The New Era of Cable Asset Management

Chon | CMMS Software | August 5, 2011

For the last several decades the focus of cable operations has centered around the movement and tracking of customer premise equipment (CPE) in and out of warehouses. As a result of their enormous growth, Cable Multi-System Operators (MSO)s have significant asset management challenges.

10 Cable Asset Management Challenges

Some of the more notable Cable MSO assets include multiple warehouses, fleet vehicles, communication towers, signal amplifiers, headend equipment, power supplies, CPE and office facilities. In addition, many assets are spread throughout a large geographic region leaving cable asset management challenges such as:

1. Accurate Asset Tracking: Cable asset managers must be able to know the location and condition of assets across field facilities at any given point in time.
2. Establishing Standard Operating Procedures: Establishing standard operating procedures for maintenance management across multiple facilities. This will help reduce time spent recreating the wheel as well as easing the transfer of acquired knowledge.
3. Having a proactive maintenance plan: Achieving a sufficient level of proactive maintenance work so that staff is not constantly fighting fires.
4. Eliminating Manual Work Process: Finding a way to reduce or eliminate manual work request and work order processes enables quicker response times, provides the tools for tracking work history and puts maintenance staff in the field for a greater amount of time.
5. Improving Document Handling: Keeping track of vendor contracts, machine schematics, blueprints and any other asset documentation is very time consuming especially if documents are lost or cannot be retrieved quickly.
6. Better Capital Budgeting: Rolling up the maintenance history of multiple facilities into manageable reports for better capital analysis.
7. Controlling MRO Costs: Keeping labor, emergency repair and energy expenses under control as assets age.
8. Improved Maintenance Planning: All maintenance work should be planned in order to make sure the proper resources are used in the most cost effective manner.
9. Making better Repair, Refurbish or Replacement Decisions: Cash flow is critical for Cable MSOs, these types of decisions require accurate asset knowledge.
10. Managing Asset Lifecycle TCO: Not all asset management systems are created equal. Lower initial costs must be weighed against ease of use, scalability, durability, customized functionality and long term benefits.

These are only ten challenges for cable asset managers. There are many more, however, these ten represent the vast majority of cost/benefit decisions that must be made.

Breaking Traditional Maintenance with an EAM System

As the legendary Bob Dylan once said, “Times They Are A-Changin” and this is very true for the Cable Industry.

The age of clipboards, 2-3 part forms, tracking assets with spreadsheets and endless rooms of file cabinets has passed. The EAM system tools available in the market today have enabled cable MSOs to take control of asset and maintenance management from the planning process through an assets eventual retirement/replacement.

A quality Enterprise Asset Management EAM system addresses each of ten cable asset management challenges listed above. This is accomplished by:

1. Creating a computerized database of all assets including but not limited to: location, description, date purchased, vendor, cost, serial number, model and so on.
2. Recording all work management including work requests, work orders, inspections, repairs as well as their results. This enables maintenance managers to review what works best in order to develop SOPs. The knowledge gained through the EAM can also be used for training.
3. Enabling maintenance managers to schedule proactive maintenance such as inspections and preventive maintenance activities.
4. Automating work requests and work orders by using a computer and mobile handheld devices. Paper flow is sharply reduced as work can be submitted and recorded on handheld devices and then transmitted back to maintenance management.
5. EAM software allows virtually any document to be scanned and attached (linked) to an asset. Documents are no longer lost, document retrieval is a mouse click away and document storage costs drop like a rock.
6. The EAM system records the work history of all assets. This gives asset managers the ability to review an assets maintenance history and better project when it may need capital replacement.
7. Through automation and proactive scheduling, reactive (unplanned) maintenance is reduced and proactive maintenance increases. This lowers labor and repair costs as there are fewer unplanned repairs and overtime is reduced. In addition, better maintenance assets require less energy to operate lowering energy costs.
8. An EAM software solution enables maintenance management to accomplish more with the same amount of resources. Maintenance planners now have the resources and tools to plan and schedule system wide maintenance activities.
9. CPE theft and inventory control are the not the only variables affecting cash flow. When work management results are recorded properly the information that is gathered by the EAM system will enable asset and maintenance managers to work together to determine if an asset should continue to be repaired, refurbished or retired.
10. The value of an EAM is directly related to the bottom line impact that it can bring to a Cable MSO. Cost of EAM systems vary greatly as does quality and support. Best TCO results are normally achieved using a web-based EAM system.

