COMPUTERIZED MAINTENANCE

MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Chapter 2

FUNCTIONS OF CMMS

1
 Functions of CMMS

• Asset Management Systems are often perceived to be no

more than a means of scheduling maintenance work.

• This is because most people's experiences of asset

management will have been on one of the manual
systems previously discussed.

• While preventive maintenance scheduling is normally

part of a computerized system, most of them are capable
of much more than this.

Functions of CMMS

• Virtually all aspects of a maintenance department's work

can be managed by the modern, integrated software
packages.
• Inventory management and procurement functions are,
also, available within most asset management systems in
the market.
• These can have many options, which may be chosen
according to the user's requirements.
• Many vendors supply their software in a modular fashion.
Purchasers can then select those modules, which are
suitable for their application.
4

2
 Functions of CMMS

• Wide ranging statistical data and reports should be

readily available from any management system, for
example it should be capable of providing information
such as the number of times a machine has broken down
for a specific fault in a given period, the costs associated
to specific asset within definite period, etc.

• Details of the options, which are generally available, are

outlined below. Key functions of each of these, which
must be considered when selecting a package, are also
shown.
5

Asset Management and

Asset Register

• This is the option, which will facilitate the creation of an

asset register. The asset register will hold
comprehensive details of each asset.

• Typical data to be stored would include Asset Number,

Department, Asset Name, Model, Serial Number,
Drawing numbers, Purchase Price, Location, Supplier,
planned and unplanned maintenance history, etc.

• Field descriptors should be user configurable so that, at

the time of input, users are prompted for data using
terminology, which is familiar to them. 6

3
 Asset Management and
Asset Register

• For example, when entering details of a particular piece

of equipment, default input may be 'Asset Location'.
Users may prefer this to be changed to 'A11 Pump
Assembly Line Number'.

• When details of a specific asset are required to be

viewed or printed, a search capability should be
available on any of the defined fields.

Preventive Maintenance
Scheduling

• The maintenance schedule should have a flexible set up,

allowing each asset to have a defined maintenance
profile which may include details of various periods,
trades required, procedures required, estimated job times
and when the equipment is available, etc.

• It should also be possible to link assets to the preventive

maintenance procedure library discussed below. Some
users may require the scheduler to have the capability of
checking personnel and equipment availability before it
schedules any work.
8

4
 Preventive Maintenance
Procedure Library Control

• The preventive maintenance procedure library is

generally a database of all the preventive maintenance
procedures required for the maintainable assets in the
system.
• In a paper system, records will be held which contain
details of preventive maintenance to be carried out on all
equipment. Each time a maintenance is scheduled the
technician will require to refer to the procedure on file.
• With statutory or mandatory procedures this leads to
document control problems, since inevitably, technicians
will retain personal, and perhaps out of date, copies of
these procedures. 9

Preventive Maintenance
Procedure Library Control

• With an asset management system, up to date

procedures can be printed (or for the environmentally
conscious - viewed) each time the maintenance is due.
• Once technicians have been trained in the system they
have access to the library at all times and there is no
need or inclination for them to keep personal copies.
• When a change is required to be made to a procedure it
is carried out on the library document, ensuring that all
people who subsequently refer to it will see the amended
version.
• Most modern software packages will satisfy the
documentation requirements of ISO9002. 10

5
 Preventive Maintenance
Procedure Library Control

• As discussed previously, it is generally desirable to have

a system that allows many assets to be linked to a single
procedure. If the procedure requires to be modified then
this needs to be done once only, all linked assets will
continue to use the modified version in the library.

• For example, all the pump motors in a plant may be

maintained using a common pump motor maintenance
procedure. If an amendment to the procedure is
necessary this is done on the master procedure in the
library. All assets linked to that procedure would be
automatically updated. 11

Unplanned Work Reporting

• All systems should support unplanned work (breakdown)

reporting.
• The exact format of this will be dependent on local
requirements but may allow production personnel access
to an input screen, through which they can report defects
or breakdowns.
• The required input will be clearly defined, so that the
reporter is prompted for each piece of information
required.
• Typically this will include the asset number of the
equipment, the reporter's name and brief details of the
fault. 12

6
 Unplanned Work Reporting

• Other organizations may prefer that a maintenance

controller raises the defect report after having been
notified by production personnel.
• In either case the system will facilitate the listing of all
outstanding breakdown work, allowing this to be
allocated and actioned.
• This may require no more than a single user software
package, installed on a PC.
• All incoming and outgoing work would require to be
handled by a maintenance controller who would be
responsible for all data input to and output from the
system. 13

Unplanned Work Reporting

• The above scenario is only practical in a small

organization with low work order traffic.

