eRPortal Software Group’s CMMS software manages assets throughout their entire lifecycle. From the initial investment to final disposal and every stage in between, eRPortal streamlines procurement management, inventory control, materials issues, instrument tracking, outbound logistics, and reporting and analysis. Below is a list of the top ten benefits, thats can easily make the case for a CMMS software solution that is right for the organization.

1. The Top Ten Reasons to Deploy a CMMS
A white paper by Edward Garibian, eRPortal Software Group

2. The Top Ten Reasons to Deploy a
CMMS
How a Computerized Maintenance Management System
Ensures Regulatory Compliance, Extends Asset Life, and
Increases Efficiency
In today’s business climate, those responsible for directing industrial plant or physical
infrastructure-intense operations are constantly pulled by drivers – often, incongruent
drivers that constantly demand attention. A short list of these would include: lowering
costs, maintaining workplace harmony, maintaining regulatory compliance, and of course,
maximizing efficiency. This affects management in any marketplace, including industrial
and manufacturing, utilities and municipalities, and higher education and healthcare. Plant
managers, engineering directors, and public works chiefs are all witnessing a radical shift in
optimizing operations and productivity, as well as managing enterprise assets.
The expanding alphabet soup of regulations and regulatory agencies requires companies to
have complete visibility into their processes. Meanwhile, plants need to run smoothly and
efficiently, and in tough economic times, directors are pressured to extend the life of company
assets. Adding to the complexity is an aging Baby Boomer workforce retiring – and taking their
knowledge of machinery and operations with them to the golf course.
Many manufacturing companies, utilities, and universities are turning to Computerized
Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) to address these challenges. These solutions
help directors extend the life of existing corporate assets, increase workforce productivity, and
comply with myriad regulations by leveraging proactive alerts and integrating into existing
computer systems. Now staff can focus on maintaining the plant, rather than scrambling every
time something goes wrong.
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3. The Top Ten Reasons to Deploy
a CMMS
Trends in CMMS
Running a manufacturing operation, utility, or higher educational facility is becoming more
complicated than ever. The increasing number of regulations, an aging workforce, and stagnant
or decreasing budgets are requiring directors to reexamine how they manage maintenance
issues.
Regulations add additional complexities to maintenance and asset management processes.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates pollution control and hazardous
substances, while the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) keeps an eye
on workplace safety and proper procedures for machine and equipment maintenance. For
universities, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) watches over who can handle certain
chemicals and assets. In the public sector, GASB 34 mandates the proper reporting of the
maintenance, purchase, and whereabouts of assets.
Meanwhile, every day, 10,000 Baby Boomers reach the age of 65.1 That means a large chunk of
the labor force is leaving – and taking their specialized maintenance knowledge with them.
Finally, the recent economic downturn has forced companies to focus harder on extending the
life of assets. Whether the asset is an aging pump or a vehicle, it’s a given that capital budgets
(and any requests) will be scrutinized and so all existing asset investments must be preserved.
To be successful, Asset Management executives and managers need to comply with
regulations, capture and retain worker knowledge, and extend the life of assets.
Top Ten Reasons to Deploy a CMMS
Designed to address these challenges, directors are turning to computerized maintenance
management systems that allow them to track maintenance activity, have full visibility into
equipment condition, generate comprehensive reports, and schedule routine maintenance
seamlessly.
Robust Reporting Capabilities
Any time an organization has an asset, they need to report on costs, maintenance, and other
issues. The finance department needs to know what the organization’s asset status is so that
they can budget appropriately. Other executives may need broader reports. Even compliance
reporting can be used for other departments. For example, if the organization has never had
a toxic chemical spill, being able to report that – and use that for marketing purposes – is a
benefit for the entire organization.
With the right CMMS, you can easily summarize costs, reporting, and the financial impact of
every asset. You can also have full visibility into how the assets are managed and maintained,
3 allowing you and your company to allocate resources to assets that need more attention.
