MainBoss Newswire
December 2006
Topics:
1. Financial Difference between a CMMS and other
Capital Investments
2. Equipment-cost
analysis
3. Expense
analysis
4. Upcoming Tradeshows
5. Holiday Thanks and Hours
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1. Take Advantage of your Maintenance Software financial return
Investing in a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) has many points in common with other types of capital investments. However, there are several important differences.
One difference is that, over time, the return on investment for your CMMS can increase. This is because the CMMS system does something that equipment purchases don’t. It collects information that can be used to improve the efficiency of the maintenance department.
Installing a CMMS generally is viewed as a two-stage process. The first stage includes everything necessary to make the system operational; the second stage is operating the system.
But a hidden third stage exists. As departments use the CMMS to buy repair parts, issue and track work orders, and schedule and plan maintenance and capital projects, it collects a wealth of maintenance history. That history is valuable. For example, as employees come and go, your CMMS can record knowledge that might otherwise be lost. It can show you trends; it can help fine-tune your operations; it can give quick answers to the sometimes urgent question, “What did we do the last time this went wrong?”
Historical data only becomes useful gradually. Therefore, its value is easy to overlook... until the first time it helps you out of a jam or makes it easier for you to justify your budget requests. Make sure you factor in the “historical” effect the next time you calculate your CMMS’s return on investment.
2. Equipment-cost analysis
A recent review of one company’s CMMS showed that it was spending $17,000 annually to maintain a group of pumps that had a replacement cost of $350 per pump. This situation had been going on for a number of years and was not immediately obvious until the department was able to collect and analyze a year’s worth of information.
This is one case where the company realized that preventive maintenance wasn’t worth it. They could save a lot of money if they just replaced the pumps whenever something went wrong. But they never would have realized this if they didn’t have the CMMS to provide them with accurate data.
3. Expense analysis
How do you quantify the return on investment for a preventive maintenance program? It’s possible if you have records of past costs, or perhaps information about average maintenance costs in your industry. This will let you create a picture of costs before your preventive maintenance started vs. costs after.
In most cases, the cost of preventive maintenance can be calculated directly: it’s just the cost of labor and materials. The cost of not doing preventive maintenance includes the cost of labor and materials for any repairs you have to do, but also contains indirect costs to the company. For example, you should estimate the cost of unscheduled downtime due to equipment failures, including lost production hours and the expense of paying workers to stand idle while equipment is repaired. If possible, you should also take into account possible liability costs due to safety concerns and any customer satisfaction that might be affected by breakdowns. This is often difficult to quantify, but it should be taken into consideration when doing any before-and-after cost analysis.
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4. Upcoming Tradeshows
PM Expo 2006 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building, Toronto, ON from November 29 - December 1, 2006
Save $50 compliments of Thinkage
Ltd. Register at (www.pmexpo.com/attendee/home) for your free admission to PM
Expo 2006. Be sure to drop by and see us at Booth 1643.
NFM & T Expo 2007 (National Facilities Management and Technology) at the Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD from March 20-22, 2007
We will be in Booth 1075
The TFM Show 2007 at the Navy Pier, Chicago, IL from April 17-19, 2007
We will be in Booth 629
ICSC Spring Convention Trade Exposition at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV from May 20-22, 2007
Booth to be announced
BOMA The Office Building Show 2007 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York, NY from July 22-24, 2007
We will be in Booth 109
5. Holiday Hours
The holiday season offers us a special opportunity to extend our personal thanks to our valued MainBoss customers, and our very best wishes for the future. It is people like you who make being in business such a pleasure all year long. Our business is a great source of pride to us, and with customers like you, we find going to work each day a rewarding experience. And so it is that we now gather together and wish each and everyone of you a happy and joyful holiday season.
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Wednesday |
December 20th |
9:00 am to 5:00 pm EST |
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Thursday |
December 21st |
9:00 am to 12:00 noon EST |
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Friday |
December 22nd |
Closed |
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Monday |
December 25th |
Closed |
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Tuesday |
December 26th |
Closed |
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Wednesday |
December 27th |
9:00 am to 12:00 pm EST |
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Thursday |
December 28th |
10:00 am to 2:00 pm EST |
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Friday |
December 29th |
10:00 am to 2:00 pm EST |
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Monday |
January 1st |
Closed |
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Tuesday |
January 2nd |
Back to normal business hours |
Thanks
again for a wonderful year.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!