• In any medium to large company it is more likely that a

networked multi-user system would be selected.

14

7
 Scheduling of Planned
Maintenance

• Most systems include a maintenance scheduler. When

the scheduler runs, it scans each asset in turn and
checks the periods when maintenance is required.
• It then looks at the last maintenance date for each period
and if due, creates a planned maintenance work
instruction for the asset.
• Typically, the planned maintenance scheduler will be
'rolled forward' each week, producing work instructions
and adding them to the list of outstanding work.
• Users may be required to decide whether they would
prefer the scheduler to run automatically, in real time, or
by intervention at a particular time each month / week. 15

Scheduling of Planned
Maintenance

• Initially, it would appear that the automatic option is best,

but this has its problems in that it requires regular
monitoring of the outstanding work to check if any
scheduled maintenance has been added to the list.
• A weekly scheduler run will produce a week's work in
advance, allowing it to be programmed into the
production schedule accordingly.
• Some systems allow maintenance to be scheduled
according to both plant and personnel availability.
• This is difficult to support since the system requires
constant updating of absence figures, shift changes and
production volumes. 16

8
 Planned Work Order
Generation and Issue

• In addition to the generation of unplanned work orders

previously discussed, a means of outputting, that is
producing hard copy of planned work orders, will be
necessary.
• The system should allow the planned work orders to be
separated into various trades, asset groups and
locations, before they are printed.
• Other points to be considered are whether or not the user
requires work order formats to be reconfigurable. Most
companies prefer to be able to design their own work
order forms.
17

Viewing Outstanding Work

• Maintenance managers and supervisors will require to be

able to quickly check work orders, which are outstanding.

• The system should support a quick and easy method of

selectively displaying lists of these work orders by trade,
work type, department, etc.

18

9
 Maintenance Personnel
Database

• It may be that a maintenance personnel database is

required.
• This is not to be confused with the company personnel
database since it would generally only contain details of
maintenance personnel.
• Once again requirements here will differ but typically
details will contain name, trade, department, shifts
worked, qualifications, special training received,
authorizations, etc.
• This may also be used for time keeping and attendance
recording but some users prefer to keep this apart from
maintenance records. 19

Stores Requisitioning, Stock

Control and Purchasing

• Most fully integrated packages support some kind of

store's management option.

• If you elect to take this option it should be carefully

specified to ensure that it would meet your local
requirements.

• One benefit of opting for stock control is that trade groups

can be provided with access to the store's database
allowing them to find spare part numbers and check
stock levels of maintenance spares.
20

10
 Stores Requisitioning, Stock
Control and Purchasing

• Some systems allow spares to be linked to assets thus

simplifying the search for these and also ensuring that no
obsolete spares are held in inventory.

• Some users consider that the greatest financial returns

from an inventory module of any asset management
system are to be achieved through improved stock
control procedures.

21

Condition Monitoring

• Condition monitoring is a form of predictive maintenance

where continuous monitoring of the condition of specific
areas of plant and equipment takes place.
• When any pre-defined limit is exceeded, an alarm output
is turned on.
• This alarm output can be input to an CMMS so that a
work order will be generated immediately.
• This is particularly suited to continuous process plant,
where plant failure could be extremely costly.
• Typical conditions, are temperature, vibration, over
voltage or current and liquid level; in fact any condition
that can be detected by a sensor. 22

11
 Statistical Data and Reports

• It is a fact that in any system, whether it be manual or

computer based, the information, which can be output
from the system, is only as good as that which has been
input.
• That is GIGO, otherwise known as garbage in =
garbage out!
• In a good system there will be extensive information
readily available for fault analysis, costing and work
statistics.
• This is one of the most important functions of a asset
management system.
23

Statistical Data and Reports

• Once a system is up and running and users begin to

realize what it can do, the administrator can be deluged
by requests for complex reports.
• For example 'Can I have a report which will highlight the
number of times that calibration of the power supply on
the Widget Tester was required on Tuesday afternoons
during the middle two weeks in September last year?‘
• This may seem like an extreme example. It is not. You
can be sure that demands like this will be made.
• The report generator must be capable of handling these
because each failure to produce some required data is
looked on as a failure of the CMMS by the requestor. 24

12
 Menu Construction and
Customization

• Users will normally interface with the system through a

series of menus.

• It is the manner in which these menus are designed that

will determine whether or not the users like the system.

• To coin a now well worn phrase, is it user friendly? Most

systems allow some degree of menu customization but it
is for purchasers to ensure that this is sufficient to meet
their needs.

25

13