Amazingly, 12 years into the new millennium, many major companies either have not implemented a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) or aren't getting the expected value from it. As opposed to being able to have complete maintenance records, performing routine PM schedules, tracking and managing MRO inventory stores, and strategizing better paths forward, many companies' maintenance staffs will wander aimlessly without direction or purpose and just react to the latest emergency request. If you follow the CMMS three pile-process, you can easily decimate this portion of your maintenance zombie-land. This is easy and will provide the foundation for organizations to move from reactive to proactive maintenance management.The first step is to start documenting every maintenance activity your staff does on your major pieces of equipment. Don’t worry about the fans in the bathroom, yet. Focus on the critical equipment. If you don’t have a CMMS, try a free one for now, or just compile data in a notebook. Please don’t get distracted by the latest bells or whistles in an overabundant world of CMMS development. Just document all of your activities for now. Remember the best CMMS available is the one you use.
