just one liability suit
because your historical records show in the court
that you did your due diligence properly, that is a
huge benefit.”

www.cmmonline.com 33
 Public, high traffic facilities are not acci-
dent proof and a solid defense with the help
of CMMS against such incidents as slip and
falls is key to potentially winning the case.
CMMS might assist in providing such a
defense, which is critical because the num-
ber of injury lawsuits filed as a result of a
slip and fall accident, for example, has
risen by more than 300 percent since 1980.
And, the average cost per lawsuit is
approximately $50,000.
Cost-saving Features
Now that youʼve made a case for CMMS
software and its related cost-savings, it is
time to shop.
Although the software package offering is
important, a reputable manufacturer part-
ner is equally as vital.
An initial step is to do your homework by
knowing your facilityʼs particular CMMS
needs.
“About two-thirds of CMMS implementa-
tions fail,” notes Davies, who adds that
most of these cases were due to the buyer
34 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • May 2009
jumping in and not doing their research.
As examples, do you need a turnkey
solution, a “plug and play” application or a
more flexible, modular system?
“Turnkey solutions are appropriate for
facility operations that lack information
technology (IT) complexity and for cus-
tomers who are willing to manage data
according to the design of the CMMS sys-
tem,” notes Lanier. “Other customers [may]
need a highly-configurable CMMS system
and a dedicated mobile solution for field
operations that can match their specific
work processes.”
Another important characteristic of
CMMS software, continues Lanier, is align-
ment with industry standards and best
practices, such as Reliability-Centered
Maintenance (RCM).
Benefits, Trends
And Issues
According to Jenkins, there are two main
benefits that should be received from using
CMMS software: Customer service and
quality control.
For customer service, the CMMS soft-
ware should include:
 Trackable communication with e-mail
integration
 Customized surveys
 Mass e-mailing capability
 Customizable forms
 Upper management escalation
 Reports.
“For quality control, the software should
include the ability to do on-site inspections,
inspection completion, accountability and
trends reports and job scheduling of servic-
es (daily and periodic),” adds Jenkins.
“Other features would include time tracking,
supply inventory, job costing, workloading
and asset management. [And,] the CMMS
software must be web-based and accessi-
ble 24/7.”
Generally, the success of your CMMS
program will depend on three variables:
Your homework, your ability to integrate
newer technologies and employee buy-in.
This product category is customer-driven
 Saving Money With CMMS
and todayʼs customers want mobile, multi-
faceted solutions.
CMMS Testimonials
“Going forward we can expect to see sys-
The following testimonial excerpts are from actual CMMS
tems further integrated with location-based
customers and are provided by CleanTelligent Software.
services and improved asset tracking tech-
nologies, like radio frequency identification
“We were able to reduce our staff by two full-time posi-
(RFID),” says Lanier. “Also, weʼll see
tions, providing us a savings of $48,000 per year in labor
CMMS application components available
costs ever since.” – BearCom Building Services
on increasingly-intelligent smart phones
and other mobile devices.”
“Everyone at St. Moritz that is involved in customer service, quality control, management
When it comes to whether or not to buy a
and providing services is more effective.” – St. Moritz Building Services
CMMS package, the debate should be
brief.
“The productivity of our operations personnel has increased by 25-30 percent.” – Anago
Today, there are very few people sitting
of Chicago
on the fence, says Davies.
Instead, there are two camps.
“Our employee productivity has increased by 50-60 percent.” – Dale Rogers Training
One camp is recognizing the need for
Center
optimization, in order to cut costs, retain
customers, help avoid lawsuits, etc.
“Since implementing [CMMS], we have seen an increase in employee productivity and
The other camp is not willing to invest
management time is more focused.” – Goodwill Industries of Kentucky
and make the call to inquire about CMMS,
and would rather wait.
“I can quickly review clients, employees and performance status throughout the entire
“But those calls will never be made,”
company from my computer.” – FMI Services Group
warns Davies, “because those are the com-
panies that are not going to be around.” CM

©Copyright 2009 Grand View Media Group

Reprinted with permission from CM/Cleaning
& Maintenance Management® magazine.
For free subscription to CM/Cleaning &
Maintenance Management® magazine call
518-783-1281, Ext. 3112
www.cmmonline.com

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