From excessive downtime due to unplanned equipment failures to a shortage of skilled labor to maintaining regulatory compliance, it can be difficult for manufacturers to keep up with demand. To increase operational efficiency, many manufacturers turn to a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS).
While beneficial, a CMMS is a significant time and budget investment. That’s why ensuring the team knows how to properly use it is a must. However, if your CMMS implementation lacks standardized data, simplicity and overall buy-in from the team, that investment might be for nothing.
Put simply, a CMMS should streamline maintenance operations, but teams cannot “set it and forget it” or they risk ending up with a system that's underutilized, rife with inaccurate data and plagued by inefficiencies. The root causes are almost always the same: lack of standardized data, poor setup, hasty implementation and insufficient training.
Three causes of CMMS implementation failure
A CMMS is only as effective as the data it relies on. One common issue is the absence of standardized data structures across facilities, assets and workflows. When information from different sources or departments don’t align, the system becomes disorganized, making it difficult to analyze or act on maintenance data.
For example, inconsistent naming conventions, duplicate records and missing information can result in a database that is more chaotic than helpful. When a technician can’t trust the accuracy of the data, they may revert to old habits — paper logs, manual updates or worse, memory-based actions. Manufacturing leaders should engage any potential CMMS partner about data quality.
To check the box on CMMS as a technology necessity, manufacturers may deploy the system at an alarming speed and without a comprehensive assessment of their operational needs or a clear implementation roadmap. In these cases, the CMMS is likely set up without customization and using out-of-the-box configurations that may not reflect the complexities of the manufacturer’s operations. The result is a system that feels foreign and complex to users.
Furthermore, maintenance teams often feel that the CMMS is imposed upon them, rather than being implemented with their input, causing further disengagement. To successfully integrate a CMMS, manufacturers should gain input from tech leads, planners and inventory clerks to gain buy-in early.
Even a well-configured CMMS will fail if the people using it don’t fully understand its capabilities.
