THE DEFINITIVE
CMMS SOFTWARE
BUYER’S GUIDE
You know it’s time to invest in a CMMS, but the question now
is “How do I know which one is best for me?”
In this guide, you’ll learn:
How to budget for
How to know you’re every part, including
ready for a CMMS training, implementation,
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and subscription
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How to prepare
The benefits of CMMS
for a successful
software
implementation
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How to weigh How to ensure a fast,
your options ongoing ROI
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How to know you’re ready
for CMMS software
You have a system for managing your maintenance processes, but as your company grows,
it’s beginning to feel more like organized chaos than sustainable workflows.
You already struggle with:
• Spending hours searching for information • Compiling the right data to make
or assets maintenance decisions
• Tracking costs and budgets • Prioritizing maintenance tasks
• Controlling inventory counts and deliveries • Keeping track of vendor invoices
Now consider the impact these have on your organization.
• 9
0% of all equipment issues occur because of • Preventive maintenance also reduces
preventable problems. downtime by up to 50%, according to the
reventive maintenance costs are 27% lower
• P McKinsey Global Institute.
on average than reactive maintenance,
according to the Office of Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy. CMMS software makes your life easier by
organizing every asset and maintenance
task into one digital platform, streamlining
inventory, work orders, vendors projects,
and more.
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Here are just a few of the
benefits you get with the
right CMMS solution:
More straightforward work
order workflows
Standardizing work orders creates a uniform
approach to organizing and managing your
maintenance. Digitizing work orders lets you
access all your critical associated information
from a paper worksheet — including labor costs,
materials, schedules, expenses, and assets — with
just a few clicks.
CASE STUDY
A South Beach hotel realized a 75%
increase in its preventive maintenance
work order close out rate after
implementing a CMMS. The Marseilles
Hotel in Miami struggled to complete
the correct maintenance work in
the correct order. Maintenance staff
struggled to prioritize scheduling.
After implementing a CMMS,
strengthened and streamlined their
preventive maintenance program,
eventually cutting overall maintenance
costs by 20%.
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Longer lifespans for your assets One large transportation and logistics company
saved over $260,000 a year just by optimizing
Making the move to preventive maintenance scheduling for its oil changes. The company
can seem challenging at first. It’s hard to get into saved a total of $600,000 in direct costs by
the groove of forward thinking when reactive improving equipment performance through
maintenance is always overwhelming. It’s preventive maintenance.
impossible to stay focused on your long-term
plans for improvements when you’re just trying
to stay afloat in a sea of service requests.
How CMMS software benefits
different industries
A CMMS simplifies preventive maintenance
by helping you schedule and assign tasks and
Hospitality
inspections in advance. Preventive maintenance
HVAC systems, pools and recreation,
is imperative for small maintenance teams,
grounds and landscaping, spas,
too. The fewer staff members you have, the
shuttle services
greater impact taking one person away for an
unscheduled emergency has on your workflows. Restaurants
Walk-in refrigerators/freezers,
Placing assets on a preventive maintenance commercial ovens/grills/ranges,
schedule saves time and money by minimizing brewing and bar systems, special
surprises in top-dollar items, or items that can lighting and electronic sound systems
lead to a loss of revenue when they are offline.
Manufacturing
Custom equipment, computer and
Consider the cost of having just three vehicles
electronic systems, lighting and
grounded when you’re a logistics company or
safety equipment, commercial motor
waiting several weeks for a replacement part you
vehicles, such as forklifts, trucks, and
need to restart a manufacturing assembly line.
semi-trailers
Scheduling preventive maintenance tasks not Government agencies
only reduces downtime and related costs; it also Vehicles and other transportation,
has a significant impact on asset performance. grounds maintenance, high-tech/
custom security systems
Energy
High-tech or dangerous equipment,
such as reactors, electric cables and
towers, and chemicals
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Optimizing purchasing and inventory
Poor inventory management is one of the fastest ways to lose control over your budget.
The ability to more effectively and efficiently view, manage, and understand your inventory and assets
helps you stay on budget, delivering maximum value to the organization.
Stronger communication and better productivity
Today’s maintenance techs have access to smartphones, tablets, Wi-Fi and mobile hotspots.
Information and time are the two most valuable tools you can give your employees – and a cloud-based,
comprehensive data hub does just that. Cloud-based software allows you and your team to see changes
to all the data on the work order in real time on any Internet-connected device
Better decisions driven by data
A CMMS gives you key insights into your operating and maintenance plan’s effectiveness, letting
you track mean time to repair, PM close-out rates, and time between failures so you can make more
informed decisions about staffing, scheduling, purchasing, and repairs or replacements.
You can even set up automated reports to send to your executive team so they’re always informed about
the value your team is bringing to the organization.
A survey of 558 companies using CMMS software reported an
average 28% increase in productivity after implementing their
new software.
(A.T. Kearney and Industry Week Magazine)
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Understanding CMMS
software features
Before starting your search, it’s important to understand the key features of CMMS software
and how each can benefit you, so you’ll know what to look for.