1 Snyder, Michael. “16 Statistics About The Coming Retirement Crisis That Will Drop Your Jaw.”
Business Insider, January 5, 2012. http://www.businessinsider.com/facts-about-retirement-crisis-2010-
12?op=1#ixzz210aDVzN4

4. The Top Ten Reasons to Deploy
a CMMS
Regulatory Compliance
CMMS allows you to track everything from the environmental impact of an asset to its storage
and maintenance. Depending on the industry, regulations could require that you document
the proper procedures for workplace safety or the proper personnel handling hazardous
substances. The public sector also needs to track capital spend on investments, as well as
maintenance and storage.
The right CMMS allows you full visibility into organizational assets so that you can comply with
regulations. It also supports all pertinent regulations to allow for comprehensive asset tracking
and monitoring. Organizations should also look for an alert system to apprize them of possible
compliance pitfalls.
Accurate Asset Inventory
GASB 34 regulations require public sector organizations to report on assets owned, where the
asset is stored, the condition of the asset, and asset maintenance. With the wide dispersal of
assets, particularly within municipalities, knowing the location of every fire hydrant and traffic
light can be challenging. A good CMMS system can provide you every detail about the asset’s
status and location. This is especially true of those that are GPS and GeoData-aware and can
interoperate with the municipality’s existing GIS platform.
Even the private sector can benefit from knowing an asset’s status and location to help with
budgeting, forecasting, and making the business case for increased asset investment. With an
accurate asset inventory, companies can know what is needed and what is superfluous, saving
money on duplicative solutions.
Reduced Downtime
Reporting capabilities give way to reduced downtime. No organization wants to deal with work
stoppages, which cost untold amounts of money in lost product and productivity. By having
that visibility into the equipment’s condition, you can plan maintenance before a stoppage
occurs.
The right CMMS provides alerts pushed directly to your email or desktop. It can monitor the
exact condition of the machine, such as the temperature or pressure levels. For example, if a
pump is vibrating too fast, a condition based maintenance (CbM)-enabled CMMS can alert you
to send out a maintenance professional. The CMMS can also monitor how long the machine
has been running continuously. If the pump needs maintenance after 1,000 hours of run-
time, the CMMS can also notify you. Look for a solution that can be configured to recognize
problems and out-of-spect conditions and trigger automatic and appropriate responses.
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5. The Top Ten Reasons to Deploy
a CMMS
Extended Asset Life
Maintenance is key to extending asset life. Unfortunately, without full visibility into the asset,
you can’t proactively maintain the asset, leading to breakdowns and earlier replacements. A
CMMS with comprehensive PM scheduling and alert capabilities can help extend the life of
any asset through proactive maintenance. When it’s time for a part to be replaced, the system
notifies you, and you can assign a maintenance professional to do the job. Or, the system may
alert the maintenance professional directly.
In addition, systems with intelligent reporting and analysis functionality will be able to
articulate frequencies and incident trends on assets and components over time. Again,
proactive maintenance action can be taken, extending asset life and utilization levels.
This results in a better return on investment. Companies that spend $50,000 on a motor
or pump can get longer life out of that equipment when accurate and knowledge based
maintenance or condition history is visible and easy to act upon.
Captured and Transferred Knowledge
With the coming wave of retirement, a CMMS can capture what work has been performed on
an asset – and how that work was performed. The right CMMS can provide a record, so if an
asset has needed 20 repairs in the past three years, you know it and can make hard decisions
on keeping or scrapping the asset. On the flip side, it can also capture steps taken to fix that
asset. This not only provides a reference point for future employees but also helps existing
employees collaborate and share information, thereby advancing the organization’s overall
knowledge level.
Asset Capital and Expense Forecasting
Organizations need to take care of their equipment and have intelligence regarding the cost
of maintenance. They also need to be able to report those costs. For example, knowing how
much it cost per year to repair one pump can help you decide whether to continue maintaining
that asset or replace it.
