Computerized Maintenance Management Systems
INTRODUCTION
Facilities departments are under tremendous pressure to provide more information faster, and at a lower cost to the company. At the same time many companies have reduce staff to the bare minimum. Maintenance professional are presented with more difficult challenges today than at any previous point. The biggest obstacle of all confronting maintenance professionals is being forced to do more with fewer resources. Maintenance departments must deliver superior service, comply with regulatory requirements and provided detail financial accountably all within the confines of limited and/or reduce budgets. In order to meet these challenges, maintenance professionals are arming themselves with economical computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS). In recent years flexible, dependable and economical computerized maintenance management systems have become available to help fight the never-ending struggle to operate and maintain the built environment.
But what are computerized maintenance management systems? They are management information systems that utilize the technologies of computers, telecommunications, etc. to executed the maintenance management processes and provide management with information for decisions making process.
Work Identification Work Planning Work Scheduling
Analysis History Recording Work Execution
Like any other computerize information system it is made up of the following:
a. hardware
b. software
c. data bases
d. peripherals equipments
e. train staff members
We need to acknowledge at the outset that CMMS are not for every organization and that current research shows that as much as fifty percent of all CMMS start up have failed to pay back a meaningful return on investment after two years of operations. That is to say in many cases the heavy investment in CMMS information technologies have failed to live up to the much publicized benefits of automation and have delivered some disappointed results. So we do not want to give the impression that CMMS in themselves will cure all the ills of the profession and to advice against walking into the same technology trap that are endemic to the business community at large. In a rush to automate every job function that affects organizational efficiency and bottom line profits, many managers are overlooking important caveats inherent in all information technology implementations. This highlights the point that an organization needs to know how to find the right CMMS and how to implement and maintain the system. The decreasing costs of computer hardware, and the emerging power of microcomputers and software technologies, have disguised the question of feasibility.
Since the dawn of time, humanity has improved technology in order to perform tasks more efficiently and effectively. However, particularly within the last few year, the development of technology has increased significantly. As technology continued to improve, many believe the time has come to replace humans with machines that can do the same job. According to a survey done by Delphi, 98% of industry respondents say they are automating to increase efficiency. (Source 11, 455)
Preventive Maintenance Checks and Services (PMCS) means systematic caring, inspecting, and servicing of military equipment to keep it in good condition and to prevent breakdowns. The operator of the vehicle mission is to be sure to perform PMCS each time he/she operate the vehicle. Always do the PMCS in the same order, so it gets to be a habit. Once you've had some practice, you will quickly spot anything wrong.
Maintenance costs have soared recently and based on the lack of information available, lost paperwork and receipts, and misfiled maintenance documentation, senior management has finally made the decision to take action. “Pen and paper” record keeping is no longer making the grade here at Huffman Trucking. The maintenance facility located in Cleveland OH needs to adopt automation and the need for a Fleet Truck Maintenance Database Management System has now become “top priority.”
When you look at the history of General Motors, you will find a long, rich heritage. General Motors came into existence in 1908 when it was founded by William "Billy" Durant. At that time Buick Motor Company was a member of GM. over the years GM would acquire more than 20 companies, to include Opel, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile. By the 1960's through 1979 was known as a revolution period for General Motors. Everyone was focusing on environmental concerns, increased prices of gasoline lead to the unprecedented downsizing of vehicles. The smaller cars lead to one the largest re-engineering program ever taken in the industry. By 1973, General Motors was the first to offer an air bag in a production car.
Asemi observe that Management Information System (MIS) is one of the information systems that is computer based. Besides, Asemi defines MIS as “an organizational method of providing past, present and project information related to internal operations and external intelligences. It supports the planning, control and operation functions of an organization by furnishing uniform information in the proper time frame to assist the decision makers,” (2011). The aim of MIS is to satisfy the general information need of the entire manager in an organization. Before the advent of computers, the process of decision-making was one that was full of built-in advantages and ad hoc methods. Computers technologies have changed the landscape of the decision-making process completely by making the process less demanding and easy to undertake. The reason for this situation is that information technology has made access to information more automated, efficient, effective, timely, and less ambiguous. Consequently, the ordinary t...
Ackoff identifies five assumptions commonly made by designers of management information systems (MIS). With these assumptions, Ackoff argues that these assumptions are in most cases not justified cases, and often lead to major deficiencies in the resulting systems, i.e. "Management Misinformation Systems." To overcome these assumptions and the deficiencies which result from them, Ackoff recommends that management information system should be imbedded in a management control system.
In the business world today, technology is becoming an essential staple. Every big business relies on it one way or another. More importantly than just technology itself, the use of management information systems is what guides a company in terms of catering to its customers and knowing what moves to make next. Management information systems (MIS) can be defined is the study of people, technology, and organizations (What is MIS?). However, that is a very general definition because there is a lot more that comes out of the use of these MIS systems.
Trapped in a Mainframe malaise – With no PC’s and distributed computing system in place, TMS was generating sales and marketing data in a frightening pace and there was no way to use the information strategically from its 1,100 Toyota and Lexus dealers. Barbra Cooper was introduced to such isolated and primitive information systems in TMS as the CIO of the IT department in 1996. (Wailgum, Toyota's Big Fix: An IS Department Turnaround, 2005)
Turban, E. (2009) Information technology for management : transforming organizations in the digital economy. 7th ed. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Haag, S. & Cummings, M. (2008). Management information systems for the information age (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Management information systems can be used as a support to managers to provide a competitive advantage. The system must support the goals of the organization. Most organizations are structured along functional lines, and the typical systems are identified as follows:
Preventive maintenance can be defined as an activity performed on a certain schedule which is intended to prevent breakdowns or deterioration. These activities can include regular inspection along with solving any discovered problems or situations and regularly scheduled parts changes. Preventive maintenance involves the scheduled adjustment, inspection, replacement of wearable parts, calibrations, basic cleaning and lubrication of equipment or other recommendation made by the equipment manufacturer. These activities can help increase the equipment functional life and help decrease facilities deterioration. No equipment should, No equipment should reach the breaking point [1].
Computer Economics, a research and consulting firm, surveyed 209 IT organization worldwide regarding their IT investment plans. The leading trends “were identified as low risk/high reward based on their cost predictability and their positive return on investment for organizations within two years’ time.” CRM tops the list for 2014 (Mackie, 2014)
Computers are forever present in the workplace. Word processors-computer software packages that simplify the creational and modification of documents-have largely replaced the typewriter. Electronic mail has made it easy to send messages worldwide via computer communication networks. Office automation has become the term for linking workstations, printers, database system, and other tools by means of a local-area network. An eventual goal of office automation has been termed the 'paperless office.' Although such changes ultimately make office work much more efficient, they have not been without cost in terms of purchasing and frequently upgrading the necessary hardware and software and of training workers to use the new technology.