CMMS, an essential ally for successful audits

In terms of maintenance, there is a simple way to prepare calmly and successfully complete your audits : adopt a GMAO quality, agile and mobile. With new solutions that have emerged thanks to technological progress, maintenance audits can now be understood as what they really are: a tool for the continuous improvement of processes.

Les audits are too often considered to be a stressful stage for the managers of the factories concerned, especially in the field of maintenance. However, internal or external audits are an essential way to improve and guarantee the quality of the goods produced.

Audits and maintenance

Les audits can fulfill two functions: improving business processes or aiming to obtain certification. These two goals may, of course, overlap.

Internal maintenance audit

One internal audit is an analysis phase during which a company itself analyzes the positioning of the practices currently applied within it in relation to the best in its sector of activity. This makes it possible to determine areas for improvement, to set areas for improvement, but also to validate good performances and virtuous practices already applied. Internal audit can also be a way of preparing for an external audit.

External audits, standards and certifications

External audits are generally carried out in order to obtain certification. Maintenance may be affected by the following standards.

The ISO 9001 standard

The ISO 9001 standard defines requirements for the establishment of a quality management system for organizations wishing to improve customer satisfaction and provide compliant products and services. It is aimed at all types of organizations.

The 21 CFR Part 11 standard

This norm is essential for all companies wishing to enter the American market for drugs, cosmetics or agri-food. It defines the rules to be respected in the use of industrial computer systems to meet the challenges of traceability of electronic records and signatures. It therefore relates in particular to the monitoring of maintenance operations.

Standards specific to certain sectors

Some sectors of activity are subject to specific standards. This is for example the case of the food industry, with IFS Food certification, which is an essential prerequisite for accessing French, German and Italian supermarkets. Companies in this sector must also comply with the ISO 22000 standard, which concerns food safety management and requires them to use the HACCP method (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) to ensure food hygiene.

Definition of the HACCP method, C.N.F.S.E.

How to put CMMS at the service of your audits?

La computer-aided maintenance management allows you to prepare effectively and calmly for audits, in particular those aimed at obtaining ISO or other certification. But not all CMMS solutions are created equal.

Advantages and disadvantages of classical CMMS

The use of a classic CMMS software represents, without a doubt, an advance in the management of plant maintenance. This type of solution makes it possible to manage the maintenance of machines and equipment more effectively thanks to functionalities specifically designed for this purpose.

La GMAO thus makes it possible to achieve better productivity and better control of costs, in particular through the monitoring and planning of interventions. It also offers better traceability, by facilitating the recording and consultation of interventions, and therefore greater transparency.

While this last point is particularly useful in the context of maintenance audits, the classic CMMS software are, in practice, both expensive and difficult to set up and use. Unintuitive interface, lack of mobility, teams reluctant to use them... : their shortcomings all too often make their adoption counterproductive, while the preparation of an audit requires the full support of all maintenance actors within the plant.

Adopt 4.0 CMMS to succeed in your audits

La Next generation CMMS, also called CMMS 4.0, allowed the maintenance management to enter a new era. An application such as Mobility Work, for example, designed on the model of everyday applications, was designed to facilitate the task of each operator and maintenance manager and thus gain the support of all teams.

Mobility Work CMMS is built around a community of users, who exchange and follow the activity of their factory thanks to the news feed

During an audit, you must be able to justify each intervention carried out on the machines, to enter the condition of each equipment, to detail the management of spare parts, etc. By encouraging teams to record each operation thanks to its intuitive interface and its total mobility and by offering numerous data and document management tools, the GMAO 4.0 is the most suitable tool to prepare your audits.

A few tips for successful audits with CMMS 4.0

One 4.0 CMMS solution as Mobility Work helps you obtain all the information you need to prepare for an audit by bringing together all the relevant data and providing an overview of those relating to the state of your assets and performance parameters. Some functions are particularly useful for a successful maintenance audit.

Save all useful documents

All types of documents can be saved on the application: instructions for use, photos, safety procedures, intervention plans... The saving of documents useful for maintenance makes it possible to verify at any time that the procedures have been correctly implemented.

Generate data

With the Mobility Work application, you can collect machine data from sensors installed on equipment, and combine it with pre-existing data such as spare parts inventory, to then generate comprehensive reports, useful for pass your audits.

Find an analytics tool in Mobility Work CMMS to analyze all your maintenance data and adapt your strategy

Guarantee quality and safety procedures

Thanks to the GMAO 4.0, it is possible to document each intervention in real time, and then to provide a set of data from which we can ensure that all inspections and tests of safety and quality have been completed on time, and that all equipment that has failed has been repaired and replaced.

Adopt preventive maintenance to anticipate audits

Les preventive maintenance strategies are easier than ever to set up with Mobility Work. Thanks to these, you can ensure that you are always in compliance with the regulations imposed by the standards that apply to your sector of activity.

Promote transparency

Thanks to the ease of consulting the history of maintenance interventions offered by Mobility Work, authorized persons can browse it at any time. In addition to the development of a culture of transparency favorable to the success of your audits, this particularity allows a detailed analysis of the history of failures and the implementation of improvement strategies.

During an audit, you can also provide a complete history of your maintenance strategy and justify the factory's compliance with ISO or other standards.

La GMAO is, as we can see, a very valuable tool for prepare and pass your audits. But it is important to choose a modern and agile solution like the GMAO 4.0, to offer your teams a powerful and easy to use tool, which will encourage them to be involved in a transparent approach favorable to the success of audits.