Share with us how your cable operations juggle warehouse management systems and asset management. Do they work together and compliment each other? If you liked this article you may also enjoy reading:

• How EAM features will improve your MRO Bottom Line
• 7 Deadly Sins of Asset Management
• When Maintenance is Not Maintenance

Enterprise Asset Management 101

Maximo 7.5 product download links

Chon | CMMS Tips & Tricks | August 3, 2011

Maximo 7.5 Useful Links Maximo 7.5 Preview site Maximo Upgrade Resources Errors after upgrading to Maximo 7.5 Maximo 7.5 Installation Support Technical Exchange recording Maximo 7.5 Upgrade Support Technical Exchange recording v7.5 Report Features Guide v7.5 Report Development Guide Report Planning Guide for v7.5 v7.5 Product Download Documents Maximo Asset Management 7.5 Maximo Asset Management [...]
Maximo Times

An Investment in CMMS Maintenance Software Pays Off

Chon | CMMS Software | August 3, 2011

An Investment in CMMS Maintenance Software Pays Off

An industry, whether large or small, depends heavily on its equipment to get work done. Relying entirely on planned maintenance might not help you prolong the life of said equipment, mostly because faults usually occur without warning. Thus, something a bit more intricate that will point out any changes in vibration intensity, oil levels and so on is needed. And that something is CMMS Maintenance Software. A CMMS program is built with several components, but that of preventative maintenance is among the more important ones. Most CMMS tools revolve around work orders and inventory tracking, as well as safety management. But in this context, we examine the maintenance tool in more detail.

Maintenance software does not guarantee long life for your equipment in isolation though. It becomes the guiding tool that maintenance workers rely on. Ensuring that operations are without error and that any failure that is likely to arise is corrected guarantees equipment productivity for the longest time possible. The tool is meant for the maintenance department in the company/industry, and offers a comprehensive interface that covers everything from the simple to the more sophisticated equipment.

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Considering the role that the maintenance software is burdened with, it’s only mandatory to ascertain that it is ready for the job. Finding a good vendor that can understand the nature of your business and provide something that will be able to fit in the environment is half the job. Maintenance needs differ from company to company. For instance a manufacturing company will have different equipment from an assembly plant. That means the maintenance needs, though similar, are very different and the CMMS system purchased has to be able to fit the role.

It is good to invest in CMMS Maintenance software that’s able to produce inspection lists when the time comes. This makes the whole process of preventive and corrective maintenance easier since the inspection lists act as a guide and saves on a lot of time. Any parts replaced, or upgrades done are recorded and everything about the equipment is kept track of.

Before the purchase of CMMS maintenance software, it’s good to get an estimate from the various vendors to see which one offers the best package for the most competitive price. All the CMMS program specifics are covered here and you get to decide whether the price you are offered is the best you can get. You can even get a demo of the product. This helps you learn about the user interface of the program, together with the various components it comes with. If the CMMS is sophisticated, inquire if the vendor offers some training on how to use it, and if that is going to cost any extra.

When you have all these details out of the way, you can purchase the CMMS maintenance software and see what changes it brings to your business. If it’s a success, then the return on investment is very high, more so when productivity increases, and equipments stay in health for a long time.

Top EAM and CMMS Stories of the Week 5.07.2010

Chon | CMMS Software | August 3, 2011

New technologies are being developed every day to make preventive maintenance management more predictable and reliable. Some developments have wide spread use and others may only be equipment specific. Regardless of their design, it is important to note that the majority of facilities assets still require basic inspections and scheduled maintenance to ensure they are working as well as identify problems that may cause equipment failure or preventable repair. Fortunately, good EAM/CMMS systems have the capability to incorporate the various tools as well organize maintenance operations in the most effective manner.

We hope everyone had the opportunity to read our blogs and check out our website, but just in case you did not have the time to see our blogs and voter links as they were published, we have summarized them for you here. Please enjoy them and be sure to check back for new articles during the week. You can find a complete listing on the Mintek Blog.

1. Building Maintenance Management and Technology

Author: Stuart Smith

This post discusses how new technologies such as infrared thermal imaging or vibration analysis are being integrated into the maintenance programs for facility management. The article also makes a point to note that not all assets have a high enough value to warrant the expenditures necessary to implement some new technologies and therefore it is important to examine the cost/benefit ratio of each decision. The article contains a link to an impressive infrared thermal imaging video from FLIR.

