There is no denying that field service management has been going through a digital revolution over the past couple of years. An industry deeply rooted in manual labor is being asked to redefine the way it operates and changes are happening faster than partakers can adjust to. Today, we will be focusing on maintenance management software, a tool that can help you and your team ease that transition and embrace the digital age of FSM.
Don’t get us wrong, technicians are and will always be the heart and soul of the field service industry. What maintenance management software programs can do is help maintenance teams complete tasks more efficiently, reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction.
Let’s break down maintenance management software and how it can help you improve your maintenance operations.
What does maintenance management software do?
A computerized maintenance management software (CMMS) is a digital environment that gathers, stores, and analyzes all the information and data regarding the maintenance of equipment like vehicles, machinery, communications, plant infrastructures, and other physical assets. The main benefits associated with a computerized maintenance management system are:
Asset tracking
There are a lot of people interacting with a specific piece of equipment. If we use a tractor as an example then you have different people driving it, people cleaning it, and maintenance professionals responsible for it being properly serviced and looked after.
All of these people need a centralized platform that tracks and showcases the necessary information about the tractor. Where is it? Who was the last driver? Who’s assigned next? When is the next service inspection? Can you imagine the document management chaos if all of this information was manually stored? A preventative maintenance program allows clear visibility to everyone with a few clicks.
Workflow clarity
Maintenance managers are well aware that there are a lot of moving parts in their everyday business operations. From delivering scheduled tasks, updating them with new information, to dealing with new maintenance requests, and inventory management, their plate is full.
Amidst all this chaos they need to create clear, visible workflows to ensure they are not missing anything and that technicians are updated with new information in real-time. Maintenance management software provides easy-to-use dashboards the visualize workflows, simplifying day-to-day operations.
From manual mayhem to digital automation
Manual tasks should be left for field technicians and maintenance departments. When it comes to operations what you need is an intelligent maintenance management platform that automates tasks and helps you increase asset performance.
Tasks such as ordering parts, repair jobs, resource planning, replenishing MRO inventory, scheduling shifts, and more helps managers save time, eliminate errors, improve productivity and help you focus on preventive maintenance rather than spend time on manual administration tasks.
Managing mobile workforce
As mentioned before, maintenance management is one of many field service management aspects an operations manager needs to worry about. One of the toughest challenges is balancing the management of internal and external resources. When we say resources, we refer to both technicians and physical assets.
A CMMS software comes in the form of a mobile app on a mobile device, allows the streamlining of processes, and brings outstanding connectivity between management, technicians, and assets. The result is reducing downtime, executing planned tasks on time, and approaching jobs efficiently.
Preventive maintenance
Preventive maintenance is one of the biggest benefits afforded by maintenance software. Most manufacturing companies are used to a reactive maintenance approach where asset health will present a problem, a malfunction, or an error, forcing them to react and tend to it.
Preventive maintenance software can essentially track an asset’s health, gather information, and create alerts before the asset starts underperforming. Not only does it prevent workflow obstruction but it also predicts when the asset will need to be serviced.
Preventive and predictive maintenance can automate maintenance tasks and essentially extend asset life.
Stored, saved documentation
While this could go under the manual mayhem section, we explicitly choose to create a separate section. Preventive maintenance tasks and repairs have their own documentation, procedures, and history.
Safely storing all this knowledge creates an invaluable resource bank that everyone can access by using their mobile devices. Maintenance scheduling software does not only help you manage everyday processes and operations but it adds long-term value to your department. It becomes easier to onboard new people, create more informed and accurate key performance indicators as well as share information with other people within the company.
Compliance audits
Maintenance management software makes compliance audits much easier by giving you access to tailored reports and numbers. You don’t have to stop working or interrupt your entire workflow to conduct an audit as you now have access to real-time data.
Health and safety
Preventive maintenance management is also integral to the health and safety of your workforce. Being able to schedule maintenance activities ensures your technicians are always using assets that are not putting their health and safety in doubt.
The best maintenance management software
Frontu is an all-around field service management solution that can help your maintenance team do their job better. From heavy equipment to vending management and facility management, Frontu covers a wide array of FSM verticals.
Sure, there are a lot of service providers and thousands of user reviews on the best preventative maintenance software in the market but the clean design, intuitive user experience, and array of features are what puts Frontu above the rest. With Frontu, you can gather all the maintenance data you need to stay on top of preventive tasks, improve client communication, automate routine tasks, and perfect preventive maintenance scheduling.
Maintenance management software should be a part of a bigger FSM solution and balance asset management needs with mobile workforce challenges. Frontu is the epitome of these two principles, helping maintenance teams bring clarity to maintenance schedules, facility management, and workforce communication.