Inventory management Interactive floor plans
Track all your materials, parts, and See the location of all your assets on
supplies so you always have what detailed site maps and floor plans
you need without waiting weeks for so you can easily find what you need
an order or spending more than you to fix.
should on carrying costs.
Inspection management Preventive maintenance scheduling
Fix small problems before they Schedule maintenance activities at
become bigger issues with regular, regular intervals, based on hours
standardized inspections. or operation or mileage, and send
automatic notifications to your team
so you stay on top of every task.
Reporting Work orders
Keep track of the most important Despite your best efforts to plan,
maintenance metrics to demonstrate unexpected equipment issues still
value to your leadership team with happen. With mobile work order
customized dashboards and reports. scheduling, you can eliminate paper
notes and communicate necessary
repairs faster.
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How to compare
CMMS software solutions
Finding the right CMMS shouldn’t feel like a second job. By making a list of criteria and
asking the right questions, you can make the process a lot easier.
Here are the most important
factors to consider:
Cost
PRO TIP:
• What is the pricing model – is it a license or
subscription? Look for flexibility in the software’s pricing.
Make sure you can add or remove users (and
• Do we pay per user? Per module?
add new functionality just as easily) as your
• Is it easy to expand the solution as our needs change.
department grows?
• Is it within our budget? Are there any hidden
fees we need to consider?
• Are any discounts or promotions available?
• What is the refund policy and/or how hard is it
to cancel the subscription?
• Are all software updates automatic and
included in the price?
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Ease-of-use Mobility
• Can our team start using it right away? • Does the software have a mobile app our
team can use anywhere?
• Is the software easy to navigate?
• Does the data update in real time?
• How long does it take to create a work order or
a report?
• Will this actually save time for your team or Integrations
make their jobs more complicated?
• How well does it integrate with the apps or
• Can you grant users different levels of access programs we’re already using?
depending on what they need to do?
• What current software can it replace?
• How much work would go into migrating or
PRO TIP:
merging our existing data?
Ask to see a demo of the software so you can see
• Does it have open APIs that lets our IT
for yourself whether it’s easy to use.
department build custom integrations?
Check out customer reviews on Software Advice
or G2 too.
Support
• What level of support does the vendor offer?
• Will they help with training and onboarding?
Implementation
• Is support available after hours
• What is the average implementation time?
• Can they help you set up customized
• Will the vendor assist us with the
workflows or reports?
implementation process?
• What will our team need to provide?
• Does the vendor have templates and tips to
help us along the way?
PRO TIP:
Look for a software implementation time of
three months or less.
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How to budget
for CMMS software
While easy implementation, streamlined workflows, and increased productivity sound like
a dream come true, the most common question you need to be ready to answer from upper
management is: “How much does it cost?”
The answer depends on a few factors, including:
• What features do you need? The cost of Hippo CMMS by iOFFICE is
$300 per month for the most robust plan.
• How large is your team?
• What value do you expect? The national mean hourly wage for general
maintenance workers was $21.05 in May
• How scalable do you need your system to be?
2020. If implementing Hippo saves you just
14 hours of maintenance labor, the system
These are some of the questions whose answers
has paid for itself.
can narrow your search to the right CMMS for
your needs.
Estimate your savings in
just seconds by answering a
While costs of a CMMS vary, many options
few quick questions in our
offer annual or monthly subscriptions based on
savings calculator.
features and the number of users. Understanding
your potential ROI from a CMMS software is the
first step toward building it into your budget.
HOW MUCH CAN A CMMS SAVE YOU?
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5 tips to budget
for your CMMS
What features do you want, and how Are there any upfront one-time setup
many users do you need? or integration fees?
This will help you select the right pricing plan, Some companies charge a one-time fee to migrate
which most providers call a “tier.” data or other transitional services.
What are your hardware needs? What do your 1-, 5-, and 10-year plans
look like for CMMS software?
If your software is cloud-based, meaning you
pay a monthly or yearly subscription that includes Most CMMS systems are generally scalable, but
the costs of hosting your data, you might need to you want to choose a system specifically designed
invest in tablets or other mobile devices. You may to both support and accommodate growth.
also need to consider upgrading your Wi-Fi if you
have a slow connection.
If you choose to host your software at your
company’s location, you’ll need to ensure you
have the right servers and in-house IT support.
How much support do you need to get
the software up and running?
Does the software provider include
implementation and training in the costs?
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How to prepare for a
successful implementation
You got the green light to move forward in purchasing and implementing a CMMS –
fantastic! Now the pressure is on to transition smoothly, with as little additional cost and
headache as possible.
While estimates indicate that between 40%-60%
of CMMS implementations fail – due to issues
such as poor management, employee resistance to
change, or communication failures – with proper
planning using the steps below, you can run a
successful implementation.