Key Point: When applying new technologies to building maintenance management it is important to remember the end game of increasing efficiencies, lowering MRO expenses, maximizing uptime and extending the useful asset lifecycle

2. Hotel Preventive Maintenance for Gulf Oil Slick

Author: Stuart Smith

The oil disaster occurring in the Gulf of Mexico should be getting the attention of every industry that relies on business derived from the costal waters. This is especially true for beach hotels and resorts that can be affected by everything from oil residue damaged water craft to fumes entering the hotel to potential oil splashed on or near the hotels that may cause a fire hazard.

Key Point: Preventing damage from the oil spill calls for increased inspections of hotel assets to identify oil residue as well an increase in preventive maintenance on beach assets such as watercraft or deck chairs.

Read Relevant Articles That We Found Last Week

But wait there is more. We have found several more articles that you might find to be interesting and even put them on our website for you to vote on. Interesting enough, many of this weeks articles were found on plantservices.com. The 5 best this week are:

1. Are we there yet? How board-level management can embrace energy

Author: Peter Garforth

Peter does his normal outstanding job in this article by taking a look at the role the leadership within organizations must take to implement energy solutions to remain competitive. The article points out that despite recent disasters many companies just can’t seem to get going on their own initiative.

Key Point: It would seem that importance of energy efficiency is still only gaining lip service from those responsible for making it happen.

2. The Secret Art of Reducing Maintenance Costs and Increasing Operational Effectiveness

Author: Steven Hanks

The article points out that maintenance managers can make an substantial impact on their operating costs by reevaluating their maintenance practices with a touch of common sense. This includes adjusting the ratio of proactive to reactive maintenance to a more optimal 80/20 ratio, tempering manufacturer maintenance recommendation with actual knowledge within the environment, implementing monitoring tools and automating the maintenance function using tolls like an IWMS or CMMS.

Key Point: Change starts with realization that maintenance operations plays a substantial role on the profitability of a company. Once this understood, common sense takes over allowing maintenance managers to implement the idea needed to control costs.

3. Boiler controls save mega BTUs

Author: Plantservices.com

The article provides an example of how retrofitting a 150,000 boiler with variable frequency drive controls for fans saved resulted in an enormous energy savings as well as changing the amount of steam energy going to waste.

Key Point: Energy efficiency and savings can be had with quick paybacks by retrofitting inefficient equipment.

4. Answers to some of your questions on maintenance planning

Authors: Jeff Shiver

This short article addresses basic the business practice of a planning meeting or session to determine the weeks maintenance operations. What many maintenance managers fail to realize is that simple planning can lower the amount of reactive maintenance thereby increasing the flexibility to handle emergency or unplanned work orders. Jeff suggests implementing an EAM/CMMS to help organize as well as automate this planning function.

Key Point: Common sense and incorporating standard business practices will facilities maintenance management to operate more effectively.

5. Handling service requests

Authors: David Berger

David’s article makes good reading for maintenance professions as well mangers to understand the impact that a CMMS, web-based or non-hosted can have on operations specifically the work request and work order processes. The article gives some pretty good examples of the ways a web-based CMMS can help.

Key Point: CMMS solutions are practical for any size business. They are sophisticated yet easy to learn tools that will help automate the maintenance management function.

What We Learned This Week

One can hear a lot of solutions to making your maintenance management operate more efficiently, effectively and of course lowering the costs of operations. However, despite the various acronyms used such as EAM, IWMS, CAFM and so on they are all in reality a form of CMMS. The secret to determining which tailored solution is best for you starts by reviewing your workflow, determining where your problems are and then applying good common sense to find a solution.

Too read more visit our Vote on Links page.

Configure Maximo 7.1 to use LDAP with WebSphere

Chon | CMMS Tips & Tricks | August 1, 2011

Enabling Maximo 7 to use LDAP with WebSphere is a fairly simple task once you have your Active Directory setup and long as you understand the concepts behind it to set it up. I love how Maximo 7′s system administration guide is absolutely useless in helping you setup WebSphere for LDAP authentication. Here is what [...]
Maximo Times

Lawrence Berkeley Labs Chooses Active RFID Asset Tracking Solution from AssetPulse to Track Lab Equipment

Chon | CMMS Software | August 1, 2011

Lawrence Berkeley Labs Chooses Active RFID Asset Tracking Solution from AssetPulse to Track Lab Equipment

Rapid Inventory and Search solutions from AssetPulse

Berkeley, CA (PRWEB) July 19, 2011

For eighty years Lawrence Berkeley National Labs has been the hub of numerous scientific breakthroughs. The research at Berkeley Labs has saved lives, reduced energy costs, inspired generations and has changed the world for the better. Continuing their commitment to new technology, the lab has deployed an RFID asset tracking solution from AssetPulse to track and manage their sophisticated lab equipment. The RFID solution from AssetPulse helps the lab quickly locate equipment, and keep track of equipment as it moves between different buildings at the prestigious facility.

