When specifying or upgrading a CMMS, it is important for managers to understand no one system fulfills every need for every organization. Systems should have customizable screens, fields and functions to ensure users can accomplish their intended goals, says Frank Lucas, assistant director of work management with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Customization also is especially important when generating reports.
"CMMS companies love to tout how many canned reports their systems contain, but they can never know what sort of information you'll need or how you'll want it organized," Lucas says. "The ability to write custom reports using a third-party report generator of your choice is a very necessary feature and makes for a very powerful system."
The leading reason many managers specify a CMMS is to manage work orders.
"Documentation is a key to good facilities management and, in my opinion, to good financial management," Petters says. "Our CMMS system is the basis for how we do business. Everything we do is documented on a work order."
CMMS capabilities go far beyond work orders. But many managers and system users do not realize the range of functions a CMMS can perform or do not take the time to learn about those capabilities and activate them. Lucas refers to a survey conducted by a software vendor that found organizations on average use only 25 percent of a system's functionality. So what accounts for the other 75 percent?
CMMS Help Managers Tackle Productivity, Budget Challenges
CMMS: Managers Need to Customize Reports
