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Adopting CMMS can help organizations increase productivity, reduce costs, enhance employee performance and produce significant ROI (even up to 545%).

Not all companies get the same result. The one thing that can set you back for instance, is if your CMMS solution has become old and obsolete.

With newer technologies and the emergence of an online world, CMMS solutions have changed. Unless you have the right solution that meets the present day needs, you won’t get the results you need.

For many, it’s the challenges of transferring to a new CMMS solution that stops them from going in for a newer solution. However, the process doesn’t have to be that difficult should you make a few considerations.

Here is how you can choose and transfer to a new CMMS with minimum worries.

How to Pick a New CMMS?

Select a solution that caters to your industry. With time, CMMS solutions have become industry specific increasing their effectiveness. Then, look out for the following:

1.      Preventive Maintenance

Preventive maintenance is one of the top priorities when it comes to choosing a CMMS solution. Automating preventive maintenance results in reduced costs with an increased equipment uptime and lifetime of assets.

You can’t disregard the importance of proactive maintenance repair. Advanced CMMS solutions can generate work orders on a specific schedule defining critical maintenance operations.

2. Work Order Management

Digital work orders replacing paper one is the main advantage of CMMS. The new solution should be able to integrate comprehensive information of equipment and assets with the ability to input ID tags, images, spare parts details, documents and other aspects.

It will act as an agile communication application that can be modified easily. Modern CMMS also offer simple work order forms which is, unsurprisingly, one of the most requested features in a CMMS.

3. Simplicity

CMMS solutions should not become a hurdle instead of proving beneficial. That’s why organizations want their maintenance management solution to be simple. User-friendly solutions allow everyone to adopt the new system no matter what is their technical skill level.

So pick a solution that has a simple interface and lets you do the important tasks without making it cluttered.

4. Cloud-based CMMS

Traditionally, CMMS solutions would be hosted on local servers making it a costly proposition. Now you can have CMMS in the form of SaaS application hosted on the cloud.

It saves you from investing in hardware and allows remote working and multi-device compatibility. You also don’t need to have an IT team for looking after the system. Just having an internet connection will enable you to access the system from anywhere.

You can also scale your CMMS solution easily if you go for a cloud based CMMS.

5. Mobile Compatibility

CMMS with mobile capabilities have been gaining traction over the last few years.

Mobile access helps maintenance staff to access and input information directly from the field and decreases the need of paper. You can also cut down on human errors and increase the efficiency of tasks reducing the time in between jobs.

Going for a CMMS with mobile capabilities is becoming increasingly important.

6. Technical Support

CMMS vendors nowadays offer comprehensive support and knowledge in form of guides, tutorial videos, webinars, white papers, guides and so on. You will also get round the clock technical support from reliable vendors who also help you in implementing the solution.

So choose a vendor who you can rely upon to get technical and educational support.

We have now covered the most important aspects of choosing a new CMMS. Now we will provide you some helpful tips to make your transferring process to the new CMMS painless and easy.

How to Transfer to a New CMMS in a Hassle Free Way?

Here are the steps to help you.

Step 1- Make a Plan

Initial planning is useful to reduce errors and confusion later on. Decide who is going to do the implementation or migration and handle other responsibilities like gathering data.

You will also have to make hardware considerations unless you are going for a cloud based CMMS.

Step 2- Training

Your employees will be already trained in using a CMMS solution. But that may not be sufficient for using the new one.

You should train your employees before the implementation is over so that they can use it effectively. The CMMS provider can help you out in this regard with their support.

It is better to go for flexible training opportunities on a continuous basis.

Step 3 - Data Transfer

The old data in your current CMMS will have to be transferred to the new one. CMMS solutions come with data migration tools and CMMS providers will always help you transfer the data making the process much less nerve wrecking than you’re afraid it is.

Also, determine if you need to transfer all your data. For instance, you may not need all of your historical data like work orders for a piece of equipment that is no longer in use or even no longer owned. Additionally, some data form may not be compatible with the new software.

Make sure which data you need to gather before going for the transfer.

Step 4- CMMS Integration

Your CMMS will need to be integrated with other applications to derive maximum value.

Many organizations integrate their CMMS with tools like Building Management Systems, accounting and ERP software or IoT sensors. Setting up such a system will enable you exchange information seamlessly across different touch points and track the entire lifecycle of your assets or equipment.

The CMMS vendor should provide you assistance and information to make such integrations simple and effective.

Step 5- Reports

You can make the mistake of implementing multiple reports that have no significant purpose. To avoid the error start by figuring out what you want from your CMMS. Then you can effectively tailor your reports and implement the key ones based on your needs.

Step 6 - Get Ready for Change

Just like any other technological disruption, you will go through a change process while implementing your CMMS. Your employees may not view it as a welcomed change or even show resistance.

Consider your company culture and let everyone know beforehand about the implementation. Get the stakeholders involved early on and share informational memos, which make them aware about the change and how it will benefit your organization.

You can only realize the full potential of your CMMS if your employees accept and use it correctly.

Transferring to a new CMMS doesn’t have to be a painful process.  A great vendor is going to help make it a quick and seamless affair.

Writer of this blog post for Maintworld-magazine: Bryan Christiansen

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Bryan Christiansen is founder and CEO at  Limble CMMS . Limble is a mobile first, modern, and easy to use CMMS software. We help take the stress and chaos out of maintenance by helping managers organize, automate and streamline their maintenance operations.