Which one is right for you?
The journey toward selecting the best CMMS software for your business or organization begins with clearly defining the objectives you are hoping to achieve through the implementation of a CMMS. The most common reasons for implementing a CMMS system are:
- Improved asset reliability and safety
- Reduction of maintenance costs
- Access to current technology such as Cloud, Mobile, and real-time Dashboards
- Integration with other business applications
It is a good idea for any organization to put together a CMMS selection and implementation team to work through the selection criteria. This enables representatives from management, maintenance, operations and accounting functions to work together and determine the critical requirements for the best CMMS software that will be used to evaluate competitive products. Consider questions like:
- How many and what types of equipment will be tracked in the system?
- How many users will there be and how will they access the system (mobile devices or workstations)?
- Do we want an on-premise system with a private cloud option or do we want a hosted cloud-based system?
- What are the critical reports and key performance indicators (KPIs) that we need from the system?
- Will the CMMS system need to integrate with our other business applications?
Another very important consideration when selecting a CMMS system are your asset management standard operating procedures (SOPs). Once SOPs are defined, different CMMS products can be appropriately evaluated to ensure they meet your requirements. Can the CMMS product be easily customized by you to meet your specific needs? A major reason for the failure of a CMMS project is the mismatch between how a system is designed and how your work is actually performed.
Once the groundwork has been done to determine the requirements for your business and the key deliverables of the project, a shortlist of vendors can be drawn up for evaluation before a final selection is made. The following criteria can help determine whether a vendor should be placed on the short list:
- Does the product have the features that meet your list of requirements?
- Does the vendor have a proven track record in the CMMS industry and do they obtain input from customers for product improvements?
- Does the vendor provide training and support services at a level that meets your expectations?
- What is the user interface like and how easily can your staff become familiar with the functionality? Can the interface be easily modified by you?
- Does the product and services match your budget?
Ultimately the choice of the best CMMS software for you is a combination of many factors and priorities for your business.
The Best CMMS Software Solution
DPSI has offered industry-leading CMMS software and services since 1986. iMaint, DPSI’s flagship CMMS software, is targeted toward specific industries including manufacturing, facility and fleet maintenance organizations. iMaint is a user-friendly enterprise asset management system that provides you with the tools needed to monitor your maintenance operations, save time and lower operating costs. Contact DPSI for more information, or request a free trial today.