The Advanced Light Source (ALS) of the Lawrence Berkeley Lab owns specialized high value equipment such as vacuum pumps that are accountable to the Department of Energy. The equipment is loaned by the inventory personnel to lab scientists and visiting scientists whenever it is requested. The equipment then moves through the ALS to various beam-lines and sometimes to other buildings. The inventory personnel need to periodically know the whereabouts of every asset, apart from keeping track of which team is using it and if it was still being used. The current location and status of these assets needs to be gathered without impeding the activities of the scientists and technicians who are using the equipment. On many occasions, technicians request for a specific piece of equipment that cannot be located in the storage area, and there is no trace of who is currently using it. In these situations, the inventory team spends many hours performing a search for assets at the large facility spanning nearly 80,000 sq. ft.

The management at LBNL was cognizant of the RFID technology and desired a solution to the above problem. AssetPulse was deputed to understand LBNL’s use-case and requirements. After thorough analysis, AssetPulse found that there were potential use cases for both Active and Passive RFID to be deployed, both having their individual challenges and advantages. AssetPulse presented the pros and cons of both approaches to LBNL and it was decided to commission a pilot to evaluate both options and then select the best methodology.

A fixed passive RFID reader, a handheld passive RFID reader, a fixed active RFID reader and a mobile active RFID reader were deployed in two stages of the pilot. The AssetGather real-time asset tracking platform of AssetPulse was already designed to work with all types of RFID and sensor data. For rapid deployment during the pilot, the AssetGather server software was provided as a cloud service. Two sets of equipment were tagged separately with active and passive RFID tags. The process of physically tagging assets revealed certain discrepancies in the existing inventory data, and provided an opportunity for making corrections.

During the course of the pilot, LBNL personnel and AssetPulse worked together to record observations, and gauge business process efficiencies of both active and passive methodologies. After an extensive three month evaluation period, it was found that both Active and Passive RFID were much more efficient than the manual tracking process. However, inventory scanning and search for equipment in the ALS is better served with the use of Active RFID.

At LBL, active RFID produces the ability to read assets for over 200ft. This was quite desirable for LBNL personnel, because just a quick walk around the Light Source picks up the entire inventory from all floors of the building. It also allowed personnel to just walk by closed labs and read the tagged assets inside. This was very useful because the inventory personnel do not have permission to enter all of the labs in the facility.

Prior to the deployment of RFID, a manual process of inventorying and locating equipment was very time consuming. In some cases, equipment could never be located. In cases of extreme emergency, if a piece of equipment was not found it would be purchased or leased for thousands of dollars. With passive RFID, inventorying and search of a building was 5 times faster (efficiency was improved by 500%) compared to the manual process. With the active RFID system, an inventory of equipment dispersed over four buildings was 8 times faster (800% better) and search was 3 times (300%) faster compared to the manual process. (Depending on where the person started searching and where the asset was actually found).

“The AssetPulse active RFID solution meets my needs for managing the ALS vacuum equipment pool. The inventory and search capability of the active system is invaluable during the yearly wall to wall inventory of the entire lab. Having an up-to-date inventory record of all assets will cut the time and labor cost to the lab to an ultimate minimum. Previously, wall-to-wall inventory has taken multiple weeks to manually find and scan these assets,” said Frank Zucca, Sr. Mechanical Engineering Technical Associate at LBNL.

“It is an honor for us to have deployed our solutions at the same site which housed the cyclotron where many Nobel Prize winning discoveries were made. There were a few interesting challenges that were posed in this project, due to the heavy presence of metal, and other interferences at the lab,” said Sujatha Bodapati, CEO of AssetPulse. “Through a pilot, we helped LBL evaluate the various options and choose the right technology for them. AssetPulse specializes in working closely with customers to provide them the most optimal RFID asset tracking solution that will deliver an immediate and tangible business value.”

After the successful completion of the pilot, the AssetGather active RFID solution has been rolled out to the rest of the assets in the advanced light source lab. The use of passive RFID is being discussed for other departments at LBNL.

