Over the years, studies have found that IT projects are difficult to control, with the average tech project experiencing a 27% cost overrun. Without proper planning, your CMMS implementation will likely have cost and schedule overruns. This guide can take you through the critical steps to organize and manage the implementation process. 

1. Establish Success Parameters for Your CMMS Implementation

More than likely, you are choosing a CMMS to help track, organize and diagnose the different assets held by your organization. Before you start importing data, set quantitative goals or success parameters for the system. This could be a percentage decrease in maintenance costs or an extension of equipment life. Possible quantitative parameters include:

• Cost and hours of reactive maintenance vs. planned
• Inventory turnover
• Percentage of availability or downtime per equipment
• Comparison of loss of production between equipment failure and preventative maintenance

The parameters should be unique to your organization. Cost analysis and numerical data are critical for evaluating CMMS success.

2. Appoint an Implementation Leader

There are many decisions that must occur when working with CMMS implementation. Even though you may put a team in place to oversee the process, you will need certain tasks delegated to someone with authority. Your project manager should know your current workflow and the expectations for the CMMS system.

3. Outline the Current Maintenance Funnel

You will probably have existing workflows guiding the management of your equipment. Critically review these processes for pros and cons. Map out what your new maintenance workflow will look like. Define important terminology to use in the new system, and eliminate unnecessary jargon used within the company.

This detail-oriented process involves defining specific data to run the system. This can include:

• Work order types
• Maintenance types
• Tracking for maintenance engineers
• Analysis types

You need to define the nomenclature for these data sets, as well. It could include locations, names of assets and standardized parts labels.

4. Know the Components of Your CMMS

Before starting on your CMMS implementation, you should be well-versed in its different components. Most systems will cover labor, assets, work management, procedures or tasks, preventative maintenance and materials management. Purchasing is another important component to include, as it can help generate purchase orders according to stock levels and facilitate approval for purchases.

You may also have options with add-ons to make your CMMS more functional for the company. You can often find integrations or interfacing with enterprise resource planning platforms, CAD programs, barcoding features and customer information systems.

5. Choose a One-Time or Phased Implementation

After you move through steps two and three, you have an overview of how complex your implementation will be. You will choose a one-time or phased implementation based on what is easiest for your organization, though as a general rule, phased implementation is easier.

There is a lot to consider with the timetable. All technical issues need resolution before you start, such as any integrations needed with third-party systems or departmental data platforms. Phased implementation gives you more time to ensure you have the right foundational data and standards in place.

6. Make Sure the Data Is Right

When working with CMMS implementation, the two most overlooked areas of focus include cleansing the data and critically reviewing the data. Your workflow and data accuracy are closely linked, but your data also depends on the components within your system and the type of reporting you want.

This part of the process may feel tedious, but it is vital. If you don’t get the data right, you won’t get accurate results in reporting or maximum functionality from the program. Your data cleansing should include:

• Removing outdated, obsolete or unused information
• Eliminating duplicate information
• Removing extra spaces, changing spelling, correcting capitalization inconsistencies and correcting typos
• Filling in any missing data
• Verifying all data meets CMMS format requirements

Some companies will work with freelancers to help cleanse the data because the process is time-consuming. Whatever you decide for this step, don’t cut corners. Inaccurate data will lower the quality of your process. It can cause:

• Gradual degradation of the system’s components
• Reduced functionality that creates a lower return on investment
• Removal of historical asset data important for future replacement or repair decisions

Useless or unreliable data leads to erroneous reports. This leads to poor decision-making and costly inefficiencies.

7. Invest in Training Before Going Live

Before your CMMS implementation goes live, your team should know how to use the platform. If you work with a CMMS partner, their team should provide initial training. However, as you move to include everyone in its use, select trainers capable of communicating clearly and effectively.

Training opportunities could include webinars, camps, workshops, how-to videos and infographics. Combine onsite and online opportunities to maximize the effectiveness of training. Have a designated training team who can meet in person with subject matter experts to have all of the information necessary to share with the team.

8. Go Live With Your System

Once you have worked through all of these steps and in conjunction with your CMMS partner, you can go live. Implementation processes differ by organization, but if you use phased implementation and work gradually, you can address issues well before they become a serious problem.

Some companies choose to run a pilot program in one facility before rolling it out throughout the rest of the organization. This trial run lets you make changes and tailor the platform to best meet your objectives. Going live during a slow period helps reduce disruptions and minimizes any negative impact the implementation has on stakeholders.

9. Conduct Follow Up

After implementation, keep track of problems or concerns. Take a gap analysis to look for additional areas to alter. Have your leader communicate concerns to your vendor and discuss how to make changes.

Your CMMS Implementation Partner

Working with DreamzCMMS for your CMMS implementation lowers the potential for challenges and disruptions. Our team will work with you on key components to improve functionality and guide you through the implementation process. Contact us to find out more about our services.