As you read this, countless operations involving thousands of moving parts are busily humming all around the world. Yet no matter how fine-tuned and expertly designed these systems are, it’s only inevitable that problems arise from time to time. Parts failing, bottlenecks forming, and loss of synchronization among several linked systems are just some of the problems which must be addressed at some point.
To fix these and other inevitable problems associated with various automated processes, businesses turn to computerized maintenance management system software. While mostly found in manufacturing, CMMS is used in a wide variety of industrial and commercial settings to monitor an operation’s many moving parts and detect faults as they appear. Functional CMMS is also used to keep an inventory of spare parts and tools needed to fix various problems. CMMS is also used to provide more informed decisions to staff regarding whether or not to repair or replace a failed component.
Operations where CMMS is commonly used include:
-Manufacturing
State-of-the-art maintenance management systems can be used to throttle production to better match demand. This lean manufacturing approach helps manufacturers slow down operations without compromising their integrity when fully functional again.
-Hospitals
The accurate and reliable distribution of resources is incredibly important in the healthcare setting. CMMS helps hospitals to closely monitor this distribution and spot potential disruptions before they happen.
-Sports Venues
Similar to hospitals, major sports venues are practically miniature cities. Sanitation systems, security monitoring, landscaping, crowd management, and of course all the razzle-dazzle the fans came to see are all part of one big operation which must work in harmony. CMMS plays a central role in ensuring these systems are synchronized.
-Amusement Parks
Amusement parks around the world depend on CMMS to monitor ride performance and detect any potential safety issues that threaten their guests. These maintenance management systems function with an overabundance of caution for the sake of ensuring safety above all else.
-Cruise Ships
Once again we have a situation where the operation might as well be its own city; cruise ships are floating hotels on a massive scale and therefore require maintenance management to keep all the moving parts working in sync with one another.
Computerized maintenance management systems are increasingly becoming accessible via the cloud rather than on dedicated local infrastructure. While this is not a suitable arrangement for all situations where CMMS is necessary, it provides a more cost-effective way for a number of organizations to incorporate state-of-the-art CMMS into their operations.
As the demands for CMMS become more specific depending on the industry, the various options for CMMS become focused on specific industries. In other words, software developers are specializing in amusement park CMMS or cruise ship CMMS, rather than CMMS in general. This is a promising development as it ensures the maintenance systems being used are optimized for the tasks at hand, rather than adjusted to meet the demands.
What does the future of CMMS hold? Only time will tell, but if past is prologue, there is good reason to believe the next generation of computerized maintenance management systems will be working closely with artificial intelligence and the internet of things. Stay tuned to find out.