Examine and safeguard
1
existing data
Before you even open your new software, you
need to see the value in the data you currently
have, safeguard it, and try to start using it to
spot trends. Track down all those old paper
O&M manuals, schematics, blueprints,
and warranties.
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If your organization has one, you should also
Involve the right people in the
2 include a purchasing or inventory manager who
planning process
would love an email notification when a part is
running low so they always have the parts and
With a system this robust that affects so many
materials your team needs to complete a repair.
areas of your business stretching beyond
maintenance, you need to find people to
Your leadership team should also have the
implement it that will be advocates for the
opportunity to give their input about which
change. Think about who will benefit most
metrics are most important to them and what
from this software and approach them for their
reporting they’d like to see.
thoughts, input, and assistance. Involvement
creates commitment.
Above all, the team needs to have a sense of
ownership of both the implementation and the
The best people to form your CMMS
final CMMS database. Because they’re the ones
implementation hive mind are the ones whose
who eventually use it most, they need to make
day-to-day work will improve with the correct
sure it reflects their workflows and goals.
use of the software. Create a diverse team to get
a variety of feedback and perspectives. Consider
engaging your most seasoned engineer or tech
who has used the former system for years or even
decades. They are going to see the benefits in the
change faster.
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Create a realistic and
3 achievable implementation
CMMS PROJECTED
timeline
IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINES
How long it takes you to implement a CMMS • Companies with 0- 100 assets = 30 days
depends on many factors, including:
• Companies with 200 assets = 45 days
• Industry
• Quantity and quality of existing data • Companies with 201-500 assets = 90 days
• Number of assets and equipment
• Size of the implementation team
If you are weeding through decades of paper trails Develop an information
to create your data, it is going to take longer than 4 structure with clear
if you already have digitized data. organizational standards
Also, consider the age and condition of your The next step is for your team to determine
equipment. It is faster and easier to catalog newer how you use your data and create a system or
equipment identifying information, such as serial architecture with a clear way of prioritizing the
numbers and asset IDs, plus their manuals are information based on how you use it. Take a walk
usually digital and easily downloaded. around your facility and discuss how you want
to organize your data, what is most important or
Work with your CMMS support team to develop frequently used, and what data you want to track.
a reasonable and executable timeline. The more
detailed your initial implementation plan, the
easier it is to set attainable timeline goals.
Gather and organize your
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maintenance data
When you’re eager to get started, it’s tempting
to start scheduling PM tasks as you input data.
However, taking the time to organize your data
upfront pays in the long run. You can’t schedule
a PM for an asset before the system has all the
information about that asset, its needs, and the
inventory associated with it. Finish one phase
before you move on to the next.
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How to ensure a fast,
ongoing ROI
Your CMMS is up and running! Was it worth it?
Measuring and maximizing the ROI on your CMMS is an ongoing part of using the
software. Pay attention to key maintenance metrics when analyzing if you are getting the best
outcome for your investments of time and resources.
For instance, tracking the total number of open Tracking open work orders also reveals trends in
work orders in real time gives you historic data proactive versus reactive maintenance. Having
that reveals trends and patterns you may not have this data faster and more easily accessible saves
noticed with manual tracking methods. A CMMS you time and, ultimately, helps you stay under
shows not only the open work orders, but also budget as you troubleshoot workflow and
how long it took for the team to close them out. efficiency issues.
Now you can see not only the outcome but
the causes behind it. Are your parts costs high?
Looking back at the work orders, you see that the
same part keeps breaking, suggesting it’s time to
switch suppliers.
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For example, Wayne Metropolitan Community
Action Agency struggled with cross-platform This saves time, improves efficiency, and creates a
inconsistencies and data gaps between two stronger involvement with the team members so
different tracking systems. This led to poor they feel heard. Wayne Metro not only increased
reporting, so they couldn’t make the best-cost their response time but also improved their
control decisions. tracking for better accuracy, transparency and
accountability – all imperative for a non profit.
The Detroit-area non profit serves approximately
35,000 low- and moderate-income residents Investing in CMMS software is not a
with over 60 programs in quality housing, family set-and-forget process.
stability, and economic opportunity. With a
staff of over 400, the agency offers educational You need to keep making sure you are integrating
support, including workshops on homeownership, the software features into your processes to get
GED preparation, and Head Start. The agency’s the best performance. An example is setting up
current annual budget is $40 million. automated workflows to generate automatic
notifications, such as an email when it’s time to
After implementing a CMMS to streamline their maintain your assets or inventory on a specific
work orders, the management team discovered part is low.
that it works best for them to open their
request portal to their entire staff and give the
staff members tools with which to track and
communicate about their request.
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About Hippo CMMS
by iOFFICE
Thousands of companies use Hippo by iOFFICE to reduce downtime, decrease inventory
costs, and improve employee communication and productivity. It’s easy to use, affordable,
and seamlessly connects your assets, inventory, preventive maintenance scheduling, work
orders, and vendors.
The best way to see if a CMMS
fits your company’s needs is to GET DEMO
see it live and in action.
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