5 tips for optimizing equipment management with a CMMS

Improve the management of your equipment thanks to CMMS

Equipment management is at the heart of the operation of your CMMS software. Its definition is of paramount importance, because it is at the center of interactions between users and the intervention statistics that you can obtain later. The easier it is to access the information in the equipment sheet, the more rich it is in information, and the more relevant the user will find it to keep the entry of his interventions up to date.

Unfortunately, this aspect has been a victim of CMMS software publishers for years, who offer maintenance solutions with 20-year-old graphical interfaces, as well as entire days of configuration to finally lead to very poor results that put off users.

We use simple tools every day in our personal lives, so why wouldn't creating equipment be as simple as putting an ad online on an e-commerce site?

Here are 5 tips that will allow you to optimize the management of your equipment in your CMMS.

1. Adopt a more efficient nomenclature for the management of your equipment

First of all, we made the choice to abandon the tree system and opt for an operation inspired by search engines. Indeed, when you are looking for a jewelry store in Paris, there is no question of clicking on “Paris”, then on “list of shops”, then on “jewelry”, and finally on your neighborhood; you directly type “Bijouterie Paris 8th” on Google. The same goes for your equipment in your asset management software: why click on the production line, the machine you want to search for, on the subset and then on the subassembly bearing, when you could have directly searched for “Machine X bearing”? However, this operation requires some naming rules.

We recommend the following name: “Machine name — Brand — Model — Model — Geographical location — Machine number”, for example: “ABB IRBB 6400 Robot — Painting Workshop - No. 12”. The advantage of this type of reading is that it allows you to quickly identify the element and locate it geographically in a line in your factory. So, if I search for the terms “Paint Shop Robot”, all the robots in my paint shop will be displayed.

A subset will then be named as follows: “Sub-Assembly — Brand of the subassembly — Brand of the subassembly — Model of the subassembly - Type of machine on which the element is mounted, Make and model of the element - Geographical area where the equipment is present and number of the equipment”. Thus the Leroy Somer motor of my ABB robot would be called as follows: “Leroy Somer LS180 motor - ABB IRBB 6400 robot - Painting workshop - No. 12”.

Access all documents (photos, videos, etc.) and checklists from the equipment sheet in your Mobility Work application

It is also important to centralize the brands and models of all the elements of your equipment. Today, many users of maintenance software do not use this information. Entering information via a nameplate should also make it possible to promote the integration of this information.

2. Reorder your equipment descriptions

Another plague of classical CMMS: equipment descriptions. The user is lost in front of all the fields offered (make, model, serial number, voltage, current, power, etc.). This set of fields will be different if it is a pump or a motor. The user prefers not to fill in anything, and thus, no one will be able to derive any benefit from this equipment sheet. At Mobility Work, we had the idea to once again simplify the logic of search engines and to insert a single description field, in which the user can enter all this information without worrying about the order. So, I can find all my 3 kW power motors just by typing “3 kW motor”.

There are also applications that allow you to retrieve information on nameplates, and thus add it to your equipment sheet in a few seconds. In any case, you will get back more information than you have today.

Mobility Work allows you to integrate all your data free of charge, whether it comes from an Excel file or from an existing CMMS to allow you to carry out your test in the best conditions.

3. Identify your machines with QR codes or NFC chips

The use of QR codes or NFC chips is a real time-saver for production or maintenance operators. Each user can trigger an intervention for a few seconds, access a history or view the interventions planned in a maintenance plan.

This feature is very useful for service providers or anyone arriving at your maintenance department and who does not yet know your machine park.

4. Add images to facilitate the management of your equipment

A great image of your equipment can really make a difference. Like e-commerce sites where products without photos are much less attractive, the same goes for your equipment in your maintenance solution.

Some factories also make montages, for example with the photo of the engine on one side, and that of the nameplate on the other. This practice necessarily has a positive impact on the adoption of your asset management software by your users.

5. Use tags to optimize your statistics

The labels, or tags, work like labels, and allow you to transparently personalize a set of information about your equipment for your users. This information can be linked to regulations (asbestos, pressure equipment), to a type of manufacturing process, to a type of machine, to priority (bottleneck machine or not). The assignment of these tags allows any user who enters an intervention into your maintenance management software to see the tag automatically assigned to his intervention, and thus to refine your intervention analyses.

The Big Data tool in the Mobility Work application helps you make better decisions thanks to customizable indicators

6. Provide relevant documentation to users

There is another way to get your maintenance technicians interested in your CMMS software. It involves the integration of machine documentation on the equipment sheet: electrical and mechanical plans, hydraulic diagrams, official manufacturer documentation, etc. This valuable information for the technician during troubleshooting can be even more interesting if it is available in real time thanks to a mobile maintenance application, allowing access at a glance to all the necessary information while remaining close to the machine.

Mobility Work supports you in your transition to Industry 4.0 by facilitating the daily life of your technicians, thanks to an effective mobile application that is close to your needs. Don't waste any more time, and you too can switch to next-gen maintenance!

Are you interested in maintenance management and want to know more in order to increase your productivity and save money?