Top 7 Steps to Implementing Your CMMS Right – The First Time

WINNIPEG, Manitoba--(BUSINESS WIRE)--You’ve decided to take the plunge and streamline your operations with a CMMS – congratulations! Before you just install and instruct your team to start using it, now is the time to plan and plan diligently.

Implemented correctly, a CMMS can provide a single source of the asset management and health, reduce operational costs, increase customer satisfaction, meet regulations and become a center of the maintenance execution management.

Implemented poorly without proper buy-in and roll-out plans can turn your entire team off the idea of using software. Usage will be sporadic and complaints will be constant. Getting the team onboard again will most likely prove to be the biggest challenge and ultimate failure.

We’ve compiled the top steps to ensure your CMMS is implemented correctly with the highest chance of success.

1. Implementation Team
   When creating your implementation team be sure it is cross-functional, identify your champions and assign an owner.
2. Workflow and SOPs
   Document your existing workflows and be sure to question the whitespace in between the activities to determine if they are necessary. Once you know what you do and how you do it, then you can start adapting workflows to the CMMS.
3. Data Standardization
   This is the time to assess, validate and clean your data – before you upload it to your CMMS. Create a vocabulary, maintenance codes, job statuses and other standards you want to measure in the future.
4. Plan
   Have your team utilize your process documentation to start building the steps required.
5. System Configuration
   Now it’s time to configure the CMMS to receive data. That involves configuring forms, fields, dropdowns, refining flows and testing, testing, testing.
6. Training
   Adapt your training to the recipient so they can clearly see the value of making this change.
7. Launch
   Look at your stages of the project and launch it with the same approach.

These steps are a broad overview to success in your implementation. Follow them for each of your milestones, continue to assess and revise your processes and be open and receptive to feedback and suggestions from your team.

If you're interested in a CMMS that's designed to meet the maintenance demands of modern companies, start with Maxpanda. Let’s get some work done, together.