To get accurate asset capital and expense forecasting, organizations need a CMMS that can not
only report on existing expenditures but also calculate projections. That way, you can predict
how much it will cost to replace the fleet every three years, not just in terms of the purchase
price but also maintenance. The right CMMS gives visibility into these expenditures to hone in
on problem equipment and plan for the future.
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6. The Top Ten Reasons to Deploy
a CMMS
Increased Maintenance Workforce Efficiency
When you send out maintenance professionals, you want to know the job will be completed
efficiently. That means sending the right person for the job and making sure that the
professional has the right parts and equipment. You also want to know that the professional
will be able to complete the job without interruptions, which requires the asset to be available
for maintenance at the specified time.
In that case, a CMMS should do three things to increase maintenance workforce efficiency.
First, the CMMS needs to track the professional’s specialties so that the person with the
most knowledge about pumps isn’t sent to fix a press. Secondly, the CMMS should track the
parts needed for the job so that the maintenance professional can bring the right tools and
equipment for the job, cutting back on time spent traveling or waiting. Finally, the CMMS
should integrate with other systems so you can schedule maintenance and alert affected
departments, enabling the departments to work around the planned maintenance. This allows
the maintenance professional to start on the job right away, rather than waiting for the other
department to finish their work.
Improved Productivity Across the Organization
The maintenance professionals aren’t the only ones impacted when an asset needs work.
The department using the asset also is impacted. Using a CMMS can improve productivity
across the organization in two ways. First, it helps maintenance personnel identify equipment
that needs repairs, allowing them to be proactive in preventing stoppages. Secondly, it
also provides scheduling such that the department affected will know when preventative
maintenance is being performed and can work around it.
A good CMMS will integrate into existing systems so that when the operations department
pulls up their schedule, they’ll see impending maintenance activity on assets affecting them
and are able to plan their workday accordingly, therefore minimizing operations downtime and
maximizing product throughput.
Parts and Materials Management
Keeping the plant running smoothly is more than just managing the workforce. It requires
managing parts and materials and making sure that the organization has the right parts for
the right job. Some entities may choose to stock spare parts; others may source them. Both
situations require visibility into the parts and materials inventory, and in the case of sourcing, a
clear understanding of the vendor’s service level agreement (SLA).
The right CMMS not only keeps track of parts and materials but also helps manage SLAs. It
takes the place of paper-based systems that earmark which parts come from which vendor
and what the turnaround time is and puts it all into one place. It simplifies ordering parts, and
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the system provides clear visibility into parts and materials management, regardless of the
stocking model.

7. The Top Ten Reasons to Deploy
a CMMS
Conclusion
With these ten benefits, you can easily make the case for a CMMS software solution that
is right for the organization. When you’re examining different vendors, make sure that the
vendor you choose can provide the functionality needed to reap all the benefits that CMMS
software provides. Look for robust reporting, comprehensive asset tracking, and smooth
integration with other systems. Use the benefits as a checklist when comparing vendors, which
will help you choose the CMMS software that provides the greatest ROI.
The eRPortal Software Advantage
Designed to provide all ten benefits outlined here, eRPortal Software Group’s CMMS software
manages assets throughout their entire lifecycle. From the initial investment to final disposal
and every stage in between, eRPortal streamlines procurement management, inventory
control, materials issues, instrument tracking, outbound logistics, and reporting and analysis.
eRPortal software is built for flexibility, interoperability, and ease of use. This means it can tie
smoothly into existing systems and applications, including financial, accounting, operations,
GIS, HR, and HMI. It can be deployed either on premise or in a cloud-based Software as
a Service (SaaS) model, allowing you to choose the best fit for your organization. Rapid
deployment means the software is up and running in as little time as possible.
To learn more about how eRPortal Software Group can help you reap the full benefits of
CMMS software, please call us at (866) 326-2757 or visit us at:
Website: www.erportalsoftware.com
Resources: http://www.erportalsoftware.com/products/resources.asp
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