About AssetPulse

AssetPulse is a leading provider of RFID asset tracking solutions that integrate seamlessly with fixed and mobile RFID readers using Passive, Semi-Passive and Active RFID Technologies. Apart from major commercial establishments, AssetPulse has deployed its solutions at various U.S. Government sites including the US Army, US Air Force and the Department of Energy.

For more information, please call (408) 872-3104 or visit http://www.assetpulse.com/.

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Grab The Low Hanging Fruit with a CMMS

Chon | CMMS Software | August 1, 2011

Are your maintenance operations a mess? Do you keep track of maintenance tasks on your desktop calendar? As a former productivity consultant, I can tell you that the easiest changes to make in your maintenance operations are those that are right in front of your nose and most times change requires nothing more than common sense and a little organization which in facilities maintenance means using a CMMS system. Yet these little changes can make a significant impact on overtime, repair costs and peace of mind. This is called grabbing the low hanging fruit and is almost guaranteed to lower your blood pressure.

Using a CMMS system to uncover the obvious

The top 3 low hanging fruits are:

1. Stopping the duplication of effort: This could include anything from writing the work to be done down in more than one location or having to fix the same problem over and over without really knowing the cause. For example, writing the work order down on your calendar and then also on a piece of paper to give to someone else to fix. Solution – STOP! Input information into a CMMS software just once, press the button and create a work order. Record results of job and include detail as to what was fixed, how it was fixed and what could have been done to prevent the problem.


2. Using the CMMS to Stop Fire-fighting: This refers to spending the majority of your time reacting to maintenance request instead of inspecting assets and identifying problems before they cause unscheduled repair work. Solution – Start scheduling inspections and preventive maintenance on critical assets and then move onto lesser priority assets. Work toward a 80/20 ratio of proactive vs. reactive maintenance work orders. Watch overtime drop like a rock.


3. Reduce energy costs: The biggest ongoing expense in most facilities is the utilities bill. Solution - Lower your energy cost 15-30% just by doing preventive maintenance like changing filters or lubing mechanical parts. When equipment is not well maintained they require more energy to operate.

We could describe dozens of benefits from implementing a CMMS system and even a few more if the CMMS is web-based by making use of handheld devices. The point is that much of the savings earned by having a CMMS solution can be found in just a few areas or by making subtle changes such as changing the font type when printing. So stop, take a deep breadth and tell yourself there is a better way.

Getting started with Maximo Start Centers

Chon | CMMS Tips & Tricks | July 29, 2011

A Maximo start center is the first screen you see right after you log in.  You have a default start center which is a grouping of modules that relate to your work and can include all of the Maximo modules or a selection of modules.  In these start centers, there are portlets that you can [...]
Maximo Times

The Essence of Defining Your CMMS Needs

Chon | CMMS Software | July 29, 2011

The Essence of Defining Your CMMS Needs

Reducing the incurrence to increase profit- it’s the goal of any one business that is established for commercial reasons. When it comes to cutting down on expenses, one way is to use a creative way to harmonize the workflow using an intuitive idea. If you are dependent on human workforce, dedicated equipment can do the work faster, and more perfectly. That is not to say that manpower is dispensable, because there are some cases where no machine can replace a human. But for the sake of conversation, let’s assume your company’s equipment is responsible for most work.

Cutting expenses will mean keeping your equipment in check, every time. When you put your trust in a CMMS system, you will have less to regret. That’s because computerized maintenance management software pinpoints any hitches that your equipment may present. In the natural, that may not be obvious, especially to the human eye or ear. But to computer software, it’s relatively easy. Before you go buying EAM software however, you first of all need to know exactly what you want. It will make finding it easier, and more rewarding.

The first basic rule of a CMMS is simple- provide accurate maintenance on all assets and properties and equipment you may have. It doesn’t matter the kind of scale in question-large or small, this function has to be carried out without flaw. This means you have to find CMMS tools that are developed on an industrial perspective, if your business is more or less an industry. You can look for one that generalizes its maintenance activities, but following this first aforementioned rule.

Second thing is defining the nature of your package. With the many vendors and software programmers the market has, different kinds of CMMS programs are in existence. The nature of the package in this context refers to things such as the kind of server (LAN or web-based), the kind of CMMS tools that it comes with, features included and so on. On a small business, the absence of some features can easily be overcome with system adjustments, but for a large enterprise, having one feature missing destroys the whole package.

