Maintenance Connection recently released its 2017 State of CMMS report, a research project based on surveys from roughly 1,000 organizations. Participants answered a series of questions about their use of asset and maintenance management software, along with questions about maintenance operations. When completed, they were assigned a score based on their proficiency with maintenance software and its impact on operational performance. This CMMS Score allows organizations to benchmark themselves against maintenance programs at similar sizes and types of organizations.
Among those that participated were industrial and plant maintenance departments. In fact, they were the most represented of all industries that took the survey. Their maintenance teams varied in size, and survey participants held a mixture of roles with the most common being “maintenance manager.”
Participants were also asked to provide an estimate of number of assets maintained, number of work orders processed per month and their budget for asset management and care. A majority of respondents fell somewhere in the middle, maintaining 100-499 assets, managing 100-499 work orders per month and operating with a budget between $50,000 and $500,000.
As previously mentioned, they were also asked a series of questions about their use of maintenance software and its impact on performance. Upon analyzing their responses, several significant correlations and implications emerged. Take, for example, the impact preventive maintenance has on asset uptime and equipment life: Nearly 80 percent of manufacturers that perform preventive maintenance 80 percent of the time realize significant improvements in asset life.
Meanwhile, preventive maintenance (PM) work also correlates with return on investment (ROI) of maintenance software. Roughly 46 percent of industrial maintenance teams performing 80 percent preventive maintenance work are saving “hundreds of thousands” to “millions of dollars” on their software investment. Considering that uptime and equipment life are significant value drivers, it’s not too surprising to see the connection between PM and software ROI.
Similar correlations emerged between utilization of inventory management capabilities and parts availability and repair time. Organizations were asked to rank their use of common features in maintenance software on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 equaling “none” and 5 equaling “maximal.” They were also asked to rank how use of their software impacts maintenance operations and performance.
Industrial maintenance teams reported under-utilization of capabilities such as mobile services, reporting and inventory management. Roughly ~22 percent of organizations — roughly one in five — aren’t using inventory management capabilities. Another ~11 percent are making “minimal” use.
Compare this with the number of organizations that struggle with parts availability and repair time. Over 50 percent of industrial maintenance teams report suboptimal results. This is worth noting as plant production can be impacted by delays in equipment upkeep and repairs, especially when equipment providers are states or countries away (and therefore more important to have spare parts on hand).
Similar correlations, both negative and positive, were revealed when comparing other software capabilities and areas of performance (e.g. how utilization of work order capabilities improves satisfaction with work or service requests). Therefore, the message is clear: industrial maintenance teams can improve operations and performance by taking full advantage of capabilities offered in their asset and maintenance management software.
For additional industry insights and benchmarks, check out the 2017 State of CMMS report at Maintenance Connection or visit CMMS-Score.com to get your score and to begin benchmarking your department.
Fred Tillman is Chief Product & Technology Officer at Maintenance Connection. Tillman has extensive experience developing and deploying complex global commercial SaaS software products and services for a diverse spectrum of industries. He has held executive and leadership positions in software product development at various companies including Periscope Holdings, BidSync, L-3 Communications, ARI Network Services and ADAC Healthcare.
