We advise you

Maintenance Management by a CMMS tool must be a company-wide project.

Clear specifications have to be drawn up.

Budget has to be carefully assessed.

Whether for a large or a small CMMS project, you have first to describe what you exactly expect from a CMMS. This description results in what is called specifications.

Don't try to please everyone by getting lost in details.

To begin with, you should give a basic description and bear in mind that needs are going to increase and that you should not install a « too small » or a non-evolutive CMMS.

As far as possible, get the support of someone who is familiar with computer and who is not an editor.

Avoid the following pitfalls

You neglect people:

• You disregard communication as from project start

• You don’t promote the project

• You exclude people from top to bottom level (above all at bottom level)

• You don’t demystify CMMS and the IT tool

• You don’t take into account the level of CMMS users

• You don’t draw on a progressive training (introduced gradually)

• The support period following the CMMS start is not long enough.

These are the main failure factors due to human factors.

You should not underestimate the task in drawing up an unrealistic planning:

We too often tend to be overoptimistic about lead time, thus involving: 

• People’s discouragement as they will never make up for the delay ( which is not really a delay as time is necessary for things to be done)
• Management’s irritation as its project is being delayed . Management urges for delay to be made up (what sharpens even more people’s discouragement).

Conclusion: everybody gives up.