Defining your CMMS needs will help you find the best CMMS system currently available. Sometimes this may force the engineers to go back to the drawing books to develop the software as you have described it, but the end product is usually beyond reproach. For a commercial enterprise, careful handling of work orders, detailed reporting, preventive maintenance, all components of EAM software, enhance the fluidity of the business, or in other words, create a ready platform for deriving a state of ever ascending profits.

The right CMMS will either make or break an organization. One way to ensure this does not happen is having your needs well defined, and well met by the program that you are considering going for. Of course, this is coupled with the task of finding the right vendor- a vendor like Ashcom Technologies that can make sure all your needs are met, in the best possible way.

How to Avoid Buying a Worthless CMMS Solution

Chon | CMMS Software | July 29, 2011

With so many choices available for a CMMS solution, how can you tell one product is better than the next? Do you distinguish based on price, the smoothness of the Sales pitch, a magazine rating or do you rely on a consultant with ties to 1-2 two specific CMMS vendors?

The value of a CMMS is directly proportional to the problems it solves. Not all CMMSS solutions are created equal so let us take a look at each of these and see if there isn’t a better way to choose a CMMS.

Price Based CMMS Decisions

Purchasing a CMMS system based primarily on price (high or low) is ultimately going to cost you more. This is because either the off-the-shelf CMMS is inflexible and won’t meet your needs or the premier software package comes with costly features that you may never need. In both cases making changes always adds to the cost quickly.

The Smooth CMMS Sales Pitch

I have run across some exceptional salespeople over time that could sell you anything. Great salespeople are smooth and polished in their presentations (as they should be). More importantly, they are experts at establishing a relationship. One result of this is that the more expensive the CMMSthe more polished the sales pitch.

However, no matter what the price of the CMMS, salespeople are paid to tell you what you want to hear, stroke your ego and convince you that their product is the best thing since sliced bread. The key is to not be swayed away from your organizations core needs.

The CMMS Magazine (Website) Rating

The Internet is the first stop for most people these days when it comes to comparing products and doing their due diligence on CMMS systems. One way for internet sites to attract visitors is to offer reviews of products and companies which they then rank. Unfortunately, the Internet magazines often only rate software products of companies that are willing to pay them in order to be listed.

Consultant Recommendations

The use of consultant recommendations are one of my favorites subjects. There are some very good consultants in the market today. The key in using a consultant is making sure they have exceptional industry knowledge in your industry as well as a solid base of various CMMS vendors.

On the other hand, you have to make sure that they have your best interest in mind and have recommended more than one vendor in their past. Without good due diligence on your part, your organization could end up in a situation like the Marion County asset management fiasco.

Making the Right CMMS Decision

In choosing a CMMS solution for your organization, asset and maintenance managers need to find a way to look past the obvious sales pitches, glitz and bargain deals. The best way to do this is to make sure the CMMS being sought is one that addresses at least 80% of the pain points of maintenance operations.

10 Qualities of Good CMMS Solutions

Identifying 80% of your maintenance pain points takes a fair amount of maintenance planning. Once you have identified where your pain is you may want to find a solution with CMMS features including:

1. The automation of manual work processes such as work request or work orders.
2. Records the work history of all assets for better maintenance planning as well as establishing standard operating procedures for work management.
3. Being scalable and flexible enough to be customized to meet your organization’s needs.
4. The capability to help your organization transition from reactive to proactive maintenance.
5. Computerized scheduling tools for preventive maintenance and inspections.
6. Integrated mobile handheld technology to increase maintenance efficiency and effectiveness.
7. Management reports for maintenance work history analysis as well as capital budgeting.
8. Document management for contracts, vendors, blueprints, photos etc.
9. A web-based CMMS application to reduce the burden of in-house IT support.
10. Experienced and friendly technical support.

Last but not least, finding and choosing the right CMMS is relationship based. Your CMMS vendor’s success should be dependent on your success. There is no advantage in being a small fish in a big pond. Will you be able to call the CEO of your vendor if a big issue arises?

The CMMS that is chosen should add value to your organization. If you have chosen correctly, your organization should be able to realize substantial labor, energy and capital expense savings. Without this value your CMMS selection will prove to be worthless.

How do you start? The best way to find this out is to talk to CMMS vendors or consultants with experience in your industry and that have a proven track record.

Tell us your experience with CMMS vendors. If you enjoyed reading this post you may also like:

• Tips For Negotiating an EAM/CMMS Contract
• When Maintenance is Not Maintenance
• Hitting the Reset Button on Maintenance Management

Enterprise Asset Management 101